As Noikari trailed behind, Tsukauchi led the way, pistol at the ready while Noikari followed him. The boy respected the detective's confidence and ability to protect himself since he could easily be mistaken for an ordinary citizen. The police didn't know how powerful the villain was. If anything goes wrong, Noikari knew how to get out of it, but he wouldn't dare use those powers unless absolutely necessary. For now, he would only use his own training without his Quirk.
"So, what do I need to know about this 'Kiler Bees' group?" Noikari questioned softly, being careful not to be heard by anyone else.
Tsukauchi smirked, knowing exactly what question Noikari wanted to ask. "Not a lot, but they're a big-name mob. They have ties to several other organizations like the League of Villains. So watch yourself, kid."
Noikari gave him a thumbs up as the two of them proceeded higher up the building.
"They most likely are expecting us to take the elevator, so we'll use the stairs."
With that, the duo made their way up and toward the top floor, both making sure that there were no other people along their path. Once they arrived at the top floor, Tsukauchi placed a finger to his lips as a signal to keep quiet . Noikari did as he was told, watching quietly as the detective took the lead and entered into the room ahead of him. A quick glance around revealed that there weren't any guards anywhere. Strange. .
Before they could enter the conference room, Tsukauchi stopped as he heard several voices on the other side of the door. Motioning to Noikari to come forward, the two listened intently to what was being said.
"Now then. Who exactly should we capture first? It might be a good start if we could gather the information we need on him to see where his loyalties lie."
That male's voice had a strong tone to it, which indicated authority over whatever this meeting was about. Something about the voice seemed. . familiar to Noikari, but yet he couldn't figure out why.
"Yes well, I suppose we could take him off the list," a voice replied, sounding tired. "That brat is just too much trouble."
"I don't care what you want to do with that brat, he must be the first to fall. You saw what he did to Hetodah's monster. If we let him run amok, he could come for us next."
Noikari's eyes widened when he heard that statement. They knew Dr. Hetodah? How? Was he working with this group? Questions bombarded the boys mind, but he knew now wasn't the time to lose composure.
Inside the room, the Killer Bees sat around a table. Leading them was a man who wore a black mask as well as a hooded cape that draped over his shoulders. Alongside him was a tall man wearing a blue jacket with a brown vest underneath, a white shirt, black trousers, and boots that ended at his ankles. The man in the suit held a tablet in his hands, presumably to monitor their conversation. Behind them stood a bald man dressed entirely in white and holding a clipboard. Next to him tied up in a chair was the young girl that the group was using as a hostage. Finally, standing in the corner was a dark-haired teenage girl with light green bangs. She wore glasses and also covered part of her face with a veil which covered her eyes completely. As the leader prepared to continue the meeting, he stopped as he noticed something that gave him pause. The villain focused hard on the double door which led into the room. Squinting, the man grinned as he realized what it was.
At the bottom of the sill which allowed air to flow through the door, there was a shadow.
"It seems we have some unexpected guests." He whispered under his breath. "Come, everyone, show our guests your best side."
Noikari shuddered as he and Tsukauchi heard the boss's remark.
"Shit." The detective cursed. "He knows were here."
"What do we do?" Noikari asked, the fear in his voice evident.
"We have no choice but to go in now, grab the hostage, and leave."
Noikari nodded, taking a moment to breath in deeply in an effort to calm his nerves. Taking another deep breath for himself, the detective motioned for Noikari to join him.
"Alright then, let's move, kid!" Tsukauchi instructed as he began to make his way to the door. "Be careful, no matter what happens."
Noikari gave him an uneasy nod before following after the detective. With a swift kick, Tsukauchi bust the door open, pointing his firearm at the leader while Noikari took a fighting pose. Both men looked at each other briefly, sizing one another up before Tsukauchi spoke.
"Surrender or we'll make you."
The gang stared at each other in silence before the leader of the group started chuckling. He took his hood off and revealed his face, smiling wickedly at the duo.
"You think you can threaten us?"
"Well, if you insist on keeping this hostage, we will need you to surrender. Otherwise, we are going to take her with us and make you give us whatever information we require." Tsukauchi stated coolly.
"And what makes you think we're going to hand over our precious little treasure willingly?"
"Because if you don't, then we'll be forced to act." Noikari's glare remained on the leader.
The Killer Bees looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in uproarious laughter. The leader laughed until tears rolled from his eyes, and the others joined in shortly afterwards. Finally, the leader managed to compose himself, wiping away the tears.
