Everyone was staring at him on the bus.
His dad was busy with some work-related shit, so he couldn't give him a ride to school. So, Togaru was forced to endure the bus at the peak of its usage rate – early morning. Fuck his life. The press of bodies drove him fucking insane – with every second he wanted to burst out with blades more and more.
And the staring. Everyone was watching him, their eyes wide with… something. Fear of his ferocity during the Festival? Admiration for his high place? Something else? Disgust of him being a mutant, for rising higher than his station?
"The fuck are you staring at?", Kamakiri said, fed up with the silence. The girl he laid his eyes on recoiled a bit, pushing into another person. Her eyes darted down to the floor, the girl too timid to meet him directly.
"N-nothing. It's j-just…", she trailed off, "It's just, are you K-kamakiri Tog-garu?"
"Yes?", Togaru answered.
"You w-were pretty cool during the Festival, that's al-ll…", she said, and turned away. Well, that wasn't so bad, wasn't it? He didn't bite her head off, no matter how much he wanted to. After that, people started to congratulate him en masse – which, admittedly, felt great, so Kamakiri got out of the bus in good mood.
Reiko was standing on the bus stop, looking over her nails. Her foot was drumming out some kind of beat from one of her favorite songs – Kamakiri heard it enough times to recognize it from a few notes. Kamakiri wanted to greet her, but Yanagi beat him to the punch.
"Sup, loser. Third place buddies?", Reiko said, extending her fist out for a bump. Kamakiri's good mood instantly soured. He smashed his fist into hers, rocking Reiko a bit. She blew a wild strand of hair out of her eyes, narrowing them.
"Rude. I only wanted to support you, Togaru. No need in getting pissy.", Yanagi said. Kamakiri didn't reply. Izuku gave him his all, and then just fucking fumbled the fight to Bakugou. In less than five fucking minutes. Which also translated to his lose being even more embarrassing.
"At least I didn't pass out, bitch.", Togaru growled. Reiko snorted, and sprinted pass him, turning around to face him. She had very pronounced eye bags under her eyes.
"Relax, big guy. You know who is getting it worse? Lung is so fucking done. All that talk, and then just getting KO-ed by Firecracker like that! Bro, he is so over.", Reiko said, punching his shoulder. Okay, to be fair, she is right. Izuku losing like that was extremely underwhelming. And funny.
They walked in silence for a couple of minutes. Kamakiri spied from the corner of his eye Reiko's smile retreating – she looked even more tired now.
"Long night?", Togaru asked. Reiko didn't reply.
Kamakiri pushed the door to his class, and entered. He was immediately hit by a chatter of his classmates, prattling about their experiences with their newfound fame. At least it's not only him that is suffering from success.
Togaru strolled up to his seat, and place his bag down on the table, dropping himself behind it and kicking his legs up onto it. Life is good. Izuku and Katsuki were already seated beside him – Lung was, as always catching a quick nap before the classes begin. Bakugou was speaking with Reiko about Festival, angry about missing their fight.
Setsuna entered the room, her hair up in a ponytail. She looked good, even in their atrocious uniform. Setsuna also had eye bags – and no makeup to boot. Another long night, and short morning.
"Good morning?", Kamakiri questioned. Setsuna looked at him, her eyes unimpressed. She fell into her seat, and dropped her head on her crossed arms.
"Yeah. Good morning.", she said. Kamakiri decided to pry further.
"You okay?"
"Eh. Just… couldn't sleep well, that's all.", Setsuna replied. Kamakiri couldn't really sleep well too. Sao Paulo destruction echoed all over the world, it seems.
"Morning", Aizawa said, walking into the class and silencing everyone. "Today's class is a bit special."
Another test? Maybe a repeat trip to USJ, now that security is amped?
"You are choosing your hero names.", Aizawa said. He started talking about something else, internships with heroes or something. Togaru didn't listen. Hero names.
He always struggled with picking out one. Bakugou had that stupid Explosion Murder King, or God, or who the fuck cares. The stupid one. Izuku chose Lung at an ungodly age – something like five. Reiko, by her own admission, didn't give a fuck, and would pick something basic. But Kamakiri wanted his name to stick. And he didn't manage to think of a good one throughout his whole life.
"Of course, placeholder names are fine, before you find something to your liking.", Aizawa said.
