Momo Yaoyorozu reeled backwards, stumbling over her own feet in an effort to retain her balance as the ground seemed to tilt underneath her. Looking up a flicker of movement was all the warning she had to dodge to the side causing the three throwing knives that would have struck her to instead go wide. However the knives didn't miss completely as Momo's dodge had been more of a drunken stumble out of the way of the attack rather than an expertly executed evasion, the knives leaving deep cuts on the right side of her cloak exposing the pale alabaster skin of the midriff underneath.
Momo's attackers didn't give the girl a chance to recover, instead the ravenette was forced to duck underneath a diamond encrusted fist that passed through the space her head had occupied just moments before. Thrusting her right hand forward, palm open, Momo crafted a staff, the steel pole smashing into the exposed throat of Yu Hojo. The bald man with a simple white surgical mask collapsed to the floor clutching at his neck, the crystals that comprised the man's quirk shattering into sparkling dust as his quirk deactivated.
The man's convulsions brought Momo a few seconds and she quickly retreated backwards creating space between her and her attackers using the brief respite to analyze her situation and surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a large training room, tan tatami mats covering the floors and brown protective padding coated the wooden walls, the kind you would find in a gym or exercise room. Large fluorescent light strips were set at evenly spaced intervals in the ceiling and flooded the room with artificial light. There were two doors in the room, a simple metal one to her right that was likely a storage room or supply closet and a more traditional sliding door in front of her made out of rice paper that was decorated with various scenes of nature. The latter was likely the exit to the room but a simple obstacle kept her from reaching it, between her and the door were six of the eight Precepts of Death, five if you ignored the man writhing about in pain on the floor.
Speaking of the Precepts the monk was crouching down over Hojo seemingly to check on the man's condition. Standing to the right of the two from Momo's perspective was the drunk Sakaki who, as Momo watched, took a swig from his bottle of sake. To the left of the duo was Tabe the man in a mock scarecrow mask whose quirk let him eat anything. The last two members of the Precepts stood in front of Hojo and Tengai; Kendo Rappa smashed his hands together and even from across the room Momo could practically feel the man's battle lust leaking out. However her teeth ground together when her eyes finally landed on the seeming acting leader of the group Toya Setsuno.
As she watched the blond man casually swung the rapier she'd created when she had first been dropped into the room around testing the saber out. Momo's shield lay discarded behind her, the mobile defense having been severely damaged upon receiving a single punch from Rappa; the man's attack had been so strong it left a physical imprint on the metal face of the shield in the rough shape of the man's fist.
A slight tug on her newly crafted staff had the ravenette tightening her grip around the metal pole, however her efforts were in vain; it was as if the pole had been scrubbed in butter and despite her best efforts the girl could only watch angrily as the staff left her hand floating over to Setsuo's free outstretch one.
The man closed his left hand around the staff the second it hit his palm and swung the weapon around a few times experimentally before tossing it aside. The staff bounced off the floor for a second before it began to roll, only stopping when it impacted the wall next to the exit door where it came to rest.
"Ah, ah, ah," the blond chided, wagging his finger as if he was scolding a misbehaving child. "We don't want any of that now so be a good girl and keep those weapons stored away in whatever pocket you keep pulling them out of."
"Let her summon them," the ex-underground fighter Rappa ordered as he cracked his knuckles. "It makes the fight that much more fun."
"You know what the Young Master ordered Rappa," the monk Tekiji said looking up from Hojo's body which had finally stopped writhing about although Momo could still see the occasional twitch from the man. "We are to deal with those who stand out and buy him time until we are ordered to retreat."
"Yeah, yeah, but we are dealing with her," the man complained, gesturing in Momo's direction as he turned to look at Tekiji. "I wanna fight her but it won't be any fun if Setsuno keeps taking her weapons while Sakaki," here Rappa gestured to the man drinking from his bottle of sake, "makes her too unbalanced to fight back."
"We are obeying the Young Master's command," Tekiji hissed. "Overhaul gave us orders-"
"SCREW THE ORDERS!" Rappa yelled, turning to face the man who created a yellow protective barrier around himself and Hojo, seemingly ready to protect the two of them from the wrath of their own teammate if needed. "I haven't had a decent fight in ages so don't get involved in this one."
"Fine." Setsuno's voice rang out, the two turning to face him. "Go ahead Rappa, fight the girl. I promise that none of us will get involved in your little battle with her."
"But-"
"I said no Tekiji," Setsuno spoke as he shot the monk a glare. "Overhaul's instructions, his orders were clear. We are to delay whoever Mimic sends to us and then retreat once we get the signal. Rappa fighting the girl will only waste more time, time that Chisaki can use to get away with Eri."
'Eri?' Momo questioned as she gritted her teeth and shifted her body to brace herself for the impending onslaught from the ex-underground fighter. 'Who's that?'
The white haired girl with crimson eyes clutched the sleeve of the man who carried her not understanding what was going on. She had been in her room, curled into a ball on her bed from the most recent 'session' just the day before when Overhaul and Chrono (she couldn't say his full name) had come for her.
At first she'd thought that it was already time for the next one, she didn't understand what happened in the room, what they did to her, all she knew was that it hurt. It hurt and hurt and hurt and hurt and hurt andhurtandhurtandhurtandhurthurthurthurthurthurthurthurtHuRtHuRThUrTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURTHURT!
However this time when the two had arrived it had been painfully obvious that something different was happening. When Overhaul normally came there was always an undertone of something in his voice, like he was excited to be doing a 'session' with her. This time though he had been unduly serious, not even speaking to her, just telling Chrono to "get her so we can go". The young girl thought it might have something to do with the strange rumblings that had begun a while ago causing the room to shake, knocking over the unopened toys her string of makeshift guardians had gotten her. Or maybe it was related to the strange noises she could hear through the vents (the ones that had been made too small for her after she had tried to escape by crawling through one of them).
Either way Overhaul and Chrono had taken her from the room and begun leading her to a part of the base she'd never seen before. She'd been quiet and listened, hoping to find out what was going on, but all she'd gleamed was that there was some kind of attack and the Shie Hassaikai, according to Chrono, were doomed. That had made the white haired girl want to shout for joy but Overhaul's response that he would be fine as long as he had her made the girl pale instead, burrowing just a little bit further into Chrono's arms in the hope that they would finally offer some form of protection from the man responsible for her seemingly endless torment. For a faint single moment the girl thought that Chrono clutched her tightly, possessively, protectively, but it was only her imagination.
Then a shout had rung out through the corridor they were strolling through "CHISAKIII!" causing the trio to turn around. Looking back her crimson eyes had seen a boy with dark green hair and pale skin dressed in a black t-shirt and similarly colored pants staring with hatred at her captor.
"Chrono go on ahead," Overhaul had said as removed one of his gloves, "this will only take a moment." Chrono had bowed before doing as his master commanded, hurrying the girl away to safety.
The two walked down the rest of the hallway and rounded a corner where Chrono suddenly stopped. Tilting his head the man seemed to listen to the sounds coming from back down the corridor. Curious, the young girl did the same, closing her eyes to focus on listening. She could hear a rumble and grunts of exertion although she was unable to distinguish just who the noises were coming from. A mumbling caused the young girl to open her eyes and turn her crimson gaze on the person holding her in his arms. She was surprised to see that Chrono, who had always followed Overhaul's commands without complaint, seemed torn between obeying and going back.
"I have to help him," Chrono muttered and to her surprise the man after another moment of deliberation had actually set her on the ground. "Eri," Chrono said and Eri was surprised by how soft the man's voice was, lacking the usual emotionless harshness she'd come to associate with it, "I have to go back. I'm sorry for what Overhaul did to you and I'm sorry I didn't stop him but what is happening here is bigger than either of us. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let Overhaul keep tearing you apart. If you go that way," Chrono said, gesturing down the hallway they'd turned into, "you'll come to a set of stairs that will let you out in an alleyway. Take them and get as far away from here as you can." Turning around Chrono grabbed the corner of the wall peeking around it to look towards the fight.
She didn't believe him; it had to be a trap of some kind, a trick to get her to lower her guard so they could have another 'session'. "Well what are you waiting for? Go!" Chrono's shout shook Eri out of her thoughts and her legs started pumping before her brain could understand the words she'd heard. She ran down the corridor casting suspicious glances over her shoulder as she went.