"You're a funny bunch, aren't ya?" The man remarked dryly before throwing his hands out, giving a command to his minions.
"Go, show them the sting of the Killer Bees!"
With that declaration, the group of criminals, minus the woman in the red dress, rushed forward at Noikari and Tsukauchi. The former activated Conversion Furnace as the latter unloaded a round of pistol shots towards the charging villains. A round managed to hit the tall minion in the chest, forcing him to stumble for a moment and allowing Noikari to land a devastating punch to the man's chest which sent him flying. Unfortunately, this left Noikari open to the dark-haired teenager as she activated her Quirk, which allowed her to telekinetically pull the child towards her. Noikari tried to move, but he was utterly paralyzed as the lady bore a wicked grin.
What she wasn't expecting was Noikari to smile back as four tendrils erupted from underneath his cape, slapping the villain in the face and allowing Noikari to break free of the telekinetic hold. Once free, Noikari unfolded his wings while he wrapped two of his tentacles around the woman before throwing her down onto the table, forcing her head to collide against the surface of it before her arms broke, causing her body to topple onto the ground unconscious.
"Nice job, kid! Good job!" Tsukauchi praised, grinning widely at the younger hero.
"Thanks."
Noikari didn't have time to say more before he was tackled out of the sky by the tall henchmen he had attacked earlier. Pinned underneath his weight, Noikari's eyes lit up in surprise as the burly man's hands became adorned with sharp metal objects akin to claws. Hoisting his arms up, the giant brought a clawed hand down, aiming to impale Noikari's brain, only for the child to just barely move his head out of the way, allowing the metallic talons to stab into the floor behind him. The minion panicked as he couldn't pull his claws free from the ground: they were stuck!
As he struggled, Noikari was able to roll out from underneath the taller man before jumping behind him, hitting him with a swift chop to the neck, knocking him out almost instantly. The grunt could only let out a small groan before his unconscious body hit the ground. Noikari turned away from the beaten minion, wiping a bead of swear from his forehead, as he watched Tsukauchi take down the bald man who was holding the tablet. It seemed that he wasn't just any ordinary detective. Noikari then turned to the masked man, the leader of the Killer Bees, who despite witnessing the defeat of his cronies, seemed rather calm. He still had his hood raised, making the only visible part of his face covered with his mask. Noikari suddenly realized why his voice and appearance had seemed so familiar. He thought back to his first night at U.A., the night when his Quirk had awakened against that mysterious aggressor. .
𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘕𝘰𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? 𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮. .
𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦? 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳!"
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. "𝘔𝘺, 𝘮𝘺, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 '𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥' 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘳𝘪'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.
𝘑𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘕𝘰𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. ."
As his mind returned to the present day, Noikari's face hardened as he turned towards Tsukauchi, walking up to the detective before creating a knife via his Quirk, asking for the detective to take it.
"Take this and use it to free her." Noikari explained, pointing at the little girl who had been held hostage.
"What the hell do you plan on doing? You can't fight him alone!" Tsukauchi exclaimed, surprised at the boy's request.
"I know that! That's why I want you to get one of the Pro Heroes out here to help! I'll hold him off until then."
Tsukauchi's expression softened slightly, "Okay. But you've got to promise me that if anything goes wrong that you'll let someone else deal with it. Promise me."
"If it's the last thing I do, I'll let everyone else handle it." Noikari vowed.
Tsukauchi began to chuckle. "You're crazy, ya know that? But i'll do my part. Good luck, kid."
With that said, Tsukauchi ran over to the child hostage and quickly began using the knife Noikari had given him to cut through the rope which ensnared the little girl.
Spotting this, the leader narrowed his eyes and glared. Before he could utter a word, however, Noikari was already running towards him, raising both his arms, ready to attack. The boy reared an arm back as he reached the villain, thrusting it forward with all of his might.
To his shock, the leader caught it, quite easily at that. His hand hardly shook as Noikari's fist smashed into his open palm at full force.
"Ahh, so you do remember me now." The leader darkly chuckled as he squeezed Noikari's arm before tossing him away, the boy landing next to Tsukauchi and the now-freed hostage.
Hoping to buy his new ally some time, Noikari began to speak.
"I never learned your name. If you want to kill me so bad, at least give me that."
The leader raised an eyebrow before closing his eyes, snickering.