Midnight burst into the class, and started rambling about the importance of picking out a name. Kamakiri's mood dropped even lower. They gave them fifteen minutes to pick out names, but Izuku volunteered to go before the deadline.
He sauntered up to the podium, lifted his tablet up – and he didn't surprise anyone.
"Escalation Hero : Lung", Izuku said, and went to moving away from the desk. Midnight stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Kamakiri knew that Lung was seconds away from pushing it away.
"What?", he instead turned and asked, annoyed.
"Escalation hero? A bit un-heroic, don't you think? And Lung? Is it Chinese, or something?", Midnight replied. It was somewhat strange for a hero, but it captured Izuku vibes perfectly, in Kamakiri's opinion.
"Why not? Who the fuck cares about the prefix anyway. And Lung is dragon in Cantonese, there is a bit too much of Ryu's in Japan to my liking.", Izuku replied. Midnight moved to argue, but Aizawa pierced with an unimpressed glare and she relented. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you in the future." Izuku didn't reply.
Nobody else tried to fast-track their hero name. Fifteen minutes passed, and people were called to present their pickings. Togaru didn't come up with anything good, as always. His form was extremely reminiscent of butcher, or slaughterhouse – but it was very fucking morbid to pick one of those. And Butcher had extremely negative connotations as an alias. Maybe Slaughterhouse? Don't start on the prefix.
"Okay, time is up, any volunteers?", Midnight asked. Setsuna picked herself up from the desk, and moved over to the podium.
"Fracture Hero : Faultline", Tokage announced, her voice low. Her eyes were glassy, her body rigid.
"What's with the morbid names all of a sudden? At least it has alliteration. Okay, approved.", Midnight said.
Setsuna strolled back to her seat, and dropped into it. Kamakiri nudged her with his elbow. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes.
"Cool name.", he whispered. Setsuna didn't reply, just turned her gaze away. Kamakiri didn't continue.
"Thanks.", Setsuna whispered back. Kamakiri barely heard it.
Bakugou went next, and was trying out different variations of Explosion Murder Something for around a minute, before Midnight got annoyed enough to just saddle him with his first name as hero name.
"Firecracker, that was the most original hero name I heard in my entire life, Midnight was stupid for not letting you pick it.", Reiko said, smirking. Katsuki didn't reply, just dropped down into his seat, arms crossed.
Reiko sauntered up to the podium with her tablet. She still looked extremely tired.
"Ruin Hero : Collapse.", Reiko proclaimed. Midnight looked extremely unimpressed, but the look on Reiko's face said it all – and the name wasn't as shit as Katsuki's, so she just muttered something to herself, and noted it down. Can Reiko be more fucking edgy? The name fits, but still.
More people came up to the podium, picking their names. Some were good, some decent, many were shit. It was the first name they pick, as Aizawa said. It doesn't need to be good. Kamakiri wrote his down, and went to the podium.
"Togaru. I couldn't think of anything, sorry.", Kamakiri said. Midnight smiled, probably relieved that he didn't pick something edgy or stupid, like others. And Togaru was good enough as a placeholder – 'to sharpen' is a decent descriptor of his quirk.
Kamakiri went back to his seat, and sat down.
"Who did you get?", Reiko asked Izuku. Their usual group, plus Tokage who Kamakiri invited for some reason, were sitting in Firecracker's living room, picking out their internships. Reiko didn't really give a fuck with whom she would spent this week – only that it was combat-related. She is so not helping elderly walk over the road, or save people from wreckage. Collapse is Ruin hero, not Reconstruction hero.
"A lot of good ones. I'll probably pick Ryukyu, though.", Lung replied. Reiko would bet her life that he picked her only for being a dragon, and not her rank.
"It's in the North, yeah? Tohoku, I think? Maybe Hokkaido.", Reiko mused.
"It's Tohoku. Iwate Prefecture. The capital of that shithole. Morioka?", Firecracker interrupted her. Rude.
"Nerd. You probably know every fucking hero's stomping grounds by heart, or something.", Reiko ribbed. Firecracker replied with a pillow flying to her face, which she redirected back at him. The hit had a very satisfying thud.
"Tohoku? Isn't that where the Teeth operate?", Setsuna asked. The Teeth. Anarchist bomb throwers of the twenty-third century. Clowns, but strong fucking clowns. And too mobile for the heroes to ever catch them with their pants down.
