Chapter 129 - I Was Once Lost...
"...yuki...!" A voice broke the silence, all the while a sickly feeling tugged at her body. "...yuki...!" Again, that familiar voice. In the dark corners of her mind, she swore she saw... Izuku? "Yuki!"
"Ah!" Yuki shot upright only to feel a hand press to her chest to keep her steady. The light faded, and the world returned to her gaze as she took a few seconds to catch her breath. Ceres was the one that called to her, holding the girl upright while they sat atop a random building rooftop. The ambient noises of a city below. "C-Ceres?"
"Easy, Vex travel is not as pleasant the first time around," She offered meekly, helmet on while Ghost hovered back from the edge. "So? Where are we?"
"As strange as this sounds, we're definitely not in our world, probably not even our timeline, the dates are set centuries before the Traveller would've even entered our universe," Ghost explain, floating toward Yuki with his eye low. "I think... this is your world?"
"Really?" But while that news got her blood pumping again, she refrained from overexciting herself. "Wait, what's the news like?"
"Hm... not much, though I did see an article about something called the 'Hosu Incident'-" His response drew a long-winded sigh from Yuki, her eye closed. "Ah, I'm guessing not the right time."
"By nearly a year... so the USJ's passed, same with the Hero Killer, and no mention of Kovik or the Devil Splicers?" Again, she awaited the little ghost's answer.
"Nothing," That confirmed it, much to Yuki's dismay
"Then we're in a world parallel or completely different from my own realm, but it's definitely a copy of mine to a degree," The question was, what were the changes compared to her world? She voiced her second question, furrowing her brow. "But... why come to a parallel?"
"I'm not sure, but on the bright side-" Ceres snapped her fingers, and a small golden flame appeared. "-we're still connected to the Light, so that means the way back might be tethered to us, meaning, your theory on using SIVA to open a way home has some merit, perfect," The Titan was relieved, same for Yuki and Ghost. The idea of being trapped in another world would just make their situation far more complicated. Ceres pursed her lips in thought. "Back to your question, Ghost, you said you had an idea what that could be?"
"Oh? Yes, I remember," He nodded, spinning to float between the girls. "Now, it is just based on what I observed, but that boy Fragment turned into, he was close to you?"
Yuki lowered her head slightly, digging her fingers against her lap. "...my boyfriend, I knew it wasn't him but I... just for a second..." Ceres rubbed her shoulder, feeling the young girl relax. "Sorry, but yes, it was Izuku, almost too perfectly if you ask me." Though, the longer she thought of it, one conclusion made her bitter, frowning. "...what a terrible copy too."
Hm, I'm not sure I follow | Though I suspect this is on a personal level | For that, I will take your word for
"Well, that, and what he said to you, 'See you soon-', taking that into account, I think he's here for them, maybe as a way to get back at you," Ghost clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer, grumbling. "Ugh, Splicers and their science even now really confuse me,"
"See me soon..." Given this was a parallel of her own world, Yuki didn't need much thought process to realize that mystery. She stood up, finding her helmet laying next to her. "We need to go, now," Her voice wasn't rushed or angry, but she was visibly troubled as her face disappeared behind her helmet.
Ceres did the same, turning to the teen. "What is it? Why would he come here?"
"Because... he isn't after me..." Yuki stared back at them with a serious pitch in her voice. "He's after the Yuki of this world, she has something he wants," Their race was far from over, the second lap had begun with Fragment already getting a head start.
Returning to UA was what Yuki would call a painful amount of nostalgia, it had only been three months but felt like years since she last walked through the gates. Using her no-longer empty noggin thanks to Silvis' training, and her own UA I.D, she managed to worm her way inside without the security system realizing there were Two Yukis. The dorms weren't built yet, and a few students hung around the area but Yuki took steps to avoid them, the less trouble the better.