"Very well, I suppose it would be rude to not introduce myself after we've already met before." The man said, opening his eyes once more and looking down upon the boy, who had just recovered from falling to the ground. "My name is Shirota Akatsuka, leader of the Killer Bees. It would make my pleasure in killing you even greater to see your death. And don't worry... when the end comes... there will be no witnesses." He spoke.
Noikari felt his hands clench into fists, his breath quickening as he prepared himself for another attack.
Then, to his surprise, Shirota lunged at Tsukauchi, who was attempting to leave with the child that had been held hostage. The girl screamed in fear as Tsukauchi pulled his firearm out once more, prepared to shoot. As the distance between the villain and the detective continued to decrease, Shirota found his advance stopped as he felt a weight place itself on his back, forcing him to the ground. Noikari looked at the villain as his face impacted the ground before turning to look at Tsukauchi.
"GO!" Noikari shouted as Shirota recovered to his feet. Tsukauchi didn't want to leave the child to fight such an opponent all by himself, but he nonetheless nodded as he hoisted the little girl who had been hostage into his arms before running out of the room.
As the detective left, Noikari turned back to face Shirota, whose expression remained neutral despite the surprise attack.
"Last time we fought, you caught me off guard. Know that it won't happen again." Shirota brandished two knives in his hands as they glowed red. "Now, come and die! Let's finish this once and for all!"
Shirota charged at Noikari, slashing at him with the two knives before dodging his attacks and slicing at his chest, neck, and legs repeatedly. Noikari tried blocking with his tentacles as best as he could, but it wasn't perfect. More often than not, the boy found himself unable to parry and could only shriek as sharp edges plunged into his skin, leaving behind jagged cuts which oozed blood. Noikari didn't let the pain hold him back however, as he sent two of his tendrils to yank the knives out of Shirota's hands, discarding the blades before those same two tendrils wrapped around the villains' neck, briefly lifting him up before tossing him into a wall. The impact created a crater within the wall, but Shirota only grinned. Pathetic.
"Damn...you're really something, aren't you?" the man said as he stood back up, dusting himself off and readying another onslaught of attacks.
"How about you try this instead?!"
Once more, Noikari launched a flurry of tentacles, each wrapping themselves around Shirota before pulling him close. the villain simply dug his feet into the ground before he wrapped his arms around all four tentacles as he began effortlessly pulling Noikari towards him. With a fast yank, Noikari found himself unable to stop before Shirota smashed a powerful punch directly into his gut.
Gasping for air, Noikari fell onto his knees, feeling the air being knocked from his lungs as he lay helplessly on the floor. All he could manage to do in response to the painful blow was roll onto his side and cough violently. Shirota watched the young boy before slowly approaching him, kneeling down beside him.
"Don't worry, kid. It'll get easier. Just remember that you need to think about it. When I'm done with you, there will be nothing but darkness..."
He lifted Noikari up and forced his head into his lap. The child's face was contorted in pure anger as he struggled against the villain's iron grip, kicking his legs desperately, hoping the villain wouldn't be able to keep him in place. Shirota stared blankly at the boy before sighing.
"You're going to regret trying to escape." He mused before placing a knife underneath his throat. A sudden gasp escaped Noikari, and he froze in terror. He was unable to do anything.
Well, anything consciously.
In a single move which even Noikari didn't anticipate, one of his tentacles wrapped itself around Shirota's arm which held the knife before roughly pulling the limb back, jerking the knife away from the boy. Shirota screamed as felt the limb pop out of it socket. He needed to free himself, or it was only a matter of time before his arm wo-
The villain suddenly screamed in agony as his arm was ripped clean off. Without its support he lost his balance and fell backwards, holding his mangled stump in his other hand. He began coughing uncontrollably as he struggled to stand. Noikari was still frozen with horror as he witnessed the results of his attack. His tendril. . even without Noikari controlling it, the appendage did that action on its own, as if it was driven unconsciously by the child.
"You..." Shirota coughed. "You.. are.. an abomination. You must be destroyed! Destroyed!"
Without warning, Shirota thrust his stump of an arm up into the air as the powers granted to him by Dr. Hetodah took effect. From the hole where an arm once was, bone jutted outward, forcing itself into place with a series of pops and cracks. Shirota's agonizing groans only made the process more excruciating for Noikari to watch. Soon, the bones were fused together, the muscles formed around them, and the tendons became visible. As Shirota kept on screaming and convulsing in what appeared to be pain, new skin started to form over the new limb. After a moment, Shirota's screams died down before seizing completely. Noikari just stood by, terrified and unable to say anything. He wasn't prepared for this. How did he possess such a rare and dangerous Quirk.?
