Chapter 19
[Shota Aizawa]
Pain was a very prominent thing in his mind at that moment.
Above that, however, was the concern for his students. He'd charged in, attacking the villains as he was used to. Diving into a situation with little information and the weaker hand was a familiar situation for him, much as he hated that. It was a necessary thing for his line of work, after all.
Everyone knew what heroes could do and not even underground ones could escape this. Villains, however, had the advantage of anonymity, for the most part. Even old villains held more unknowns than old heroes, for the simple fact that heroes had to deal with the public. Few reporters or civilians would even dare to ask questions of a villain and there was only so much that a hero could keep hidden from the masses.
Despite that, Shota liked to think he'd done a good job himself, but that still meant that many villains would think they could take him with numbers and mutant Quirks. It was honestly insulting, but he'd never been too worried about that. If the bad guys wanted to underestimate him then all the better.
That day though, he knew things would be hard even before he started fighting the villains. There was only so much that one could fight bigger numbers with skill alone and this group of criminals certainly went past that. However, Shota's objective hadn't been to beat them all, it had been to buy time. Take the villain's attention to himself while Thirteen took the students away and called for backup.
He hadn't expected to be so readily ignored and for the villains to go straight for the kids. Even if the criminals were there for All Might, they had to know the kind of shitstorm that would go their way if they killed or otherwise harmed U.A. students, right? After all, these weren't the first and probably wouldn't be the last to attack the school in hopes of damaging the next generation.
Nezu was as feared and given as much freedom as he did because the chimera bastard was an absolute beast when he needed to. The underworld feared U.A.'s principal as much as they feared All Might himself. Because a punch of the Number One Hero hurt a whole lot, but the damage that Nezu could do would hurt as much, if not more, and without the guy even lifting one of his paws.
Evidently, they weren't dealing with a normal group of villains, which was… bad.
And it had gotten worse when Shota was faced with the behemoth that the pale man called Nomu.
With a sickening crack, he felt a new wave of pain shot through him. His arm was broken, and he'd been erasing his Quirk. Nomu, whoever or whatever he was, was that strong by himself. 'What even is his Quirk? Mutation?' he wondered, doing his best to keep his mind working. His students needed him.
Nomu's fingers wrapped around his head and brought it up and back, so he could look forward.
There had to be something he could do. Maybe he could erase someone's Quirk. Maybe he could make a call. Something other than lying there while his students… He didn't even know what was happening to his students. He couldn't just pass out or wait there, even if he was in pain. His students might be in a worse position.
He couldn't just do nothing.
That's when it happened though, the roar.
Some mix between a pained scream, a shout of rage and a wail of desperation. A sound that Aizawa wasn't sure he'd ever heard before. He didn't recognize the voice, but he certainly recognized the sight of his student when his eyes followed the direction of the sound. Sure enough, there stood one of his problem children. Ironically, the one he expected to be the worst and ended up being one of the best.
There he stood, in his monochrome costume, red eyes staring straight at Shota. The teacher could only laugh bitterly in his own mind. What a sight he must have made at that very moment. However, that wasn't the most important thing to note at that moment. Neither was the fact that Endo had likely attracted the attention of the villains around. Certainly that of Nomu, if the creature/man's shifting was any indication.
No, the worrying part was the shadows under the boy, extending in all directions like a pitch black mantle was spread over the ground. There, a myriad of red eyes peeked outside the darkness towards them before the creatures came out. There were whines coming from the boar monsters, barks coming from the werewolf ones, caws from the ravens and cries from the humanoids.
Instantly, Shota remembered all the warnings he and the rest of the school staff had gotten in regards to Endo. All the must know that had been included in a file all of them were told to know like the back of their hands. Information that had been gathered by authorities, researches and even Endo himself.
'Be careful in places with high levels of negative emotions.'
Shota was fairly sure that USJ had become one such place.
'Keep Endo away from such concentrations of negativity and preferably distracted.'