~So far so good~ Ceres murmured into the comms while scoping out UA from afar, but her limited vantage points left hers and Ghost's view of the situation narrowed down to a play-by-play from Yuki. ~How will you handle this? Not like you can just point out Fragment and start attacking him if he's disguised as you or someone else~
As the two talked, Yuki felt her heart twist when two figures walked nearby toward the school's back entrance. Her eyes lingered on the boy with freckled cheeks, that gentle, caring smile that pulled up slightly when the girl next to him laughed. His curly greenish-black hair, even down to his timid mannerisms when he would play with his hands or stare off at anything but the girl. As for the girl, well, take away SIVA and the 'Yuki' standing next to Izuku was a carbon copy of herself, minus the mask and the fact she was clearly speaking. Did that mean...?
~Yuki? You okay?~ It was Ghost this time, startling the bluette from her daydreaming when the pair vanished from sight, much to her disappointment.
"Y-yeah, sorry, I have an idea, well, Siva does, it should work as Fragment will copy a person's looks but not what they have with them," She said this, pulling out her own, badly damaged phone that still came to life. "If anything goes south, I'll keep him busy long enough for you guys to intervene,"
~Will do, and be careful~ Ceres warned.
"Right," Turning her attention to the phone screen, Yuki dialled a few numbers, praying that this world wasn't about to make her pull a Shigaraki and waltz into the school to steal documentation. Her thumb hovered over the 'dial' button, immediately regretting this choice but what other options were there? Tell the staff? Like that would work, for all she knew, this world's version of her had red hair or something. Not bothering to belittle herself further, she hit the button and hid behind a tree to wait.
...
...
...
~Hello?~ The all-too-familiar voice chimed, especially the subtle inflection on her tone from her British heritage
"Okay, don't freak out, don't freak out..." Psyching herself up, Yuki spoke to herself. "H-hi, sorry to bother you, um, look this'll sound pretty... well, y-yeah, crazy, but could you, like... come outside the main school building? Just off to the right of the doors to the small park area, it's really important, trust me." Was she sweating? Great Machine, it was hot today...
~Uuuuh, sure?~ That tone, the other Yuki wasn't convinced but was going with the, 'let's just nip the bud' attitude. ~Right, yeah, be there... shortly I guess?~
When the phone call ended, SIVA spoke up.
|Really?|
"Oh, like you could do better," Yuki then stood up straight, marching in a very modest fashion. "'Greetings, I'm the Aksis of a realm where your consciousness was implanted in a child granting her power to control SIVA!',"
|...that's a horrible impression|
The presence of another didn't take long to draw Yuki's ear. She turned, and while her face was hidden by her helmet, she felt her sweat drip from her helmet's gaps. The young teen stared at Yuki, giving the girl a once-over. As for this world's Yuki, she was the spitting image if SIVA never set foot in this world, but what was a stark contrast was the suit of armour she too wore, it was similar to SIVA only the reds were blue by default, and it was thinner, lacking many of the functions the nanotech provided. And her helmet was non-existent, say for a scouter of tempered blue glass and a black brace around her forehead, two pointy ear-caps too.
"Right, assuming this isn't some long-winded scheme to capture me or something," The copy of Yuki stated, hand resting near something on her utility belt lined with tools and other gadgets. "What's up? ...whoever you are."
"Ah, well um..." Stuttering a moment, Yuki gulped and just said it straight. "You and your class are in danger, and... it's my fault it's come to this, well, technically it isn't, I just followed the guy here, and, um - oh God I'm making this sound worse..." This raised the bluette's eyebrow, then it furrowed, glaring back cautiously. Yuki waved her hands slightly. "I swear, I didn't mean for this, I... I really don't know who else to turn to concerning any of this, so... okay, here goes,"
Grasping her helmet, with a single twist, the locks lifted and Yuki shook her long hair free, and in seconds her copy's gaze widened larger than plates and her jaw unhinged completely. With a bashful smile, Yuki bowed her head. "I'm Yuki Hiroshi Azuru, the you from well... well another realm," But her smile fell, "And, I really need your help."
"A-A-a-a-aaaaa..." Was about all Yuki got as a reply. The girl then grabbed the sides of her head, and quickly slapped her temples, blinking several times. "Okay, not dreaming, processing... contemplating... err, so... a quirk? Gotta be-"
"My parents are Fuyuki and Mira Hiroshi, I have a younger sister called Nana who often makes people refer to her as 'Mini Yuki'-"
"Much to my chagrin..." The alternate Yuki grumbled, then caught herself. "...holy crap you're actually me, well, me-me!"