Through means of that which Noikari did not know, Shirota had obtained the Quirk, 'Super Regeneration.' Super Regeneration allows the wielder to regrow limbs, organs, etc., back exactly the way they were before.
Seeing Noikari's stunned reaction, Shirota could only laugh as he flexed his new arm.
"Magnificent! Looks like the doctor's experiments weren't for nothing after all."
Hearing this piqued Noikari's interest. "You know Dr. Hetodah?" he asked.
"Know him? Why yes, he's very well known in the underworld. A good friend of mine, in fact. Who do you think broke him out of prison after his arrest? I even gave him funding for some of his work, including his greatest creation: you." Shirota smiled widely as the realization slowly hit the younger boy before him.
"So, you are working with him." Noikari stated quietly, his face showing shock and awe mixed together.
"Yes... and what are you going to do now, little worm? Will you surrender?"
Noikari's fists clenched as he took a stance. "Absolutely not." he spat, glaring up at the villain in front of him.
"Fine by me, then. Now, let's see how long you can last..." Shirota muttered as he threw a fist forward towards the boy. Noikari moved quickly to the side so he could block Shirota's first punch, but that left him unprepared for the second, delivered directly to his face.
He stumbled back in pain as blood dribbled from his mouth, landing hard on his rear before he planted his arms into the floor, flipping himself up right as Shirota jumped in with a kick which landed in the spot Noikari had been in not a second earlier. Noikari performed two backflips to put distance between him and Shirota, all while the villain devilishly grinned.
"Perhaps it's time I show you some of the other powers I have obtained." Shirota put an open hand outward, blue wisps of smoke gathering in his palm. The air around him began to distort as Noikari felt a sudden rise in temperature.
That probably wasn't good.
Sure enough, the blue wisps began growing larger, taking on a more flame-like appearance. Shirota could only smile as he prepared his newest Quirk that he had acquired:
Blueflame.
Noikari hardly had any time to react as a wave of blue fire was fired from Shirota's hand. Jumping out of the way, Noikari dodged it by a hair, although the sheer heat was enough to burn him. Turning to see where the blast had hit, the boy was horrified as he saw the wall behind him completely destroyed, light now pouring into the room. If Noikari hadn't dodged, he would've died. Quickly retreating out of harm's way of another blast, Noikari materialized a spear and hurled it at the villain. The weapon pierced his shoulder, but Shirota simply ripped the weapon out like it was a splinter. The wound immediately began leaking red, but it soon stopped after seconds passed.
"Are you ready to give yourself up now?" the villain asked.
"I'm getting there," Noikari replied defiantly, standing his ground despite his fears. What was taking so long for a Pro to show up?
Shirota smirked again before leaping through the air at top speed. But to his complete bewilderment, Noikari generated two large shipping containers before grabbing one in each hand, smashing them together as he prepared to use his new improvised weapon. As Shirota threw a punch, Noikari pulled the massive container in front of the limb to intercept the punch, the metal bending and denting but not breaking the construct. The force staggered both parties, but Noikari was quicker to recover as he violently smashed Shirota in between the metallic crates, effectively sandwiching the Killer Bees' leader. Noikari attempted the same strategy once more as Shirota fell to his knees, but the villain recovered faster than the child anticipated as he grabbed a hold of the containers before destroying them as he sent a blast of blue flame into them, forcing them to explode in bursts of metal and shrapnel.
Noikari leaped back in order to avoid the raining debris before he lunged forward, only to be stopped as a yellow, circular shield appeared in front of Shirota. Noikari's fist planted itself into the barrier with all of its might, but it didn't waver a bit. Two more punches failed to put a dent in it before the shield shot out a blast of compressed air, sending Noikari flying backwards and hitting the wall with tremendous force, causing him to fall down onto the ground.
With a smirk, Shirota turned around and began walking toward the near-unconscious boy. Noikari lay on his stomach, unconscious, bleeding profusely from various scratches and bruises as his vision started fading from sight. With great difficulty, the young boy pushed himself up to his feet.
His head spun.. and his vision blurred..
It hurt too much.
But he wouldn't give up.
Before he could try anything else, Noikari felt Shirota hoist him up by the neck before slowly walking over to the wall that the villain had previously blasted open with Blueflame. Onlookers screamed in horror as they saw Noikari being held in the air by Shirota, all the while the villain laughed cruelly at the struggling child in his grasp.