The first glance showed Chrono standing there on the corner of the intersection, one hand reaching into the depths of his cloak. The next showed Chrono twirling some kind of blade in his hand peeking around the corridor, looking at something she was unable to see. The third glance showed nothing, except for her the corridor was empty and it was at that point she reached the stairs. In her eagerness Eri didn't run up the stairs, she scrambled climbing on all fours using her hands and feet in a mad rush to escape everything these sterile white tunnels and haunting bird masks represented.
Momo tumbled head over heels as she hit the floor rolling until she came to a stop. Groaning, she forced her aching body to its feet, her left arm hanging limply by her side sprained if not broken entirely. During the fight her hood had fallen down exposing her ravenette hair which was mattered down and slick from her own blood. Her kabuki mask was cracked and broken around her right eye, the onyx orb underneath almost completely swollen shut from a punch Momo hadn't been able to dodge after said attack had shattered the shield she'd formed for protection. All in all Momo was currently in the process of losing, badly.
'So this is the difference between training and experience,' Momo thought grimly as she focused her only working eye on Rappa. The ex-underground fighter was faring much better than his opponent with several slight cuts over his torso and arms most of which were leaking thin trails of blood. In fact the only real notable injury to the man was the fact that he was now missing his left ring finger and pinky.
Momo had been on the defensive for the majority of the 'fight,' if it could even be called that. All she had done was create shield after shield, each of which had been weaker than the last. The cuts on Rappa were from a small knife she'd made to compliment her shield but so far the cuts were proving ineffective against the larger man.
A pattern had started to form in their fight, Rappa would leap forward and destroy her shield, a barrage of blows reducing the metal to little more than a piece of scrap. Momo would then slice at Rappa and cut him causing the man to leap back to avoid getting cut more during which time she would create a new shield, repeat as necessary. However her constant production of shields was beginning to take a toll on the reserves of fat the ravenette had stored up.
Momo was just grateful that she had stocked up before the raid, eating a veritable feast of fatty foods from American pizza and burgers to a literal buffet of desserts such as cake, ice cream, brownies, cookies, and more. If it wasn't for the fact that the fat she ate seemed to go to certain areas of her body causing them to grow Momo was sure she would have the appearance of a beached whale. But then again so would her father, and all those who'd held the quirk before them so maybe it was actually a minor power of the quirk, huh, now that was an interesting idea, food for thought if she was somehow able to survive long enough to consider it.
After her third shield had broken under the onslaught of Rappa's attacks Momo had begun to rethink her plan of defending herself. Rappa's quirk Strongarm allowed the man to rotate his shoulders at superhuman speeds but tired Rappa out when he overused his quirk. Momo had originally planned to just endure the man's onslaught and then go on the offensive once he wore himself out but if she kept going the way she was now she was going to be pulverized before she even got the chance.
So when she crafted her fourth shield she made a trap, the edges were metal, hard and solid, but the center was made out of rice paper gray in color to appear like it was made out of metal. Rappa attacked just like Momo knew he would and just as she'd planned his left fist went straight through the center of the shield with Momo dropping down to avoid the punch as he did so.
For a moment Rappa stood there dumbfounded and confused, something Momo took full advantage of. Turning from her crouch on the floor she swung her arm around crafting a knife in her hand midswing. The blade cut true severing the pinkie and ring finger from Rappa's left hand but Momo was unable to cut any further before the man recovered from his shock.
Faster than Momo's eyes could follow Rappa's right arm slammed into the Creation girl's side and it was all Momo could do to get her left arm up in a weak defense. The attack threw her backwards to where she now lay, watching Rappa pull the band of metal that had formed her trap off his left arm before crushing it.
As Momo pulled herself to her feet panting as she held her injured arm, Rappa looked at the stubs that were formerly his fingers before looking at Momo with a savage glee. "Good. Good! GOOD!" He screamed in frantic excitement charging at Momo in a bullheaded rush. As he began to let punches fly Momo held her arms up defensively and could only endure as the man let loose on her. She lasted all of five seconds before a punch slipped through her guard and hit her square in the stomach. Hunching over instinctively, Momo was unprepared for the knee to the face that Rappa followed up with, grabbing her shoulders to pull her down before letting go of her once the attack impacted. But Rappa wasn't done as the ravenette reeled back the man launched a kick which his dead center into the girl's face, cracking the kabuki mask even more.
Knocked backwards once more Momo cried out in pain when her back hit the wall. While the padding dulled the impact somewhat Momo still couldn't contain the bile that came out at the sudden high speed to a dead stop. Sitting up her head woozy, the room seemed to spin around her. Momo tried to stand only to collapse to the ground in a heap.
Slowly, oh so slowly the ravenette extended a hand against the wall and managed to gingerly pull herself to her feet. Her left arm was a deep blue almost purple from bruising and was clearly broken so badly that Momo's half unconscious mind was surprised that there weren't bones sticking out of it. Her right arm wasn't as badly off; although it was bright red and hurt to move it wasn't the agonizing pain that came with the slightest jostle that was her left arm at the moment.
Momo wasn't able to do anything more as a hand wrapped around her hair pulling her up so her feet dangled off the ground leaving the ravenette helpless in the air. Momo found herself face to face with Rappa. She could see the man's eyes through the holes in his mask, they were wild, crazed and it took Momo's rattled brain a moment to realize that it was the man's hunger for battle shining through.
"Come one give me more!" Rappa yelled slamming Momo into the wall hard enough that the girl was forced to gasp for air sending spittle and bile flying. "Is that all you've got? Come on, punch me! Kick me! FIGHT ME!" With each demand Rappa would emphasize his point with another slam into the wall but Momo barely reacted. She could only groan weakly, causing a blood bubble that had formed around her now exposed nose to pop as she weakly raised her right hand, laying it against Rappa's chest in a futile effort to push the man away before going limp in his arms. The man dropped Momo's body in disgust although whether from the sprinkling of blood that now covered the front of his body or from the girl's apparent weakness it was unclear.
Rappa walked back towards the Eight Bullets in disgust shaking his head while he muttered about how disappointing the fight had been and criminals who thought they were stronger than they actually were before falling silent, a look of confusion on his face. "Does anyone else hear that?"
The other members of the Eight Bullets who had been coming forward to congratulate the man stopped and looked around in confusion. In the silence a low rhythmic beeping soft enough that it had been able to be covered by Rappa's rant could be heard.
"Beep...Beep...Beep"
"Whaz that?" Sakaki slurred, stumbling slightly as he raised a finger to point at Rappa's chest. Following the drunken man's direction the Bullets turned their attention to the man who was looking down as he cocked his head to the side in confusion.
A dry laugh interrupted the mens focus and they quickly turned to where the body of the woman Rappa had just beaten lay, or rather where it had been lying. For sitting propped up against the wall was Momo who had removed her broken mask leaving it to lie discarded on the ground beside her. "What's so funny?" Setsuno asked as he moved up to stand beside Rappa, incorporating the man back into their ranks despite his earlier promise. "You're defeated, in no condition to fight and are going to die. We'd have left you if you had just stayed quiet and played dead, so what are you up to?"
Momo's reply was to smile exposing her teeth, dyed red in her own blood. She began to laugh quietly but had to stop to spit out a wad of blood, the dark crimson a sharp contrast against the tan tatami mats covering the floor. Her lack of a response made Setsuno that much more cautious and the man opened his mouth to tell the others to be quiet when Rappa who'd been unusually quiet let out a roar although whether of fury that the girl was proving so frustrating to take down or of joy that the fight might not yet be over Setsuno didn't know.
Reaching out a hand Setsuno was only able to get out a quick "Rappa no," before the man charged forward towards the downed girl in what clearly appeared to be a trap of some kind. Before he could even react the girl's smile which had been a small grin grew splitting her face almost maniacally. Holding up the hand at the end of her unbroken arm which had been resting on the ground beside her Setsuno was able to make out a shape the man instantly recognized as a detonator. As he raised his hand and began to activate his quirk, already knowing it was too late Setsuno just had time to make out a single word the girl spoke as the yellow dome of Tengai's Barrier covered him protectively, "Boom." Then the world in front of him exploded.
Izuku leapt backwards dodging a plethora of spikes that sprouted from the ground around him, narrowly avoiding being turned into a green haired shish kabob. It was only thanks to his months spent training with Momo that Izuku was even still alive. If he still had the baby fat and agility that came with a life spent cooped up in his room staring at videos of heroes then Izuku likely would have ended up on the end of a spike the first time Overhaul used his quirk.