Just to be certain, Yuki continued. "My birthday's the twelfth of December, born in the Kyoto Prefecture two weeks early, and my childhood friends were Jura Nakami and Hansuke Benjiro-"
"Wait, 'were'?" Other Yuki held a hand up to pause the rant, that's when a forlorn expression fell onto Yuki's face. "Are... we not?"
"Well, Jura? Certainly, but Hansuke, he's..." She bit her tongue and force a small smile. "Right, you already believed me, though... why?"
"Uh, have you met me? Erm, us? Fuck this is tricky..." Other Yuki was really confused. "Look, okay, so some things aren't adding up, but I think I can tell when I'm lying,"
That was a valid point, one Yuki slapped her forehead for, hissing. "I'm such an idiot..."
"Tell me about it," Other Yuki quipped, crossing her arms. "Putting the mind-breaking reality that other worlds exist aside, why am I in danger, same for my class?"
"That's the part that'll be easier to explain, but first... how do we refer to each other?" Yuki did a back and forth with her finger, then Other Yuki hummed in agreement.
"Well, you're 'Azuru', yeah? So stick to that, I'll go by Hiroshi since, y'know, are my parents' last name, only Izuku calls me 'Yuki' so it shouldn't be an issue if you keep the helmet on, less questions the better," While Hiroshi rambled, she quickly stole a glance at the pained look behind Azuru's eye, it was vacant at first, then swam with a defining emotion; grief. She didn't comment on it, and pretended to move on. "Back on topic, this threat, what's it want?"
"You for some reason, but I can't tell what that would be, do you have a quirk?" Azuru started to question.
"Nope, I'm the first quirkless student at UA, ta-da~" She gestured to her combat outfit. "Meet my Augmented Reinforced Chassis, or A.R.C for short, Mrk III cause a certain blonde-headed Dumb-Dumb busted my Mrk II," Hiroshi ground her teeth at the mention of Katsuki, now realizing they didn't get along yet until later, depending on events. "I swear, how anyone can be his friend astounds me, even Izuku for crying out loud!"
"If only you knew..." "Okay, then if not your quirk, then what?" Azuru had nothing, Fragment was clearly out for them but what was the reason? Blind revenge? Satisfaction? All of it needed to be more concrete than some petty excuse to kill her. "Fragment's wandered time for the last three months, this world has to be the reason..."
"Just gonna gloss over the mention of time travel... What if... it's not just me specifically?" Hiroshi pointed her finger out slowly, mulling it over. "Like, instead of it being something to gain from me, what if he came here because I have something you don't."
Azuru shook her head, "But my power's been locked away, SIVA to him is useless-" She paused, seeing Hiroshi's eyebrow shoot up. "SIVA's not technically a quirk, more like he bonded to me, he's nanotechnology... it's a long story,"
"Sorta like All Might transferring OFA to Izuku?" Ah, so she was aware, that made it easier. Then she gasped, covering her mouth. "Crap, is that true in your world or..." One nod was enough to put Hiroshi's woes at bay. "Okay, crisis adverted - but yeah, so if not a quirk then-"
|Hold on|
"What is it, Siva?" Azuru asked, nudging her head to one side to indicate she was speaking to him. Hiroshi just mouthed, 'it can speak too?'
We're looking at this too narrow-mindedly | It's not you he's so fixed upon | But what you cannot do to stop him
"What do you mean, 'what I can't do to stop him'?" Azuru wasn't following.
Hiroshi is quirkless | The greatest threat to NARA is SIVA | And now, in a world without me bonded to you...
Then it nailed in, Azuru gawking. "...because you're quirkless, you don't have the one power capable of warding off NARA, leaving... everyone else exposed to danger they can't repel," Hiroshi soon mirrored her doubleganger's frightened features. "We need to find him, where's Class A now?"