Reaching the bottom of the building, Tsukauchi hobbled out of the entrance, with the little girl tightly wrapped in his arms. The detective gently placed the girl down as he saw her parents running over, tears in their eyes as they embraced their child. Giving them a small nod, he went back to the officer who had tried to stop Noikari earlier, who was now watching that same child being dangled in the air. Looking up, Tsukauchi could only gasp as he saw the child's predicament.
"Can't you call for one of the Pro Heroes?" Tsukauchi demanded.
The officer turned to face him, the worry evident in his voice. "We did sir, but we don't know when they'll arrive."
Tsukauchi could only continue to stare at Noikari's struggling figure, silently praying that someone would save the boy.
Noikari felt cold. Really cold. His chest was tight with each breath he took, his lungs burning with the effort to breathe normally while the pressure built inside of him. Each cough brought him greater discomfort than the last, until he felt like he couldn't breathe anymore. All he wanted was to lie still and close his eyes. He wanted to sleep...
Unfortunately, he knew that if he fell asleep here, he would never wake again, and so he continued to thrash as he tried to escape Shirota's vice-like grip. He needed... He needed air.. He needed help...
As his body struggled against the villain's iron grip and his vision began to darken, he couldn't help but notice a small streak of light reflecting off of Shirota's mask. The streak appeared to be getting closer from Noikari's point of view. At the same time, Shirota couldn't help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu, as if something he experienced before was about to happen again.
Before he could question it, he saw a blur from an adjacent building soar towards him rapidly. As the blur got closer and it became clearer, Shirota now knew why he had a feeling of déjà vu.
"Oh shi-"
The villain hardly had time to utter another word as a kick impacted directly in the center of his face, the sound echoing with a loud CRACK! as Shirota was sent hurling back inside the building. Noikari felt a figure wrap its arms around him before using the momentum from the kick to bring itself and Noikari back inside, the child taking some much-needed gulps of air. As he coughed, he turned to see who had saved him, and gasped as a familiar pair of bunny ears greeted him.
"Hey kid. Long time no see."
"Mirko!"
Seeing the Rabbit Hero standing beside him made Noikari nearly forget all about his injuries as he leapt forward and hugged her fiercely. She chuckled lightly as she returned the hug, allowing herself to lean against him before pulling away slightly. She glanced down at his body, seeing it covered in burns and bruises.
"Looks like that guy really gave you a beating." Mirko teased with a grin.
Noikari nodded, unable to speak due to the fact that he was still coughing. Mirko smiled sympathetically before turning to look at Shirota, who was currently recovering to his feet, a large crack now running down the mask that covered his face. Seeing the villain shakily rising, Rumi turned to look at Shirota with a hate-filled glare.
"You son of a bitch..." Rumi spat.
Shirota glared back with equal ferocity, flames dancing around his gloved fingers.
Noikari took a fighting pose, but Rumi put a hand in front of the boy before he could even move.
"Stand back, kid. I've got this." Rumi stated sternly.
To her shock, Noikari pushed her hand down. "No, I'm not just gonna leave you to fight alone like before." The child's voice was firm, and Rumi felt surprised at how determined he sounded.
Mirko raised an eyebrow. "Kid, you're hurt badly. And besides, I don't think your quirk is suited for this kind of battle. You can barely stand."
Noikari didn't give in. "If I can stand, then I can fight. That's what being a hero is all about; never giving up no matter how bad you're beaten. So I'm not giving up."
Rumi let out a sigh, a smile appearing on her face. For whatever reason, she knew she couldn't refuse to let the boy fight alongside her. She ruffled the boy's hair for a moment before she spoke.
"Alright kid," she said. "Since you're willing to fight, just stay close to me, alright?"
Noikari grinned excitedly, though a wave of dizziness swept over him, making his legs shake underneath him. Despite that, he stood strong and nodded.
"Got it!" the boy exclaimed confidently.
Shirota snorted as he walked closer. "So, the little runt has a spine after all, huh? Well, let's just hope it won't take that long for me to break it."
He lifted his left arm and activated his Quirk, shooting a jet of blue fire at the two heroes, forcing the two to separate from each other. Mirko leapt forward to intercept the villain with a kick, but to her surprise, Shirota dodged without even slowing down, moving further away as the attack connected. He fired a quick punch and hit Mirko across the abdomen, sending her tumbling several metres back and landing roughly against a chair.