As it was, Izuku was still being pushed to his limits to dodge the spikes Overhaul created as he used his quirk to deconstruct and then reconstruct the ground around him. The man hadn't even moved or changed his pattern at all; he merely knelt there on one knee glaring at Izuku over his plague mask as he overhauled his surroundings, shaping them to suit his needs. The worst part was it was working. Izuku might have a better physicality than he had months ago with more muscles and stamina than he could ever have imagined possessing but he was still human. He could still get tired, get hurt, get killed, and having to dodge spikes as they appeared to avoid being run through by them was beginning to physically take its toll.
Dodging out of the way of another spike Izuku slipped on the smooth floor, it was a fatal mistake and he could feel the smile underneath Overhaul's mask as he fell. "Got you," Overhaul muttered as the ground underneath Izuku began to break apart.
A movement to his left out of the corner of his eye caused Overhaul to turn and it was instinct more than anything that caused the masked man to raise his arm defensively. As a result the knife that had been aimed at the man's spinal cord instead bit deep into the young Yakuza's left wrist cutting half way through the limb before stopping.
For a moment Overhaul and his attacker battled, each attempting to overpower the other, but as Overhaul's eyes interpreted who he was fighting they widened in surprise, and the man, instinctively, for a single moment, relaxed just the slightest bit upon seeing a familiar mask.
That brief moment of weakness was all the time Chronostasis needed to push his blade the rest of the way through Overhaul's wrist, severing the appendage from the man's arm. Said hand seemed to fall to the ground in slow motion, it's impact with the ground sending droplets of blood flying, dying the clean floors an eerie polka dot red.
For a moment everyone's eyes, including Overhaul's, followed the appendage's descent and during that time Chronostasis , the only one who hadn't turned his attention to the falling hand, struck again driving a second knife that seemed to appear in his left hand from nowhere into the underside of Kai's other wrist forcing it off the ground and saving Izuku's life, buying the greenete the time needed to scramble to his feet where he dusted himself off. However this time Overhaul reacted, stepping back away from his attacker the masked man yanked his arm upwards in an attempt to free it from the blade piercing through it.
For a moment it looked like the young boss would succeed, but it seemed like luck was not with the auburn haired man as Chronostasis tightened his grip on the knife in response. Growling in frustration Overhaul wrenched his arm to the side and managed to succeed in tearing his arm free of the knife, but severed the entire right side of the wrist in the process. This meant his only remaining right hand was attached to his arm by only a few centimeters of muscle, bone, and sinew on the left side of the man's wrist.
Seeing Overhaul step backwards not only in pain but to create distance between his attacker Chronostasis retreated to hopping backwards to stand protectively in front of Izuku who after regaining his feet had stood watching the entire exchange with his hands in his pockets and a knowing smirk across his face. "You aren't Chrono," Overhaul growled, as he retreated backwards trying to push the pain both physical and mental from his head, "who are you? Where's Chrono?!"
"He's dead," Chrono spoke and Overhaul gritted his teeth as Chrono delivered the news of his own demise. "I captured him when you sent him out to spy on Team Reservoir Dogs. Finding a guy in a plague mask wasn't all that hard to do." fake Chrono said thoughtfully, raising his right hand as he tapped his chin with his pointer finger. "He was so loyal too, refused to talk, or at least he did until I started removing body parts. He was able to withstand losing his toes but it was the fingers that got him. Of course he tried to use his quirk but a quick once over with a razor to shave his head and well," the fake Chrono's finger fell as he lowered his head fixing Overhaul with what the man knew to be a bloodthirsty grin behind his mask, "he might as well have been quirkless."
Overhaul stilled momentarily at the jab. One of his favorite things to rant about was how quirks were a disease. Blame his mysophobia or fear of germs but Kai genuinely believed the old theory that quirks originated from rats and then spread to humans. History had shown how deadly a plague carried by the vermin and their fleas could be, the Black Death serving as a prime example. Hell the U.A. principal was a fucking rat, that might as well be evidence right there when you considered how few animals actually possessed quirks.
Overhaul's true plan, the one he kept to himself, was to eradicate quirks entirely. If quirks were a disease then he was the doctor coming to deliver the medicine to take them away and treat the illness people didn't know that they had. It was all possible thanks to Eri, wait a moment, if Chrono or whoever was imitating him was here then, "Where's Eri?" Overhaul growled as he took another step backwards. He reached backwards with his still usable right hand for the wall he'd been slowly backing towards but before he could touch it a knife struck the wall just inches away from his hand causing him to recoil.
"Now, now," faux Chrono said, his voice carrying a trace of humor despite the disappointed head shake he was currently doing, "behave, we don't want there to be an accident do we?" The man's voice became more serious, "As for the girl, she's out of your reach." Once more the fake shook his head although this time it was more tight, as if he was trying to keep himself from attacking Overhaul who noticed the man's fists were clenched tightly at his side. "Seriously experimenting on a child, a fucking six year old! Did you seriously not expect me to get her as far away from you as I could before coming back to help?"
"You experimented on a child?" The voice was low and looking towards it both Chrono and Overhaul found the greenete who'd been there the entire time trembling, his fists now out of his pockets and clenched by his side as his head hung low, green locks obscuring the boy's eyes from view.
For a moment Overhaul pondered not answering the boy but as he took in the teens' posture the basics of a plan started to form in his head. The boy was clearly emotional at the thought of what Overhaul might have done, and that, was something Overhaul could use. "Yes, yes I did," he bragged, "it was for the greater good after all. With her reviving the Shie Hassaiaki, the dream the Boss had, was possible. Of course I had to harvest what I needed from her…" Chisaki trailed off meaningfully leaving the bait hanging out in the open.
"Harvest?" The greenete's voice was low but Kai couldn't contain the dark grin that grew underneath his mask at the question.
"Yes harvest," Overhaul said, his voice cheerful as if he was having a friendly conversation with a neighbor about the weather. "I needed her blood, bone marrow, and quite a few bits and pieces that I could only get from her if I, well, went digging around inside of her if you get what I mean."
Kai watched as the greenete began to tremble angrily. The fake Chrono meanwhile was looking back and forth between the two men, clearly confused, trying to understand what Overhaul was up to.
"Her kidneys, liver, some bones (the whole thing mind you not some shavings or shards) and I think I even took her brain stem at one point, don't remember what I needed if for but," Overhaul shrugged nonchalantly, "the more you know right. Everything were needed to help me in my research. It was just my luck I had the perfect quirk for it…" he trailed off once again as the green haired boy's face flew up his eyes wide at the full realization of what Chisaki meant. Just one more push; Overhaul held up his left arm, elbow bent so the stump where his missing hand had been was evident for all to see right next to his face, "It was so easy to harvest what I needed when I deconstructed her very body. Cut her wide open so I could get in there and get what I needed. Then a touch of my hand once I was done and poof, all better. A cow as good as new, ready and waiting for it's next slaughter. She felt everything of course, can you imagine it? Being a six year old and feeling as your body morphed again and again against your will with you trapped inside unable to do anything but able to feel everything. After the third time," the greenete looked like it was taking all his restraint to keep from trying to tear Overhaul's head off; the slightest touch of a finger on the metaphorical trigger would set him off. However Overhaul didn't lay a finger on the greenete's button; he slammed his fist down on it, "she didn't even bother to scream."
"Izuku no," Chrono yelled, reaching out towards the boy but it was too late. With a roar of righteous anger, Izuku charged forward, drawing back his arm in for a straightforward punch at Overhaul's face. Overhaul grinned holding up his only remaining hand. Izuku's eyes widened as his brain finally realized the trap he'd fallen straight into but it was too late, his hand was already moving forward and there was nothing Izuku could do to take it back.
Chrono screamed, a shout of "NOOO!" echoing down the otherwise deserted hallway. Flesh met flesh. Overhaul activated his quirk. And Izuku fell backwards as the sterile white walls that surrounded the three were dyed crimson from the red blood splattering onto them.
As the dust cleared Tengai let his Barrier fall; both he and the other Bullets mentally thanking Overhaul's mysophobia making the man require that they wear some form of mask, without it the dust and smoke in the air would have seen the Bullets on their hands and knees coughing out a lung. As it was they were forced to wait until the dust settled and the smoke escaped the room through the ventilation system. When it all finally dispersed and the four remaining Bullets could see, none of them were able to control their shock at the sight that awaited them.