"Yeah. But they rarely go into big cities. It's mostly small towns, or villages. Go in, butcher anyone who looks vaguely rich, pillage and burn, and wander away. Maybe press gang some local villains into the group. Nomad villain modus operandi all over the world.", Firecracker explained. He knew a shit ton of things about capes. It was a useful habit of his.
"Fuck, Katsuki, you really are a cape groupie. Can you get us even more exposition on a random villain group. We are all ears.", Reiko ribbed him instead of acknowledging his knowledge, pun unintended. Bakugou exploded with a string of curses, making Reiko laugh even more.
"I'll still pick her. The Teeth are even an added benefit – fighting them would be cool as fuck.", Lung said, as confident as always. Someday that's going to bite him in the ass.
Reiko also had a lot of people to chose from. Gang Orca. Kamui Woods. Shishido.
Endeavor.
Was this even a choice? Endeavor is like, top tier pick for her. Constantly on the warpath against anyone, great with his quirk, doesn't give a fuck about media and is still number two hero – so he is as legit as you can get.
And as much as she sympathized with Shoto – Endeavor is right. The world is going to shit.
Two months ago, nobody would've thought that UA students are as mortal as anyone.
A week ago, nobody would've thought that a villain can drive a city to an early grave.
"Endeavor. I will pick Endeavor.", Reiko said. Everyone turned their heads to her, not expecting that she had his invitation. Reiko didn't really know why she had one. Was he impressed by her beating his son? But Half and Half was basically half-assing the fight. Who the fuck cares, it is done already.
"You have an invite from Endeavor? Why the fuck I didn't get one?", Firecracker asked. Yeah, somehow winning the UA Festival didn't land him a lot of good gigs. The best one was the jeans guy. With the stupid name.
"Who are you picking, Setsuna?", Togaru asked, trying to prevent another Firecracker epic gamer moment. It's cute how he tries to include her in the conversation. Even if she has the personality of a wet towel.
"I… don't know. Probably my brother? He is the best hero on my list, all other things being equal.", Tokage said, looking apprehensive. Kamakiri frowned, and moved to say something, but closed his mouth. Does he have history with the guy, or something?
"Your brother is a Pro? Who?", Izuku asked, displaying an abnormal amount of interest in something that doesn't affect him directly. A motherfucking miracle.
"Stardust Crusader. Kiyoshi Tokage. Quirk – Order of The Star. Creates copies of himself, that can float, and fly through non-living objects. And, consequently, can pierce armor with ease. Number 14 hero, I think? I don't remember the rankings by heart.", Firecracker once again dumped a whole lot of pointless exposition. Could've just said the name.
"Yeah. He is number fourteen.", Setsuna said so quietly, it was almost a whisper. "And you, Kamakiri. Your pick?"
Kamakiri jumped a bit, startled out of his thoughts. "Probably Gang Orca. He can handle my quirk. At least I hope he can handle it. And he is a battle hero to boot.", Kamakiri replied. And he is a heteromorph. Probably the most important reason Kamakiri picked the guy. Fuck, maybe she should pick Gang Orca too? It would be fun, interning with Kamakiri back to back. Like the good old days.
No, Endeavor is leagues better. And she should stick to her choices. It's what heroes do, right?
"So, it's only you left, Katsuki.", Kamakiri said.
It's so fucking funny that Firecracker won the Festival, but got probably the worst fucking pick of the litter in internships. A shit ton of nons, somehow a lot of rescue heroes. His best choice was Best Jeanist. Fucking hell that name is stupid. Reiko didn't understand why Togaru is sweating over his so much, when shit like that existed. He could pick something, like, Chain Man, and the public would eat it up.
Bakugou opened his mouth to say something, when Reiko's phone blared with a call. Who the fuck could be calling her right now. All of her friends were here, her parents probably didn't even have her number. Reiko pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket – Emo Girl. Toga… Something. Himito? Himibo? No, Himiko. Reiko debated hanging up, but why not hear the girl out. She was pretty cool, after that breakdown on the roof passed. They spent the whole night out, walking around the hood, and speaking about nothing and everything.
"I'll pick this up.", Reiko said, and walked out of the room.
"Hey.", Toga said, her voice sounding tired. Is her sleeping schedule as fucked up as she said it was? Reiko thought that she was joking, when she said that she wakes up in the evening most of the time.