Shota didn't know what had happened with Endo, but judging by the sight before him…
'Don't let Endo make a number of creatures higher than three. More than six is a Code Black danger.'
Shota was a little out of it, but he was still very sure there were more than six Grimm around.
'Endo went on a rampage,' he realized in a second, looking as the veritable flood of creatures rushed in his direction. 'As if things weren't bad enough already,' he lamented. Because besides the pain and the fear for his students, Shota felt regret. Regret that such a promising student would lose his chance to shine.
It wasn't even Endo's fault, but the villains', that much was clear in Shota's mind. However, he was sure that authorities wouldn't see it that way. They'd just see another Black Rampage and decide that it'd been a mistake to get the child out of his cage. Endo would never see the outside world again and the outside world would never get to see the hero the kid could be.
It was with pity and regret that Shota saw the incoming Grimm. One of the boars clashed against Nomu, but it barely did anything. More joined it a moment later, each of them doing absolutely nothing, as Shota expected. Then came the werewolves though, and those proved more effective. Their fangs and claws cut through the hard skin of Nomu, but they barely delivered scratches.
They did accomplish something though, and that was making Nomu fight them, taking the villain's attention away from Aizawa. Unfortunately, for the teacher and underground hero, he was too wounded to really do much. So, he could only watch as the barrage of pitch black creatures assaulted the area.
"You came to the wrong place, bitches!" he heard Endo shout, the teenager's voice completely changed. Or, not really, but it did feel like someone else entirely was speaking through the kid's voice. "You have any idea how pissed off I am? How hurt I am? How fucking done with all this I am? How much I hate you?!" Endo shouted then, the words starting to distort ominously, before he laughed.
It sent a shiver down Shota's spine, to hear that sound. Not because he'd never heard something of the sort, but because he'd never expected to hear such a thing come from one of his students. It was the kind of laugh he'd have expected from a villain, not a hero in training.
There was only madness there, Aizawa knew.
"You are all so-," the boy growled, more of his Grimm taking shape and barreling towards Nomu. "-fucking," he continued, walking from where he'd come, the Landslide Zone, towards where Shota and the main villains stood. "-annoying."
"We didn't have intel about a hidden boss in here!" Shota heard the pale man, the one with hands all over his body, protest loudly. The man didn't even seem phased by the army of monsters around him. If anything, he sounded annoyed.
"And I didn't have intel about a fucking idiot attacking my class!" Endo shouted at them before laughing again. "But here we are, handjob! Now, be a nice little bitch and stay still."
"No, nonono! We aren't done here! Not until All Might dies!" the pale man shouted in response, brushing his hands on the Grimm that rushed in his direction and making them turn to black dust. "You aren't going to stop us! Not you, not Eraserhead, not Thirteen, nobody!"
"Watch me, bitch!" Endo screamed in his laughter. More monsters formed from his still extended shadow, many of them running at Nomu and burying the thing/man in a small mountain of bodies. A number of them, however, rushed the pale man. "I can do this all day!" the boy added.
Shota was focusing on something else too, however. Something that caught him off guard and made his eyes widen. As he looked around, the Grimm rushed both villains… and only the villains. He laid there, barely able to move, but the monsters made of negativity just rushed past him as if he weren't even there to begin with.
That wasn't what a rampage was supposed to look like. Nobody had been safe when Endo had last lost it to his Quirk before. 'But that was years ago,' his mind whispered to Shota, which was a valid point. Had Endo gotten better? Had he gotten enough control now to avoid casualties or was it just because Shota barely counted as a person at that moment in his eyes?
"No, no!" the pale man shouted then, sounding about as gone as Endo did. "This isn't how it was supposed to go!"
"Tomura Shigaraki," a new voice said, and when he turned, Shota saw the mist man, the one that had teleported the villains in. "I'm afraid one of the students got out."
There was a moment of silence then that was soon followed by Endo laughing once more.