Hiroshi prodded her thumb back. "USJ, I stopped by the Support Studio to pick up my repairs, hence why I caught your message," Her honest reply suddenly made Azuru pale, her eye's pupil shrunk in size. Her whole world felt ice-cold, her heartrate skyrocketing to her throat. "Is that bad?"
"But I saw you with..." Azuru muttered breathlessly.
"Uh... no I... wasn't...?" Hiroshi slowly caught on.
"He can turn into people," Was all Azuru said. Five words were all Hiroshi, Ghost, and Ceres needed to sink into their heads before the sickening feeling in their stomachs formed.
Elsewhere...
If everyone of Class A were frank, their luck was without question the worst for any first-years of UA's history. Standing relatively spaced out at the central plaza of the USJ, all of them wore tense expressions, a few gave off hateful words at their predicament, but none showed a flicker of fear, they had been here before, this situation was different this time. Mr Aizawa and Midnight were the only Pros present today. The Eraser Hero grumbled a breath. "This is starting to get old..."
"I second that," Midnight huffed, cracking her whip.
Dozens of false Fallen Splicers skulked around the class, all with weapons drawn and pointed at the children and Pros. Their armour shimmered with a gloomy aura, NARA infused down to the marrow as it charged Wire Rifles and Shock Pistols. None made a move, keeping the large group of trainee heroes on edge.
"Why aren't they making a move? They have us surrounded..." Izuku murmured to Kirishima and 'Yuki' at his sides. Shoto standing behind them, frost peeling around his fingertips.
"Maybe someone's giving them the order to hold back for now, but they'll probably react if we make a move," Shoto noted, moving to stand to Kirishima's left. "I can create a large enough wall to cover us briefly but we need everyone to close in first,"
"Not to mention Mr. Aizawa and Midnight are still at the front, how do we tell 'em?" Kirishima asked, Izuku simply wore his calculative expression, reading the room. "I don't think Bakugo will take standing around much longer..."
"Any ideas Yuki?" Izuku asked but didn't look at her. She wore the same, tight grimace as the rest but he didn't see the look in her eyes begin to turn.
"Not yet, let's play this close to the chest, they won't move so use that to come up with a plan, you got this, I believe in you," She encouraged, stepping a little closer to his back, seeing him nod. Such an obedient dog, she mused. It was painfully obvious how infatuated this brat was with Yuki it made her want to hurl. But alas, sacrifices for the cause. She held a knife under her sleeve, keeping it from view of the rest. One good thrust and she'd have done away with one of the tougher adversaries. "While they're confused I'll order these drones to engage but not kill, have to keep them fresh, then I'll pick off that runt with the burn on his eye, maybe the redheaded moron too... ah, such choices,"
~Hello~ The static crackled from several Splicers, the same, eerie tone. ~My name is Fragment, for now, you will all be unharmed, my drones will see to it you aren't harmed... for now, obey my command, and you humans may live with a few... cuts. That is all. Do not try to escape~
It was tacky and lacked that sinister 'oomph' Fragment wanted, but with his target a mere hair away, he could forgo a crafty speech. He only needed a few seconds, just one non-lethal strike and all his wishes would come to pass. His lips curled into a wicked smile, eyes laced with venom and scorn for the starry-eyed boy that had caused his master so many problems. "I hope you'll live, Izuku Midoriya, I wish to see the look on the Thief's face when you die in her arms..." "Just a little more..."
"Huh, what was that?" Izuku craned his neck to look over at Yuki who was a little too close for his timid nature but didn't see the blade beginning to press into the fabric of his costume, soon, he'd be stricken with pain and confusion.
*Schwaff!*
"GRAAAH!" 'Yuki' screamed in pain, recoiling as she lost her grip to the knife, stumbling into the open with a long black throwing knife through her palm, 'blood' dripping out as a blackish-purple substance, akin to oil.
"Y-Yuki!?" Izuku reached to grab her but was pulled back by a wire attached to his shoulder, yanking his arm back as 'Yuki' hissed, pulling the blade free, by now, all of the class had turned to witness what the commotion was. To their absolute shock, Hiroshi approached, disconnecting the wire from her right glove from Izuku's shoulder, her eyes were slit, and brow furrowed with veins bulging from her skin. She was livid. "Huh!? Wha!? Eh!?" Izuku's poor head couldn't take the information.