Momo still rested against the wall where she'd been lying, a shield the girl had obviously created in an attempt to protect herself falling to the floor with a muted thud revealing the ravenette's unconscious body. Red burns on her exposed skin and a light smattering of char showed where the heat and flames of the explosion had managed to get around her improvised defense. However the main focus of the group was on Rappa.
As an underground fighter Rappa had been renowned for his physicality, sometimes not even using his quirk and relying on only his natural strength instead to pound his opponents into the ground. Where other heroes and even some villains relied on specialized gear or gadgets to assist them in a fight Rappa relied only on his body. He had trained it for years and combined with his quirk it was not a lie to say that Rappa was a massive threat at close range, easily stronger than most minor villains and low ranking pro heroes.
It was this power that had made Overhaul seek Rappa out, entering into the ring with the man only for him to best the reigning champion with a mere touch of his hand. Since then Rappa had challenged Overhaul no less than seven times only to be beaten again and again. Unlike the other Bullets he didn't follow Overhaul because the man gave him a purpose, no, he did it because he wanted to fight the man and emerge victorious. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now Rappa's once proud body was black from the fire that had erupted from his stomach. Despite obviously being unconscious the man had somehow remained standing, the light rise and fall of the upper chest the only sign he was even still alive. His shirt was gone, disintegrated in the blast, and he was clothed only in the tattered remains of his pants which somehow managed to preserve the man's modesty. Black strips, the remnants of what was once his mask clung to Rappa's head although it was unclear whether that was because they had survived the blast or because the heat had been so hot that they'd melted and hardened on the man's bare skin. Rappa's normal brownish orange hair was charred leaving him bald in some spots and coloring the rest of his hair the color of soot but the worst of all was the man's stomach which resembled something from a horror film. The sound of retching reached Setsuno's ears and the man turned to see Tengai on the ground having removed his mask so he could vomit without the barrier his mask created. Turning back to look at Rappa, Setsuno felt tempted to join him as bile rose in his own throat.
The explosion hadn't only gone outwards, it had gone inwards as well. The skin on Rappa's stomach was practically gone, vaporized from the blast exposing the vulnerable internal organs and bones within, the liver, the stomach, the intestine, a kidney, and what might be a lung. Visible burns marred said organs and the bones of Rappa's ribs were dusted black from ash and char. Dark red blood, so dark it was practically black, dripped from the gaping wound to the floor below joining the growing puddle beneath the man turning the now blackened floor crimson. "Why isn't he bleeding more?" Tabe whispered.
"The wound is cauterized," Tengai replied, his voice broken, like the man was dead inside. Hearing this Setsuno turned to find the man who'd been vomiting only moments ago reaffixing his mask to his face before continuing, although the former monk made sure to look everywhere but at Rappa. "The heat by some miracle-"
"Or curse," Setsuno couldn't help but mutter to softly for the others to hear.
"-sealed most of the veins and arteries as it damaged them. That's why he isn't bleeding even more."
"But this is bad," Tabe said as he began to pace around his hands pulling at his mask as if it was constraining him. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! He's bleeding and I can see his fucking organs for Gods sake!" the man in a scarecrow mask said gesturing to Rappa's open stomach. "We need to get him out of here, to a hospital, or a doctor. To Overhaul, something."
"Whyyy?" Sakaki whined, as the drunkard stumbled forward to lean on Setsuno who pushed the man off him in disgust. "He lost which means he failllleddddd. And we all know how Overhaul treats failures," the man said, his voice at the end sounding almost sober.
"Indeed," Tengai added and turning Setsuno found the monk with his gaze firmly locked onto a spot on the wall which had somehow avoided being burned. "It would be best both for him and for us if we left him here."
"But he's a member of the Bullets," Tabe protested, "he's our teammate, our friend. We can't just leave him here; he'll die."
"And I know that!" Tengai yelled, spinning around to glare at Tabe, actually opening his eyes as he did so. "You think I want to leave him when we can help. It goes against the very things I believed in as a monk to do so but trust me, my fear of Overhaul is greater than my desire to help somebody who's already dead."
"Setsuno," Tabe begged, turning to the blond man. "We have to help him, right?"
Setsuno opened his mouth to answer only to close it before opening it again. However he was saved from answering as the room began to shake and dust began to fall from the ceiling. As the quartet looked upwards all of them watched in both fascination and horror as five massive claws not unlike those of a mole penetrated the ceiling sending both rubble and dust falling down towards those below. Setsuno's sharp eyes were able to make out several bodies amongst the rubble including Mimic's as the roof was torn off above them.
Tengai quickly formed a barrier around the Bullets although as large pieces of concrete and rubble bounced off the yellow shield Setsuno could see the strain it was having on him. As the ceiling finally gave way and collapsed completely a large, monstrous form fell down into the room sending a wave of dust blasting outwards.
The air pressure of the wave was to much for Tengai when added to the strain the man was already feeling from blocking the falling rubble and the barrier fell sending the Bullets and Rappa's unconscious body flying backwards, the unconscious ex-underground fighter landing on his back next to Hojo who was forcing himself to stand, rubbing his throat unconsciously in the hope of alleviating some of the pain he was still feeling from when Momo had almost crushed it. As the other four Bullets still in fighting condition stood up to join him the five took in the new arrival, only now revealed as the dust once more began to settle.
The creature was 40 feet tall and it was only thanks to the collapsed ceiling that the behemoth wasn't forced to crouch down to fit into the room. He had spiky brown hair and parts of his body appeared to be jagged, much like rock. He was clad only in a pair of black shorts that hugged his lower body tightly but the most unsettling thing about him was how his teeth and fingers protruded from his body, jutting out at unnatural, almost painful, looking angles.
As they gazed upon the titan before them primal instincts awoke within each of the Bullets. Their very bodies, the cells within them screamed DANGER in capital letters. This thing before them wasn't human, it was a monster, a demon and if they fought it the Bullets had no doubt that they would lose. It was all they could do to remain standing perfectly still, paralyzed from raw terror as the creature seemed to sniff the air. "Not here," the creature mumbled, it's voice rough and grating. "Not here, but near. Close." The creature seemed to sniff again and the Bullets watched with horrified fascination as it turned away from them, focusing on the limp body of the girl they'd been fighting minutes before. "Assistant." the creature muttered, reaching out with a giant hand it plucked the girl from the ground lifting her up to examine her at eye level several stories above the ground.
"Hurt." the creature noted before sniffing again, "Smells like others, targets." and the Bullets could only stand still as the gaze of the creature turned to them. As they watched the creature set the girl gingerly down on the ground only for a black ooze-like substance to immediately emerge from her lips. The liquid enveloped the girl's body completely before dissipating and before the Bullet's eyes both the girl and the liquid were gone leaving the five alone with the titan whose gaze was focused solely on them. However as great as their fear for the monster in front of them was there was another they feared even more and so as gigantic claws sprouted from the behemoth's fingers and his body seemed to grow even larger - if that was at all possible - the Bullets braced themselves for the fight that was sure to follow.
Izuku fell backwards landing on his rear with a small thump, his eyes were the size of saucers as he stared at the scene before him. The slight widening of Overhaul's eyes was the only visible sign that the young boss of the Yakuza was surprised as well. Together the two watched as Chrono fell towards the floor in seemingly slow motion, the bare, bleeding stump that protruded a few centimeters from his shoulder the only sign of what was once Chrono's right arm.
As he fell towards the ground Overhaul was surprised to see a gray slime cover Chrono or rather seem to emerge from the man. As he watched the man's clothes and outline seemed to dissolve, hiding the figure within for a moment before the slimy 'cocoon' burst apart. Overhaul felt his eyes widen in surprise as he saw his lieutenant, second-in-command, and childhood friend turn into a blonde haired girl. Oh and said girl was nude, that seemed important especially considering stains made up of the gray slime - which Overhaul highly suspected related to her quirk in some way given what had just happened - covered her inner thighs and the front of her ample breasts preserving er modesty and protecting nipples from view.
The surprising sight of what could be called Kai's best and only real friend transforming into a nude teenage girl caused the young man to, once again lower his guard, and just like before the blonde didn't hesitate to take advantage of his moment of weakness. Her left arm might have been torn away into nothingness but she still had her right one and she didn't hesitate to use it. A knife appeared in her grasp and the girl turned herself mid-fall to slash vertically upwards at Chisaki in a desperate attempt to sever what was left of his right wrist.