Shirota quickly advanced on Rumi, but before he could reach her Noikari leapt onto his back, pounding away at his head. Shirota stumbled around as he tried to get the kid to release his grip, but no matter how much he moved, Noikari's hold didn't slacken. So, Shirota did the simplest thing he could and dropped himself back first into the ground, Noikari taking the brunt of the impact. The ground shook beneath him as a burst of wind shot up from the hole he'd made, pushing the boy off his back. Noikari landed harshly and rolled over a few times before he picked himself up off of the ground. Once on his feet, however, he was barely able to dodge a follow up attack from Shirota's fist. Using a nearby piece of broken cement, he hurled it at Shirota.
Shirota managed to catch the chunk midair, letting a smirk form on his lips as he looked down at the block before crushing it effortlessly in his palm.
"How pathetic," he mocked.
As he said this however, Rumi leapt back into the fight and thrust a leg out, intending to kick the villain in the stomach, but Shirota raised his hands to block the strike. As Rumi was knocked back, she used her legs to slam them down on the villain's right hand. To both of their astonishment, Shirota didn't seem to be affected by this, and instead, retaliated and delivered a powerful blow to the back of Rumi's head. As she fell forward, Shirota grabbed the Rabbit Hero mid-fall and pulled her back to her feet, only to violently toss her into a wall, the steel and brick bending under the impact. Shirota lunged at the injured hero, prepared to deliver a punch to her stomach, only to have his charge brought to an abrupt halt as he felt a familiar pair of appendages wrap around his midsection.
With his tendrils, Noikari pulled Shirota to the ground before lifting him back up, then violently smashing him back to the floor. Twice more the boy repeated the tactic before screaming as he felt something cut into his tentacles. Forced to release his hold, Noikari gasped as Shirota activated another Quirk. A green glow enveloped Shirota's entire body, causing him to suddenly grow three feet taller and stronger than before. With a roar, he lunged at Noikari, ready to kill the boy once and for all.
But just as before, Rumi leaped forward and kicked the villain square in the mouth, forcing teeth and blood to violently expel from Shirota's mouth. Landing on her feet as the Killer Bees monarch staggered, Rumi turned to Noikari with a worried expression.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Noikari nodded, although a hint of fear remained in his eyes. Shaking his head clear, he clenched his fists and stepped forwards to face off against his old foe. Shirota laughed coldly as he readied himself to launch yet another assault, the sight of which caused Noikari to flinch.
"Well looks like you still have some fight left in you," he stated with glee.
He shot a jet of flames at Noikari, who was forced to dodge to avoid getting burned. Although he succeeded for the most part, the blast consumed one of his tentacles completely, turning the appendage into molten slag as bits of the limb splashed to the floor in puddles of melted flesh. Instinctively, the tentacle retracted back into Noikari's body, the other three following suit soon after. Noikari gritted his teeth, already feeling the pain beginning to spread throughout his body, though he knew he had to keep going. He refused to lose.
As Shirota closed the gap between them, he sent a colossal fist forward, but Noikari caught it in between his palms. Stunned, Shirota tried to free his arm of the child's grasp, but it was for naught. With a sudden burst of strength, Noikari grabbed the offending limb and with all of his might, lifted Shirota over his shoulder before smashing him down to the ground, knocking the breath out of him. The villain wheezed as his chest expanded painfully, trying to regain his breath. As Shirota attempted to recuperate, he heard Noikari shout something.
"Rumi, I have an idea!"
The recovered Bunny Hero leaped over to Noikari, a concerned look on her face.
"What, you got a plan?"
"Not really, but I got a move to bring him down."
Concentrating briefly, Noikari generated a series of metal nets which he threw on the weakened Shirota, effectively pinning his body to the cold ground. The devious fighter screamed in anger as he attempted to free himself before noticing that Noikari had forgotten to trap his left arm. Grinning with malicious intent, Shirota's freed hand became adorned with azure lights once more as he charged another blast of flames.
Mirko saw this and immediately became concerned. "Noi, you forgot one of his arms you idiot!"
Noikari didn't answer her at first as he turned to face Shirota. "I didn't forget, Rumi. I just needed him to do that." He pointed at the villain who was getting ready to use Blueflame to blast him and Mirko to kingdom come.
The second the blast left his burly hand however, Noikari rushed in and grabbed the limb before pointing it towards the ceiling, with the fiery beam blasting a hole straight through the roof before subsiding, with the arm then being engulfed in the same metal net that entangled the rest of his form.
Rumi just watched the whole thing transpire, stunned. "So, what did you need to do that for, kid?" She inquired.