"How shitty a villain do you have to be, to get bested by students, huh? Sucks to suck, right?" Endo asked then, laughing even more as he walked forward, spawning more Grimm all the while. "And it's gonna suck even more, once I'm done with you," the boy added then, and something in his voice shifted once more. It turned into a growl of sorts, something deeper, darker.
It sounded louder, lower, less crazy and more cold, less mocking and more menacing. Shota was sure the Grimm he was making were getting bigger and bigger, nevermind the fact that there were more of them too. 'More Grimm, less control,' Shota remembered then.
"You all started a fight here," Endo growled as a dark chuckle escaped him. "And I'm gonna end it. I'm gonna end you."
'Stop him,' a part of Shota's mind told him. 'Stop him before he gets even more out of control,' it urged him. But he didn't, because Endo was the key to keep the villains under control. If Endo went down, Nomu would wreck the other students. Not even the likes of Todoroki or Bakugo could stand a chance. Not even Endo himself did, but he had enough numbers to buy time then and there.
If Shota erased the kid's Quirk, they were all dead, especially Endo and Shota themselves.
It was controlled at the moment, nobody was getting attacked except the villains. The Grimm weren't doing anything to Nomu anyway, from what Aizawa could see at least. Tomura Shigaraki – if that was even his real name – and the mist villain, for their part, seemed to be fine too. The former just turned the creatures into dust and the other warped them away.
"Die!" a new voice called and Shota grimaced. Of all the times for Bakugo to be his belligerent self, it just had to be then and there. Of course it did. Worse, when he turned around, Shota noticed that the boy wasn't alone. Kirishima was following him into the battle, which-
"Get the fuck out of my way," Endo growled, one of his beowolves smacking Bakugo away mid air from where he'd propeled himself. "These bitches are mine. They ruined my day. They are making me feel terrible. And they are going to pay for that," the kid declared.
"The fuck did you-"
"Bakugo!" Aizawa shouted, and his everything hurt even worse just by doing that. His ribs screamed, his lungs demanded rest, his mind blurred. He had enough presence of mind to see Kirishima get tackled away by one of the boar creatures though. "Go help somewhere else, both of you! Endo is barely controlling himself!"
"Bitch, please," Endo laughed then. "I'm fully in control. Always am, always will be. No other way around it, teach. How can I not be in control, with all this POWER!" the boy announced then, shouting to the heavens as he laughed even louder than before, the sound echoing around them. "And you, villains, will be the first to get a taste of it all!"
Shota saw it then, the shape forming behind Endo as the boy glared bloody murder at the villains, the widest of grins on his face. The shadow extended, grew, and towered behind his student. A mountain of darkness loomed over them all then, taking shape, its maw, its claws, its wings, its mask. With every new bit that took form, Shota knew this wasn't one of Endo's usual Grimm. No, this was…
This was the Black Rampage, born anew.
There was a loud explosion then.
"HAVE NO FEAR!" Shota heard and he sighed in relief. "FOR I AM HERE!"
Immediately, he erased Endo's Quirk. The cavalry had come. There was no need to play with fire anymore. And if he let him… Who knew how much damage the kid could do, to others and to himself.
[}-o-{]
[Kazuki Endo]
It was ironic, that the one time he wasn't being bombarded with negative emotions from outside, he was from inside.
'I did it again,' he thought, dropping to his knees. Things were happening, but he couldn't see them. His mind just kept replaying the last few minutes for him, on loop, driving a nail in his heart every time. 'I did it again,' he repeated, dismay filling him.
He'd worked so hard, he'd put so much effort into never letting his Quirk get the better of him, but there he was. He'd been a step away from causing a second Black Rampage. It had been so close to getting out again. It had been so close to forming once again…
And he'd just… He'd just done nothing. He'd let his emotions get the better of him. He'd let his Quirk get the better of him again. His control had slipped and he'd been useless. He hadn't been able to get himself under control. He hadn't been able to stop. And the worst part…
It felt so good to let loose.