However Overhaul recovered faster than he did last time and leaned backwards pulling his right arm out of the girl's reach. However that didn't deter the girl, instead the blonde changed her attack's trajectory, her slash instead slicing through Overhaul's left cheek. Continuing upwards the attack severed the strings on Overhaul's plague mask causing it to fall to the ground but that wasn't all as just before she was forced to pull away to keep from overextending her blade managed to reach Overhaul's eye.
As the golden orb burst Overhaul screamed pain erupted within him that when combined with his already missing limb and injured wrist overwhelmed his mind. Clutching at his face with his stump and remaining hand, Overhaul couldn't think straight. All he could focus on was the pain not even thinking to activate his quirk to heal himself so overwhelming was it. His pain and panic only worsened when the man realized his mask was gone which meant blood was now dotting his face. Overhaul's mysophobia, the fear it brought, allowed the man to finally focus. Slamming his hand into the ground a plethora of spikes erupted forcing the girl back. Directing his pain, rage, and fear at the one who'd undone all his hard work Overhaul took control of himself slowly, deliberately, walking towards where his severed hand lay on the ground. Picking it up Overhaul brought his hand towards his face, ignoring the blood that splattered onto him and the pain the action brought as he activated his quirk on himself.
To call the battle between Gigantomachia, Toya Setsuno, Yu Hojo, Soramitsu Tabe, Hekiji Tengai, and Deidoro Sakaki a fight would be a vast overstatement of what occurred between them. It was not a fight or even a battle, hell it could barely be called a skirmish. As Tengai would later recall it was nothing short of a full scale slaughter.
The giant charged forward with seemingly no regard for his own protection. Sakaki activated his quirk Sloshed but the giant didn't even stumble instead bringing his right arm in front of his body in preparation to attack. Tengai quickly activated Barrier but as the titan brought his arm around for a powerful backhand the protective shield might as well have been made of styrofoam for all the good it did. The massive hand caught Tengai in the chest and sent the man flying into the wall hard enough to leave a crater where he impacted. For a moment Tengai hung there two and a half feet off the ground, held aloft only by how deep in the surface he was embedded before falling forward and collapsing to the floor unconscious.
The other Bullets dodged the attack either going under, around or in Sakaki's case diving through the large fingers of the titan's hand. Drawing his throwing knives from within his cloak Sakaki let loose a barrage at the giant's face forcing the creature to raise it's left hand to protect his vulnerable eyes. While the monster was occupied, Hojo charged forward activating his quirk causing crystals to grow over his arms, head, and back. Setsuno joined him, summoning the rapier that had been discarded earlier back to his grasp. Together the two attacked one of the giant's exposed feet only for their attacks to bounce off, unable to penetrate the tough muscle of Gigantomachia's body, a byproduct of another one of the man's quirks.
However just because their attacks didn't penetrate didn't mean that they didn't hit and Gigantomachia was able to feel the pressure their attacks caused just fine. Like a human swatting an annoying bug the giant swung his leg forward catching both the Bullets in their surprised state sending them reeling head over heels, unconscious before they even hit the wall.
"No…" a soft voice whispered and it was only Gigantomachia's enhanced senses that allowed him to hear the noise. Turning towards it the giant caught sight of Tabe who was furiously scratching at the neck of his sack. "No, no, no, NO!"
Letting out a scream of maddened fury Tabe rushed forward the front of his mask splitting apart to expose the man's mouth. "You won't hurt them!" Tabe screamed as he closed his mouth, biting down into one of the claws that Gigantomachia had swung his way, crushing it like the claw was a potato chip. "I'll devour you before you can."
Focusing solely on Tabe Gigantomachia deactivated his claws and raised his left arm skyward before bringing it down to crash into the floor. The impact sent dust and bits of rubble flying upwards but that didn't slow down Tabe who charged at Gigantomachia's lowered arm, his mouth open devouring anything that got in his way. Just as Gigantomachia pulled his hand free, leaving an impression of it three feet deep in the ground, Tabe reached his target and bit down. Gigantomachia's hardened muscles gave way like butter before Tabe's teeth but even with his quirk the scarecrow masked man was incapable of biting completely through the giant limb leaving him stuck, wedged in the giant's arm. However the bite still hurt and Gigantomachia let out an injured roar, feeling pain for the first time in a very long time.
Acting more on instinct than reason Gigantomachia swung his arm around slamming it into the wall. Drawing it back an observer would have had only a moment to see a clearly unconscious Tabe practically bruised in the wall, his exposed mouth bloody from both the harsh impact and his teeth being forcefully removed from his mouth so deep in Gigantomachia's arm had they been buried. His clothes were ripped and torn and his face was bare to the world, the ruins of his mask entrenched in the wall around him.
But Gigantomachia wasn't done yet, there was a reason he had been chosen to be the bodyguard of All For One, molded and enhanced with quirks to fit that role. Engraved in his mind and body was the understanding that if he was experiencing pain then his Master was in danger which meant the thing that caused the pain needed to be erased before it could hurt him.
If it was a math equation it would have looked like this:
Pain = Danger = Master Endangered = Protect Master = End What Caused Pain
It was a simple understanding for a simplistic giant but with Gigantomachia's power, simple could become overkill very easily.
That programming that had been pounded into him again and again is what caused Gigantomachia to continue his assault on the motionless Tabe bringing his right hand forward mere seconds after he had detached the Bullet from his other arm. Activating Mole Claws Gigantomachia buried the claw of his pointer through Tabe's torso, drilling it into the wall behind him, the claws on his other fingers striking the wall around the man.
The mere size difference between the two practically guaranteed that Tabe was dead but Gigantomachia wasn't programmed to take an 'almost' or 'practically' as an acceptable outcome, he needed to be certain which was why he didn't hesitate to, upon piercing through the man's body, tear it apart. Swinging his arm to the right Gigantomachia's claw vaporized what remained of Tabe's side, splattering blood, organs, and unidentifiable pieces of meat and tissue onto the surroundings.
As if that wasn't enough the claw on his thumb which had gone to the left of Tabe, missing the man completely upon Gigantomachia's initial strike went with the giant's hand as he slashed it to the right. This meant that the claw cut through Tabe's body just above the man's waist bisecting the man horizontally, severing him in two.
Seeing his companions taken down so easily, and the sheer brutality of his foe upon being injured the sole remaining Bullet, Sakaki's, confidence shattered. Turning the man attempted to flee running, scrambling away on all four tripping over rocks and rubble as he cast desperate glances over his shoulder, his drunkenness having ended through sheer terror leaving the man stone cold sober for the first time in years. Gigantomachia was nothing if not obedient however and he turned moving at speeds that seemed impossible for his large size pinning the man to the ground with a single giant claw. "Please," Sakaki croaked his voice weak, "I'll give you anything you want. I-I can help you, I know things, important things. I know where the money's kept, I'll-I'll do whatever you want," the man cried tears leaking out the same eyeholes he'd specifically designed to let sake in so easily, "just don't kill me."
"I won't kill you," Gigantomachia spoke in the same gravelly tone he'd used earlier although it now contained the barest traces of emotion. "Master, heir need you." Pressing down just a little harder Gigantomachia forced the man unconscious. When Sakaki finally went limp Gigantomachia stood up and deactivated his gigantification quirk, shrinking down to stand at his normal but still massive height.
Lifting his head Gigantomachia sniffed the air once more this time successfully picking up Izuku's scent. It was close and had three scents close to it. One smelled like a woman he'd smelled on Master's heir when the two had first met at the warehouse but the other one was new. For a moment Gigantomachia considered going to help but he shot the idea down. A lord had to be strong and the new scent felt dangerous, a perfect challenge for the boy to prove his worthiness.
Satisfied with his decision Gigantomachia set about picking up the limp bodies of the Bullets around him, as well as the body of a man he remembered having been buried in a wall he'd smashed through. When he reached the body of Tabe he hesitated but eventually decided to leave the man behind. While it pained him to know he'd failed to fulfill his Master's will by not completing the heir's objective of retrieving all the Bullets alive, such an act could still have it's uses. It would serve as another test, to see how the boy reacted to not getting everything he wanted.
As he turned away from the body of Tabe Gigantomachia began to stride away, the Bullets and man-in-the-wall unconscious on his back. It was a long walk back to his master who had told him to return with whoever he captured and he still had to grab the body of the growing Bullet he'd beaten earlier. At least he wouldn't have to deal with any pro heroes, the giant thought ruefully. They were still focused on the explosions and were only now beginning to realize that in the chaos the criminals were going after one another. The distraction had been well planned, the giant had to admit, with any luck he would be long gone with the bodies before the heroes even arrived to investigate the raid. As he set Hojo on his back with the others Gigantomachia grew and pulled himself out of the hole into the underground base to the road above, only to be greeted by three police cars and a minor pro hero who all turned to look at the giant fearfully. He sighed deeply, this might take slightly longer than he'd originally thought it would.