Noikari merely grinned as he answered. "So, we could get the proper height for a jump."
Rumi blinked in confusion, before realization hit her as she realized what he meant. Of course, she hadn't expected him to have any kind of trick up his sleeves, and judging by Noikari's grin, he seemed to think so too. Without saying another word, the No. 5 Pro Hero smirked.
"Oh, I see what you mean. Let's do it!"
Without another word, Rumi flexed her leg muscles before jumping into the sky as high as she could, Noikari following after her with a flap of his wings. From thousands of feet below, onlookers watched on in awe as the two reached heights no one thought possible. For a moment, Noikari was overtaken by sheer childish glee as he realized how high he was. This what it was like to really fly. Briefly, the child cheered before stopping as Rumi looked at him with a smirk. Straightening her body as the two slowly stopped ascending, Rumi barked an order to Noikari.
"Alright, just repeat after me, kid!"
"Right!"
With that, both heroes began rapidly descending downwards, their designated landing spot being directly where Shirota was laying. Seeing them continue to near at an ever-increasing pace, the leader of the Killer Bees thrashed and tore against the metal constraints with all of his might.
It wasn't enough.
As they passed through the hole in the roof made by Shirota, Rumi spun her body before arching a single leg upward, waiting for the right moment to bring it down. Noticing this, Noikari attempted to do the same, although he wasn't nearly as flexible as the Lagomorph-based hero. Nevertheless, the action was deemed enough as at the last moment, just before they impacted with Shirota, they brought their outstretched legs downward, both Noikari and Rumi shouting as they simultaneously brought their legs down together, slamming the villain with incredible force.
"LUNA FALL!"
That name was the last thing the villain heard before his chest practically imploded from the combined kick, a monumental shockwave reverberating throughout the whole building as Shirota's body was launched directly downwards all the way to the bottom of the building, the steel floors doing nothing to halt his advance as he felt his sternum shatter. In sheer agony, he could only utter one last statement.
"How. . . what. . are you."
He then let unconsciousness take hold of his body as he closed his eyes, embracing the darkness.
At the top of the building, peaking down into the hole that they had created, Noikari and Rumi watched Shirota's body cease movement as he shifted into a long sleep. The two panted in exhaustion, especially Noikari, who had exerted himself much more than Rumi had. There were many things that the two wanted to say, words of congratulation and encouragement of a job well done.
Instead, the two cemented their respect for each other with a much simpler action.
A simple fist bump.
Noikari gazed out across the cityscape from atop the tall building. Looking down at the streets below him, he took in every detail he could while taking in the view from the conference room he stood in. Peering over the hole in the wall which he had almost been dropped from, Noikari saw Tsukauchi giving him a small smile, nodding in approval before turning to leave. Chuckling, he spoke to no one but himself.
"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."
As Noikari gazed below and saw the citizens who had overseen the fight, he was shocked when he heard. . cheering. What were they cheering about?
And then it hit him. They. . they were cheering for him. Noikari noticed that he hadn't taken his cape off for the entire fight. Perhaps with it on, they thought he was another hero. Those thoughts were proven wrong as he heard them saying his name, voicing praise for his bravery alongside Rumi. The child nearly began to cry. This felt nice, he mused. To be accepted. That was what he wanted more than anything; someone to accept him and tell him that he was good and that he deserved better.
"You okay there Noikari?"
Looking over at Rumi, Noikari managed a smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just taking it all in." He closed his eyes and extended his hands to his sides as the cheers of the people sounded like a symphony to him. He didn't feel lonely now. He wasn't alone anymore. He would never be alone again. Even if it meant he lost everything, as long as there was people who supported him. As he opened his eyes once more to stare down at the crowd below him, he felt Rumi put an arm on his shoulder.
"They're proud of you," she told him softly.
Noikari nodded in understanding, smiling at her before allowing his gaze to fall upon the streets below once more.
"I know..." He replied back, his voice just barely audible. Then he turned his head, remembering Shirota.
Walking over and peeping into the hole that the duo had created, Noikari asked Rumi "What are we going to do with him?"
Rumi shrugged. "We'll give him to the police, and he'll most likely be sent to Tartarus."
Noikari nodded as he began walking to the exit, only to stop as he heard movement behind him. Turning, his face became one of fright as he watched Rumi jump straight down into the hole, sailing all the way to the bottom. Worried for his ally's predicament, Noikari ran over to the hole, staring down it with a look of horror etched into his expression.