'I am a monster, in the end,' Kazuki thought, remembering everything. The way he'd flooded the villains with his Grimm. He hadn't done any real damage, apparently, but that wasn't the point. The point is that he'd wanted to do damage. He'd even attacked classmates. He felt sick, just replaying the memories of how his Grimm had attacked Bakugo and Kirishima.
'Should have stayed in juvie, served my time and just… hidden away somewhere,' he thought, looking up hopelessly. Then, his Quirk kicked back in, slamming into his mind with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. His hand twitched, almost wanting to summon a Grimm, but he forced it down. No more Grimm, no more…
No more…
Except, the pain made him look up. The sight before him froze Kazuki as he stared forward. All Might was fighting the beast/man/villain… And he wasn't winning. The mist villain was involved too and… And the hero…
"I sustained a very serious injury some years ago. I've never been able to recover from that, and thus… my current situation," he remembered All Might telling him, back at his apartment. Kazuki's eyes widened as he realized where most of the pain was coming from and… 'Am I just going to stand here and pity myself?' he asked himself before his face cleared of all emotions.
He let the negativity wash over him and then, his shadow extended once more. He'd failed the expectations of everyone that had trusted him. He'd failed himself, by losing control. He'd done everything he had promised himself would never happen again…
Maybe he'd get expelled for letting his Quirk go wild once more. Maybe he'd be thrown back in prison once more. Maybe he'd lost his one chance at doing something with his life.
However, he was still there.
And he could be a hero, if only for a moment, if only to himself.
Beowolves appeared from beside him, not one at a time, but all three at once. 'Only three, Kazuki, only three,' he chanted in his mind, glaring with his red eyes at the beast of a villain that was fighting All Might. The thing that was damaging All Might. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed things by bringing all three Grimm at the same time, but he couldn't afford to wait. He needed to step in… and that's what he did, commanding his creations to charge forward.
He could wallow in his self-hatred later, when there weren't lives on the line.
The mist villain seemed to try and intercept his Grimm, but the guy himself was interrupted by Bakugo. The guy exploded the criminal's mist away before grabbing onto some sort of metallic thing. Kazuki didn't have much time to consider that, since there was a loud crack of concrete where Shigaraki stood… Or better to say, next to where he had stood. Kirishima had evidently missed his swing at the guy and hit the ground instead. Meanwhile, the beast villain was half-covered in ice then, as Todoroki walked into the area.
"The Symbol of Peace won't go down as easily as you, clowns," Todoroki said then, as All Might freed himself from the grasp of the beast villain. 'Good, now we just have to deal with these bastards,' Kazuki thought, wondering how to go about that.
They'd mostly shrugged off his barrage of Grimm, so what could he even do with just three? His classmates were strong too, but… Kirishima likely wouldn't do much against the beast and Shigaraki was a definite no. Bakugo and Todoroki… Well, maybe they could do something to the big one.
That meant Kazuki was the best to deal with Shigaraki, the leader.
"Round Two," he said then, raising a hand as he sent his beowolves at the villain, completely ignoring the big one as it broke the ice that had contained it. That one he couldn't do much about, so he'd leave it for others to take care of. Nobody could get close to Shigaraki without crumbling to dust though, if his Grimm were any indication, so he'd take care of tha-
The beast blurred and Kazuki's eyes widened.
Only he seemed to go for Bakugo instead of him. Something was hit alright, it seemed, but that wasn't the explosion guy, considering he was standing somewhere to the side. Looking back to where the hit was directed, he saw All Might standing, with his arms crossed as if to block a hit.
"Nomu! The pale bastard!" Shigaraki called then, and the beast – Nomu – turned towards him. For a split second, Kazuki pondered on the irony of the villain leader calling anyone pale. That is, before his world blurred and his chest burst into pain, followed almost immediately by his back.