A healthy, healed Overhaul, the last thing Izuku had wanted to have to face during his raid on the Shie Hassaikai. Overhaul's quirk was incredibly dangerous making him able to remodel his surroundings on a whim and kill someone with the barest touch of a finger; it was sheer luck the man hadn't been completely focused when he'd laid a hand on Toga destroying her arm rather than her entire body.
In battle Izuku knew that the chances of emerging victorious over the masked man were slim to none, especially in close or medium range combat. As a result the ideal solution, and the one he'd wanted to go with first, would have been to have had somebody simply snipe Overhaul when he was out walking on the street, preferably from a couple dozen blocks away where the sniper would have been out of sight and range of most detection quirks that tended to only work in the user's immediate area.
Unfortunately Overhaul's schedule was nearly impossible to predict, constantly changing and only known to his closest advisors. So Izuku had gone with Plan B.
He was truly thankful to whatever twist of fate had led him to come into contact with Toga that day in the alley. Given the choice between three dumb small time crooks whose greatest offense had been shoplifting a rotten rutabaga and dropping a church bell on the head nun of a covenant or a girl whose quirk made her the perfect spy, Izuku would have to go with the latter every time.
The plan was simple: they would kidnap a member of the Shie Hassaikai and Toga would replace him. She would spend some time blending in and making sure she wasn't discovered while trying to learn the rough layout of the base. When Izuku and his forces raided Toga would separate Chisaki from the other members while Izuku would chase them down using a tracker on Toga. While Overhaul was distracted by Izuku Toga would use the chance to stab Overhaul in his spine, attempting to sever it in his upper back to turn the man into a quadriplegia, meaning he would be unable to use any of his limbs. For someone whose quirk relied on him being able to use his hands it would be an instant loss. Unfortunately, just like Plan A, Plan B was now going down the drain but this time Izuku didn't have the courtesy of being able to come up with another one.
"YOU!" Overhaul growled ferally, his golden eyes locked onto Toga. "This is all your fault! You've cost me EVERYTHING; Eri, my research, Chrono! Everything is your fault!" Overhaul screamed as he lunged at Toga, acting more like a beast than the young man he actually was.
Even injured, Toga still retained her agility and she dove aside, rolling once she hit the ground to avoid the spikes Overhaul created when his hand hit the floor where the blonde had been standing just seconds before.
Drawing a knife with her sole remaining hand from a strap on her thigh Toga launched it at Chisaki who had risen from the crouch he'd fallen into only for the man to lean out of the way. Slamming his hand into a nearby spike, Chisaki overhauled the spikes he'd just made. Toga attempted to leap out of the way but whether from blood loss, pain, exhaustion, or just simply not being able to react fast enough the blonde was unable to move fast enough to dodge a spike that sprouted from the side of an already existing one. The new spike pierced straight through Toga's left thigh and the blonde was unable to contain her scream of pain. Already in the air Toga's jump turned into a semi-controlled fall, the spike in her thigh breaking off from the main body it'd grown from to fall with her. Hitting the ground the blonde whimpered in pain as her bare thigh impacted the floor, the cool surface forcing the concrete spike even farther inside of her.
Laughing darkly, a crazed look in his golden eyes Overhaul strode over to where the blonde lay on the ground, trying to use her sole remaining hand to crawl away from the man approaching her leaving two trails of crimson blood in her wake from her missing limb and her injured thigh. Turning to cast a fearful look his way Overhaul grinned at the fear he saw within her eyes, the color so similar to his own. He was also pleased to see that the fall hadn't left her unscathed either, a thin trail of blood leaking down the side of her face from a cut on her forehead, the wetness slightly taming the girl's disorganized blonde locks
"You think you've accomplished something here," Overhaul said, using his right hand to sweep his hair back from his forehead, for once not caring about what germs might be covering either surface. "You think that Eri is safe, that she'll be able to hide from me." Overhaul chuckled a crazed look in his eye. "She won't, that girl is cursed. She doesn't know what power she holds or how to wield it, all she knows is that her power, her quirk, her curse, is responsible for every misfortune that has ever befallen her. Tell me, what do you think she'll do when it goes out of control again? When she makes somebody else disappear in front of her eyes?"
"You won't have her," Toga spat defiantly, a look of pure unadulterated hatred on her face.
"That's the beauty of it," Overhaul said allowing Toga to see the slight grin on the man's face, "I don't have to. Eventually she'll come back to me. She doesn't know anyone else and it's such a cold, cruel world out there. Her fear of hurting others, of bringing them pain will cause her to seek me out and I'll have people there to bring her home once she realizes that.
The Bullets can be replaced, so can underlings, supplies, and anything else I need. You might have raided our base but we have other hideouts that just aren't as large. You went after our base but I doubt you went after our funds which means I still have money to pay people and get the equipment I need. Really the only thing you've done is inconvenienced me, wasted my time. It'll take a while to reestablish ourselves, to recruit new people, and I'll need to start over on my experiments but what's a couple months or years in the grand scheme of things. Quirks will still be there, so will heroes and villains, all you've done is delay the return of the yakuza but once you're gone, no one will even remember that."
"Go to hell," Toga hissed, she tried to spit at the devil of a man crouching over her but failed miserably, the red bloodied saliva merely sliding down her cheek to the ground beside her.
"Oh I will, but not for many more years. Say hi to Eri's mother for me and make sure to let her know what great care I've been taking of her little girl."
Raising his right hand Overhaul reached for Toga's face, the blonde girl staring defiantly at the man in the space between his fingers as the shadow of his hand covered her face.
A sudden shadow on the ground next to him was all the warning Overhaul had to dodge out of the way. Ducking to the side Overhaul stood up, turning he watched as a small concrete rock clattered on the ground next to where he'd been crouched, well wide of both him and the blonde that had been just underneath his fingers. Overhaul's eyes scanned back and forth looking for the person who'd thrown it, the greenete who'd slipped from his mind but the spikes he'd been using to fight now blocked his view offering a multitude of hiding spots.
Growling in annoyance Overhaul reached down to the ground below him making sure to keep his head up eyes darting back and forth as he did so not wanting to be ambushed in his brief moment of weakness. As a result when there was movement behind him Overhaul turned immediately only to see another rock clatter off a spike to the floor below.
Upon recognizing the distraction for what it was Overhaul immediately started to turn back around only to dodge out of the way of a weakly thrown rock, courtesy of the disabled blonde lying on the floor who flashed him a bloodstained grin through crimson teeth.
Once more fury overtook Overhaul's thoughts and he took a step towards the blonde only to scream as something slammed into his back. Whirling around Overhauls slashed his right hand through the air in a horizontal swipe, the greenete who'd ambushed him ducking under the wild swing. Overhauled had only a moment to see the bloodstained knife in the boy's hand before said blade was slammed into his side, once, twice, a third time.
His right hand out wide from the swing Overhaul lunged forward with his left only for the boy to dodge backwards out of reach. His side and back throbbing from his stab wounds Overhaul considered healing himself but quickly tossed the possibility aside in favor of attacking.
He reached for the floor but was quickly forced to dodge out of the way of a knife thrown his way. Chisaki grinned, the boy had tossed aside his only weapon in order to keep him from using his quirk. That left greenete weaponless, harmless, and based on what Overhaul had seen the boy lacked a quirk for fighting, he was helpless, a pig ready for what was about to be a literal slaughter.
Charging forward once more Overhaul reached arm outstretched towards the boy who took a fearful step back, the calm mask of control the greenete had been wearing shattered just the slightest bit, eyes darting downward towards his leg a look of betrayal slipping across the boy's face. The sight made Chisaki grin and as his hand drew closer Overhaul could feel everything once more going his way, until a knife hit him in the back, again. For a moment he wondered where the blade had come from before it hit him, the boy hadn't been throwing his knife to stop Overhaul from using his quirk, he'd been tossing it to his partner, the wounded girl who'd been laying on the ground and - in Overhaul's mind - out of the fight.