"Y'know, if there's one thing I hate its the saying 'imitation is the biggest form of flattery', no, all it does is spit on the works of others, there's no creativity, no effort, just a copy without a soul," Hiroshi smirked loftily at the fake her. "Huh, guess I'm not far off with the soul part; so do me a solid and quit wearing my face you ugly bitch,"
"Tch, hehehehahahaha..." 'Yuki' stood up slowly, clapping as the wound on her hand closed up almost instantly. Then, her appearance warped, her eyes were now a reddish-blue, subtle scales peeled from her skin in certain exposed spots, her canines growing before cracking her neck. "Honestly, I should've just killed you but when an opportunity to have these runts isolated popped up I just couldn't let that pass, too many eyes anyhow."
Hiroshi pushed past Izuku, shielding him with a worried and crossed look on her face. "Hurt my friends, or dare pluck a hair from his head, and I'll send you back in pieces you walking scrapyard," Well, she was going to anyway.
'Yuki' stopped laughing, looking overconfident as NARA pumped through her veins. "Oh? And tell me how you intend to do so? You've never fought a Devil Splicer, you're nothing but a quirkless dog who gets by on pretty tricks and gadgets, in the end, you're just as useless as the Thief without SIVA," Her words were like bile being spat in her face. It burned but Hiroshi didn't show it.
"Funny, because without me-" Approaching from the road leading to the exit of the USJ, Azuru walked past the Fallen without so much as a look at their weapons trained on her body. "-your boss is nothing but a rodent surviving off scraps."
That visibly irked Fragment, looking between the two before her scowl turned upright, giggling. "You really did follow me? And you've teamed up? Impressive but others before you tried the same only to suffer and eventually die, withering away under my boots like insects, and you have the audacity to insult my Kell, you Thief? Without him, you'd be a corpse like your parents!"
Azuru didn't say a word, instead, she drew her twin Quickfangs, brandishing them at the Baron as her expressionless helmet tilted toward him. "Mr. Aizawa, Miss. Midnight, keep everyone else safe!" Hiroshi yelled, her gauntlets locked and loaded despite being underdeveloped but they still packed a punch. "We'll take care of this freak!"
"Hirosh-" Eraserhead tried but Azuru put her right sword out to stop him.
"Trust us, I brought this mess to your doorstep, let me clean it up, please," She asked - no, begged her teacher. He reluctantly turned to face the Splicers who started to mobilize. "The students' safety comes first, right?"
"This isn't over, but for now, we'll compromise," He grunted, tugging at his scarf. "Class Rep, get them in order, we're clearing our way through."
"Of course, sir!" Iida saluted as the howls and chatter of Fallen echoed around them.
Fragment cackled, holding one claw up as metal and wire peeled back his skin and flesh, wrapping the limb in black while NARA bled from the gaps, snaking between plates as his face twisted into a sadistic grin. "All that oppose my Master's will shall be crushed, those that falsify NARA will have their bodies consumed as I feast on their blood like a fine wine!" The sheer malice and lack of empathy behind every word was enough to sicken any nearby, the very aura he produced dark and warped by the nanomachines around him. "I am the blood-starved Baron, Fragment, and by sundown, I will consume your strength and add it to my own!"
It was a collision between Class A, Pros, two Yukis, a Baron and his Splicers. Neither side knew who made the first move, all that could be heard was the sounds of shouting and the collision of metal and fire that swept the world under a burning glare as darkness rose from below.
To Be Continued...
A bit shorter but the big showdown is coming with lots to see as we begin to wrap up Yuki's arc as she teams up with herself to duke it out with the sadistic Baron. Who will come out on top? And is mimicry the only ability of Fragment's? I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Guardians!
Next Chapter Intermission: But now I'm found
In a desperate battle to free SIVA from Detainment, can Hiroshi and Azuru defeat Fragment while protecting their friends from the Splicers, or will it all be in vain...?