All Might cried out something, there were other voices too, Shigaraki soon joined. Kazuki wasn't quite able to pick up on those though. Everything hurt, his chest, his back, All Might's chest and so many other things. There was pain everywhere. Pain from him, from the hero, from the Nomu – pain, pain, pain, pain –, from further away where other classmates and villains were…
'Shigaraki,' Kazuki thought, pulling his mind together and ignoring the pain as best he could. Pain was an old friend, after all. He could keep going. Breathing was hard though, so very much. With a raspy, shallow breath in, he opened his heavy eyelids.
His beowolves were still there…
"A HERO IS SOMEONE THAT SMASHES THROUGH EVERY OBSTACLE THAT LIFE PUTS IN HIS WAY!" Kazuki heard All Might shout and he managed to look at where the man was fighting Nomu. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND, VILLAIN?!" the hero asked then. "PLUS ULTRA!"
Kazuki let a pained chuckle out then. Everything was fine, in the end, because injured or not… All Might was there, and that was all that mattered.
And yet…
He felt it though, the pain in his chest getting worse and worse. Not only Kazuki's but All Might's. His injury was getting to the hero, Kazuki knew. 'That form…' Kazuki realized. All Might hadn't told him anything regarding that, but there had to be a reason why the man was so buff one moment and a skeleton the next, right? He needed to do something, or All Might's secret…
He was afraid. The Number One Hero was afraid, nervous, and Kazuki knew why. He was talking to the villains and while only half the words reached him, Kazuki knew what he was doing. He was trying to get the villains away without having to fight them…
Because he couldn't fight anymore.
'I've got you, All Might,' Kazuki thought then, steeling his nerves. He reached to the beowolves he'd created, like a puppeteer reaching for their controller. Then, he made the creatures charge at the villains. There were cries from his classmates, to leave it to All Might and what not. Someone was reaching him, but he didn't pay them any mind.
All Might's fear and nerves had diminished, and that was all that mattered. The man wasn't feeling worse, or annoyed, or anything like that. That meant Kazuki had done a good job. He just needed to keep it up.
So, he did. His beowolves attacked Shigaraki and the mist villain. He was careful not to let the former touch any of them though, even when he teamed up with the warper. He couldn't afford to lose any of his creatures. Creating another and sending it to battle would take time he might not have.
He just needed to keep the villains entertained, buy time. Time for All Might to recover, maybe, or for the hero to come up with something else to do. Time for help to arrive, hopefully, even though every passing second made that sound less likely. Maybe time for his classmates to help too.
Bakugo joined in then, explosions first and words later. God, Kazuki had never been so grateful for the boy's short fuse. Nobody else did though, but that was fine, beowolves plus Bakugo was good. It'd be enough to buy time more definitely, and that was fine by Kazuki.
'Come on, someone, something,' he thought, coughing. A coppery taste filled his mouth, it was familiar but… But he couldn't focus on that. His red eyes followed the battle instead, his mind focused on his creatures and his goal. Nothing else mattered.
"Endo, Endo, you gotta stop!" a voice told him from his side. It sounded familiar too.
"I have… to keep… going," he said, eyes fixed on the villains, his creations and Bakugo. "Buy… time…" he said, coughing again.
"Endo!" the person cried out and it sounded feminine to him, but that was irrelevant. He needed to keep going. Just a bit more… Just a bit more… "You are bleeding! You are coughing blood! Stop!" the person shouted, but it sounded so faint, so far. Shigaraki was extending a hand towards Bakugo through the mist villain's warping power.
He directed one of his beowolves to intercept like they'd done a few times already. A second hand came from out of nowhere, however. This time, his creature moved slowly – too slowly – just like Kazuki's thoughts.
A gunshot rang then and Kazuki saw the extended hand snapped to the side. There were some shouts and new voices then and-
"The heroes are here, Endo!" the voice next to him said and he let a slight smile spread on his face.
'Good… Then I can… rest… right?' he thought, his eyes closing.
"Endo!"
Some rest sounded good…
[} Chapter End {]
Hey guys! How's it going?
So many doubts. So many…
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