The sudden pain caused the leader of the Shie Hassaikai to stumble and the greenete who'd looked like he'd been preparing to flee leapt into action. Ducking under his outstretched hand the boy slammed a fist into Chisaki's gut, giving the man just a moment to realize that it had not been the greenete caught in his trap but him caught in the boy's. Spittle flew but the greenete, no Izuku, wasn't done. An uppercut slammed into Chisaki's exposed lower jaw and Overhaul felt his open trap audibly slam shut. Blood and pain filled his mouth, the sudden action having actually severed the tip of his tongue from the rest the muscle but Chisaki barely had time to feel it. As his head flipped backwards from the kinetic energy of the punch a hand closed around his face covering his eyes. For a moment there was a feeling of weightlessness, of falling, and Overhaul desperately tried to reach, to touch, but before he could make contact something slamned into him and then there was only darkness.
Izuku panted as he stood victoriously over the unmoving body of Kai Chisaki. He'd done it. He'd done it! A disbelieving chuckle slipped out of the greenete's mouth as his knees gave out under him and he fell to the ground, leaning against one of the spikes that protruded from it as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that quirkless he'd managed to overcome a man with what was easily one of the most powerful quirks he'd ever come across. For a moment Izuku considered whether he actually needed a quirk at all. Maybe, just maybe he could accomplish his goals without one.
Izuku let his mind imagine the reality but eventually he shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. No, while it was a nice dream, he had to face reality. He couldn't get caught up in delusions; he had to stay realistic. A quirk was necessary to his success and he wasn't about to give up the one before him.
A movement caught Izuku's attention and he looked up from where he was sitting to see Toga, now back on her feet, limping her way over to where Overhaul lay unconscious on the ground. In her hand clutched so tightly her knuckles were white was a knife, likely picked up from amongst the rubble.
"No, I'll do it," Izuku said, his voice soft but it carried in the silence. Toga stopped where she was and gave him a hesitant look but something about his face kept her from voicing any doubts she may have had. Instead she merely watched as Izuku pushed himself up and approached her. Once he was close enough Izuku raised his hand, and, after a moment's pause to search his face, Toga consented handing over the knife handle first.
For a moment Izuku stood there feeling the weight of the thin blade in his hand before he crouched down next to the unconscious Kai Chisaki. Holding the knife over the man's wrist Izuku paused to look at the unconscious man wondering if this was the right thing to do. Closing his eyes Izuku thought back not to his goals, the plans, and dreams but to what the man had said he'd done to the girl. What was her name? Eri. "Some people don't deserve to be saved," Izuku whispered, his thoughts focused not on Overhaul but another man, a baseball themed one who'd taken away the most important woman in his life, then after a moment's hesitation Izuku brought the knife down.
Eri walked down the sidewalk, her arms crossed in front of her as the sun sank down in the sky painting the heavens a variety of colors the white haired girl had never seen before. However she was unable to focus on the sky so wrapped up was she in her trembling and the developing pressure in her forehead. She recognized the feeling, the same one she'd had on the day she'd made her Daddy disappear. When her mother had called her 'cursed' and dropped her off with a grandfather she'd never known existed. Then her grandfather had given her to Overhaul and the rest was history.
She was a curse, a mistake, and right now she was doing everything she could to internalize the growing pressure but it was like trying to dam a raging river with twigs or block a firehose with a finger, no matter what she did the pressure kept growing and the slowly increasing weight on the right side of her head told the girl the pressure wasn't the only thing growing. A sudden bump sent Eri stumbling and for a moment she lost her concentration. She quickly tried to regain control but any influence she might have had was long gone. "Hey, are you alright?" A sudden voice startled her and she looked up to see a man in a business suit reaching out to her, his expression one of concern but Eri could only see the hand. A hand that would touch her and then, she knew, the man would disappear just like her Daddy did.
"No!" she shouted, scrambling away from the man on all fours, "Don't touch me!" Looking around frantically Eri only now noticed the mass of people surrounding her, people of all ages, people she might make disappear, forever. Fearful tears began to fall down her face and if anything the liquid seemed to make the people worry all that more. Hands reached out to her, voices questioned if everything was alright but all Eri could see, over and over again, was Daddy reaching out to her asking how his little Unicorn Princess was doing then a pressure on her forehead and Daddy was gone leaving only his clothes behind. A gasp had caused four year old Eri to turn around to find her mother standing in the doorway of the room, a hand over her mouth as fearful eyes looked at her own flesh and blood daughter. "Mommy?" Eri had asked, cocking her head innocently to the side, "Where did Daddy go?"
"NOOO!" Eri screamed as she flashed back to the present, she wouldn't, she couldn't make anyone else disappear. Pushing herself to her feet she began to run away from the people, from her past, from everything. After all she was cursed, what did it matter what happened to her. As if in response the pressure surged with renewed force almost sending Eri to her knees. Looking up, her red eyes found the entrance to a park. She'd heard about parks before from one of the books a caretaker had left for her. They were quiet places, peaceful, where not a lot of people went. It was perfect. Slowly Eri forced herself forward stumbling almost drunkenly into the park as the pressure threatened to overwhelm her completely. 'Just a little more.' Eri thought as she turned off the path stumbling into the trees nearby, 'Just a little farther.'
After around a minute and a half the trees cleared up and Eri found herself in a clearing devoid of people but encircled by trees. 'Perfect,' was the last conscious thought Eri had as she collapsed to her hands and knees. She could feel the pressure already beginning to leak out and could, out of the corner of her eye, faintly make out the faint glow of her horn. Looking down Eri watched as the grass around her hands began to shrink, retreating back into the ground. Seeing her cursed power at work once more caused Eri to try to grip down on the pressure but once it started, her curse had no intention of bowing to her will once more.
The pressure which had been building up all day and had been growing for weeks now erupted like Vesuvius over Pompeii. Eri opened her mouth but was unable to tell if a scream emerged so overwhelming was the force escaping her. Her horn now the size of the one she'd seen on the man on the news glowed with blinding light forcing Eri to squint to see. As she watched a seeming wave of power started to spread to the meadow around her in a circle with her at the center; everything growing younger as if in a strange reverse time speed video. Grass and flowers grew smaller and smaller retreating into the ground leaving bare dirt devoid of any greenery. A small rabbit hidden by the grass attempted to run but was caught in the wave of power growing even smaller before disappearing as if it had never been there at all.
Eri hoped that her power would be contained to the meadow, that she would be able to protect anyone that may have been around her but her hopes died as the wave of power reached the trees on the meadow's edge, giant trees thirty, forty, even fifty feet tall that had taken years, decades, maybe even a century or two to reach said heights shrank into the Earth in mere moments.
Tears leaked from Eri's eyes as her curse spread, and the life around her disappeared. 'Maybe,' she thought bitterly, 'it would be better if my curse took me too. At least then I won't be able to hurt people. All I do is hurt. I'm a monster, a curse just like Overhaul said. I'm just like him.' Eri wept bitterly at the thought, the knowledge that she was just like the man she saw as evil incarnate. That she could be as bad as he was, it was heartbreaking to see.
And the universe seemed to decide to give the girl a break. Messy black hair floated into the air as the owner's red eyes glowed brightly. To Eri it was as if all the pressure disappeared in a moment, simply vanishing without a trace. Sitting up on her knees Eri gingerly reached upwards and touched a small bump on her head the size of a Dum Dum lollipop she'd once had; it took a moment for Eri to realize that the bump was her horn but when she did she couldn't stop the tears of joy from falling. She might not know a lot about her curse but she did know that the bigger her horn grew the longer a 'session' lasted when the power erupted. "Hey," a tired voice called out, sending Eri frantically turning around in fear, looking for the man who'd spoken, "are you alright?"
"Y-yes," Eri responded hesitantly as she sat still although her eyes darted around frantically.
"Good," the voice responded and as Eri watched a black shadow fell from the branches of a tree that had yet to be hit by her power to the ground below. "It would have sucked if I'd had to get my friend to knock you out." As the man stood up Eri took in his strange appearance.
The man was tall and slender with pale skin and messy, shoulder-length black hair that hung partially in front of his face. He appeared fatigued, on the verge of either passing out or taking a much deserved nap. Unkempt facial hair and tired, flat, half-lidded black eyes currently focused on Eri only added to that conception. He wore a ragged black outfit consisting of a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants tucked into a pair of boots. A strange silver scarf hung around the man's neck and a pair of bright yellow goggles rested comfortably on his forehead.