"Are you insane?" Noikari bellowed.
"Relax, kid." Rumi's voice hollered back. "Had to get down quick some way, yeah? Come on."
Not trusting himself, Noikari instead gently floated down with the use of his wings until he was next to Rumi who had already begun moving towards Shirota.
"Is he... alive?" He asked hesitantly, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Rumi rolled her eyes as she continued to move forward. "Of course he is, what did you expect?" She began to pull off the metal nets which covered the unconscious villain's body. Once the net's covering was removed, Noikari hoisted the defeated fiend on his shoulders, making his way to where the entrance of the building was alongside Rumi. As they neared the doorway, Rumi turned to Noikari.
"Get ready kid."
Noikari glanced at her with a nervous expression.
"Ready for what?"
"The aftermath."
With that said, the Rabbit Hero swung the doors open to outside, where there were already numerous reporters gathering around the scene. She led Noikari to Tsukauchi, allowing the detective to take the unconscious Shirota and hand him off to a nearby police officer.
Almost immediately after Noikari turned around, he found himself bombarded by questions as cameras flashed and microphones were shoved into his face.
"Was that your first time in the line of duty?" A reporter yelled as several others followed close behind.
"Did it help you grow stronger?"
"Why does it seem like you aren't used to seeing villains or criminals before?"
Seeing the boy's discomfort, Rumi quickly stepped in front of him, blocking the reporters.
Alright people, back up! Move it, come on!"
The reporters backed off, looking disappointed as a number of them shouted apologies as the rest moved closer to the pair to get some answers. Noikari remained quiet, though, not wanting to start trouble since there were plenty more pressing matters at hand. With the press still milling about, it was apparent that more questions would soon follow. He simply shook his head, smiling. He would have to get used to this, it seemed. .
Noikari did his best to answer their questions politely as they kept trying to get a word in, even asking him about himself and his quirk, though he had little to say beyond a few responses to the reporters' questions before they were shooed away by Rumi, leaving the two to talk with Tsukauchi. The detective extended a hand out to Noikari, the boy taking it in his own as the two shook hands.
"Thank you for helping us out, young man," Tsukauchi told him. "There's no telling what might have happened if you hadn't intervened. You certainly handled yourself well."
Noikari smiled before he remembered why he had come into the city in the first place. That's right, he thought to himself. He needed to ask Rumi about the Fighting Festival. Turning to the dark-skinned hero, Noikari raised his question.
"Um, excuse me miss Rumi, can I speak with you for a second?" The auburnette asked. He watched as she stared back at him curiously.
"Sure, whaddya want?"
When he had her attention, Noikari bowed before continuing. "Well, U.A. is having an event similar to the Sports Festival, but it's just a fighting tournament. I was wondering if you'd come and spectate. I-if you want."
Rumi stared at Noikari, deep in thought. It did sound. . intriguing. But she was a Pro Hero, she didn't have time watch some little tournament. Then again, it has been remarkably peaceful for a while now, the fight with Shirota that had transpired minutes ago being her first big case in weeks. She looked at Noikari before responding.
"Okay, I'll go, but only because I have something that I need to check out."
Noikari raised a fist in the air triumphantly before bowing, thanking her profusely. Taking a moment to focus, Noikari forced two tentacles to emerge from his body, which swiftly wrapped around Rumi.
"Woah, hey, what the hell are you doing kid?"
Noikari excitedly exclaimed "I have to tell Aizawa and the others. They'll be pumped."
Despite Rumi's protests, Noikari soared through the air towards U.A. with the Rabbit Hero in tow, the former laughing while the latter cursed and swore.
Tsukauchi and his partner just watched the whole ordeal in amusement as Noikari and Rumi flew through the streets, heading in the direction of U.A. with the Rabbit Hero still protesting against her 'capture' being carried out by a grinning child.
"Don't drop me!"
Noikari paid her no mind, his mind only focused on finding Aizawa. His excitement was growing. Not only would he potentially have a rematch with Bakugo, but he would also potentially have the chance to face off against Izuku. He knew all about how skilled the inheritor of All for One was. While confined by Dr. Hetodah, he had watched footage of the boy's fights against villains such as Muscular, the Nomu, and Sickle Claw, as well as his matches against Todoroki and Bakugo during the Sports Festival and the Battle Trial respectively. But this only got Noikari's blood pumping even more. It was exciting. And he couldn't wait to see what would happen when they fought.
For he knew Izuku was someone who deserved to see his full power.