"I'm the pro hero Eraserhead," the man spoke, causing Eri to turn her attention from his outfit to the man's face, "we can excuse your unlicensed quirk use, you're young and it's obvious from a glance that you don't have much control over it, but why are you here by yourself and where are your parents?" Eri opened her mouth to speak but froze, how was she supposed to respond? The few times she'd managed to escape the Shie Hassaikai base Overhaul had shown up claiming to be her father but her real Mommy and Daddy were gone. "Well?" Eraserhead questioned and looking up Eri found the man's hair floating in the air as he glared at her with now red eyes not dissimilar to her own, "I'm waiting." The intimidating technique was too much for Eri after the day she'd had so she did what any young child would do when faced with something scary, she started to cry.
Immediately Eraserhead's hair fell back down and his red eyes returned to their normal black color. "W-wait," he stuttered, holding his hands out placatingly obviously nervous and on edge, "there's no reason to cry, I'm not mad. I was just trying to get you to tell me what I needed to know to help you. See," he said gesturing to his face as Eri looked at him as she sniffled, "I'm not scary." Then the hero smiled.
Unfortunately for Eraserhead the man did not have much experience smiling. As such what was supposed to have been a reassuring grin the hero modeled impromptly on All Might came out as a deranged, maniacal smile that when combined with the man's facial hair, and tired looks made the man out to be quite villainous in appearance. Eri's eyes watered once more and she began to bawl once more actual waterfalls coming out to turn the dirt around the white haired girl into mud.
A blow to the back of the head caused Eraserhead to stumble forward and he turned to cast a quick glare at his friend. Unfortunately for him she was not intimidated and merely cocked an eyebrow at him as she tilted her head towards the child in question, "Scaring children now Eraserhead? If you aren't careful your ranking will fall even lower." She shook her head as she folded her arms in front of her ample breasts. "Tch tch tch, what would your mother think, her sweet young Shota scaring children."
"Shut up," Eraserhead grumbled tilting his chin downwards so his capture scarf covered the bottom of his face, "you know I'm not good with children." the underground hero mumbled.
"And yet you're a teacher." the woman questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"There's a difference, my students want to be heroes. They're teenagers, practically adults and I treat them as such."
"That didn't stop you from expelling your entire class last year," his partner pointed out, only to whistle innocently as Shota turned his glare on her.
"They treated it like a game, like a joke. They expected to come out on top and only thought about the fame and money they could earn. They didn't care about helping others, all they cared about was themselves. We don't work 9-5 jobs and this isn't a fucking video game, it's a matter of life and death where not only our lives but the lives of countless others are entrusted to us for protection. And besides," he mumbled almost inaudibly, "Nezu let them back in."
"Okay I get your point," the woman raised her hands in the air only to direct her right pointer finger at Shota's chest, "buttt, that doesn't mean they can't learn. This year no expelling the entire class on the first day, that's an order."
"Yes, ma'am" the tired hero muttered, "Nezu already told me I can only expel one the first month and even then it'll be subject to review. Any other expulsions have to go through him."
"Great," his partner said cheerfully, "nice to see the rat actually keeping you in line this year. I know you guys over at U.A. get a ton of freedom but he needs to make sure that you guys know that there's a line you can't cross. After all," she said, her cheerful expression becoming deadly serious, and in Shota's humble opinion far more intimidating than any glare he could ever hope to pull off, "you wouldn't want me to come 'investigate' you would ya?"
"No," Eraserhead sighed.
"Great, now what's the deal with the girl?"
"Don't know," Shota sighed as he leaned back against a nearby tree, "wasn't able to get anything out of her before she started crying. It's obvious that she doesn't know a whole lot about her quirk though and it looks like a stockpile kind if I've got to guess. Her horn was the size of Miyagi's, you know from the news, but when I erased it it turned into that." he said gesturing at the girl who'd finally stopped crying and was now watching the two through cautious, puffy red rimmed crimson eyes. "When it was activated her power spread out in a wave affecting all of her surroundings although I'm unsure if that was due to how much power she'd accumulated or some other factor. All I can tell is that it affects living things, she turned a meadow into this," he said gesturing to the bare dirt around them, "and I saw her make a rabbit disappear."
"Disappear?"
"Vanish, poof, whatever you want to say one moment it was there the next it wasn't. We'll need to get her file if we want to learn more and maybe even a quirk doctor if her quirk has changed in some way. Might've been mislabelled or misclassified, could explain why she doesn't have control over it."
"Okay," his partner said, nodding her understanding as she moved towards the girl who began to crawl backwards, her expression fearful. Seeing that the woman stopped and crouched down, balancing on the balls of her feet so that the young girl wouldn't feel pressured. "Hey there, cutie I'm not gonna hurt you I just want to help."
For a moment the girl was quiet, obviously studying the lady, judging her to see if her words were trues; "...What's your name?"
The woman blew up her cheeks in an obvious pout, "What you mean you don't recognize me from TV. That hurts cutie."
The girl giggled quietly and then froze, seeming shocked that she'd made such a noise, "My name's not cutie it's Eri." she complained, blowing up her cheeks in a rather adorable imitation of the woman's pout.
"And what a cute name for a cutie like you, well Eri to answer your question,'' the woman said, standing up to strike a pose which showed off her skintight, sleeveless, black bodysuit with knee guards and two protective plates that covered the rather large assets hidden underneath "I'm a pro hero." She shook her head, causing her dark blue and pink two-tone hair tied up in a ponytail to flutter about exposing the long range finder in the shape of a lightning bolt over her right eye, "The Sniper Hero: Lady Nagant."
Author's Note:
*PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ THE FIRST AND SIXTH PARAGRAPHS OF MY AN*
Wow, just wow. This is easily the longest chapter I have ever written and man does it show. So many fights, so much character development and so, so much blood. I hope that this lived up to your expectations because man was it killer to get down. Before anything else make sure to go to my profile page to vote on which 1-B girl you'd want to see in Izuku's harem. This one isn't as important but I'd have to go with either Pony or Setsuna, Yui's another possibility so go her if you want a kuudere in the harem. Also here are the results of the last poll:
Mina Ashido - 28 Votes (35%)
Kyoka Jiro - 22 Votes (27%)
Toru Hagakure - 15 Votes (18%)
Ochaco Uraraka - 8 Votes (10%)
Tsuyu Asui - 6 Votes (7%)
Total Votes: 79
Now back to the chapter, the Shie Hassaikai have been defeated and while quite a few characters are seriously injured most will reappear. However others, well, lets just say not everyone in this story is going to be getting a happy ending so even some that survived might not make it out in the end. Now don't go expecting me to pull an Akame ga Kill but also try not to get to attached to every character there is.
Anyway Izuku's forces won, although not without cost, hence the chapter's name of Sacrificial Victory. I know a lot of you were expecting for Izuku and Momo to act as Eri's parents so I hope the twist of her being found by Aizawa was a shock. That also lead to the introduction of one of my personal favorite MHA characters despite her relatively recent introduction to the series, Lady Nagant. Now I'm not saying that Eri will be their adopted daughter or anything but the little unicorn has a VERY important role to play in the story so stay tuned for that. For those of you who watch the anime and don't read the manga here's your spoiler warning, so be careful reading on. I'll go into Nagant's relationship with Eraserhead in a future chapter so be on the lookout for that.
Another thing I'm not sure about is when this arc will end, I initially wanted to end it after the raid but now I'm not sure whether I should extend it to the U.S.J. Attack or not. I probably won't since there are things that need to happen before that which will focus more on the hero's side of things rather than Izuku and his forces but who knows. Anyway thanks to those of you who voted in the last poll and make sure to vote in the new one to let your opinion be heard.
Also make sure to follow me on P-atreon /dyavolucifer for early access to new chapters and works before anyone else. All donations go towards my college education and it is appreciated. I also have a Twitter account dyavolucifer so follow it to be notified about news and updates.
Lastly make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think. The encouragement I get from you all is more motivational than anything other than my Patrons and I do read your reviews. I was honestly sad that between the last chapter and this one only 14 people reviewed, far fewer than there have been in the past despite the fact that my favorite and follower count for the story only seems to grow more and more. So make sure to review, please. T_T
Anyway that covers all the important stuff so until next time this is the guy who wants to get some decent sleep before work tomorrow signing off,
-D'yavol Lucifer 3:)
*IMPORTANT NOTICE*
All the cover art for my stories are ones I found online. I am really interested in using fanart provided by you the readers to replace them. If you're interested draw something up and pm me so I can send you the details on where to send it or pm me and I'll give you some details so you can draw one. As I say in my bio if I use it I may add you as an oc in one of my stories! Isn't that exciting!
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