"Hey. Did you just wake up?", Reiko asked, checking the time. Six in the evening. Around the time she met Toga last time.
"Yeah. And I actually got more than six hours of sleep! The hooray's to me!", Himiko replied.
"Okay, that's great. Why the fuck are you calling me, though? If it's just to talk about your sleeping schedule, I am so hanging up."
"Nah, it's not just that. I am free tonight. Wanna hang out? Like the last time. It was pretty cool.", Toga asked, her voice more timid. Anticipating a refusal?
Did Reiko want to? Tomorrow was another school day, but it was pointless drivel day – Literature, Midnight's class – whatever the fuck it was called, English, something else, Reiko needed to check. Or not. There was no Hero Class – so the day was basically wasted.
Did Reiko want to spend time with Himiko, though? Himiko, suffice to say, has problems. But she… gets Reiko. Gets having shit homelife, from the sound of it, gets living in poor neighborhoods. And other stuff. She liked her friends, but even Kamakiri didn't click with her as Himiko clicked that day. Togaru, even if he lives in a single-parent home, has a good dad, a cool sister. They support him. Acknowledge him. Firecracker lives in like, a fucking two-story mansion, or something. And his parents are great. Mitsuki has the best fucking food this side of Japan. Izuku… actually, Reiko doesn't know jack shit about Izuku's family. But Izuku has personality of a rock – being antisocial, is like, his middle name.
"Fuck it, we ball. Gimme, like, around two hours. Maybe more. I'll be on those swings by then.", Reiko replied.
"Fuck yeah!", Himiko exclaimed, and hung up.
Reiko regretted her rash decision for a moment – the gang didn't come together as often as it did back during the last year. But they already picked their internships. And they would have around an hour to fuck around.
And not like spending time with Toga would ever bite her in the ass.
"W-what?", Cassie stuttered, unable to comprehend the words that left Ifrit's mouth. Welcome to the Teeth? Vex? No, no, no. She is just Cassie Kusanagi, seventeen years old. She is not a killer, she is not a murderous maniac like Teeth.
She killed a man less than a minute ago.
Cassie dropped back on her knees, but nothing substantial came out of her stomach anymore – only bile. She dropped back on her ass, staring at her hands. One turn of her head, and she would come face-to-face with the corpse she made a moment ago.
It was… disfigured, to say the least. She stared at it, morbid fascination filling her mind – he looked like somebody took a pack of rabid dogs to his body, countless lacerations and cuts filling it. His face was unrecognizable, filled with even more gashes. It looked flayed, parts of muscle peeking out from underneath the torn skin. Cassie wanted to throw up a third time.
"Get up, Vex.", Ifrit commanded her. His voice was not as calm as it was a minute ago. She turned her eyes upwards – from this position, his form towered over her even more. Cassie jumped to her feet, and would almost fall again after stumbling, if Ifrit didn't catch her a second time.
"Get a bag. And some essentials.", Ifrit said. Cassie tried to search his 'face' for a clue of a cruel prank, or something. Did he really meant it? Allowing her into Teeth. Can he do it? He is not their boss, Lord of Bones is. Would he even allow her? Or is it just an endorsement, like a recommendation letter to a job. That was a funny thought in her head – Ifrit writing it, like she is applying for a fucking waiter job, or something.
"Stop fucking around, Vex. Get to it.", Ifrit brought Cassie out of her thoughts, and back into reality. What does Vex even mean, in this contest. Cassie was good at English, but this name didn't sound really Teeth-like. Vex was more about schoolyard bullies doing some stupid shit to you, not killing someone in cold blood. Cassie didn't have enough guts to ask Ifrit about it.
She hurried around her room, picking up her backpack, and anything she deemed useful to her – clothes, toiletries, her phone and charger. Father's photo. She though about changing out of her home clothes, into something more suitable for a long trip, but she didn't want to change with Ifrit around her. And she was too scared to ask him to move out of the room.
Several minutes later, she was ready. Ifrit looked her over, nodded, and picked up the corpse onto his shoulders.
"What?", Cassie asked, befuddled. Why would he do this? Ifrit didn't reply, back to his stoic and silent self. He motioned for her to follow him, and Cassie complied. She slipped on her most comfortable sneakers at the entrance. Ifrit stepped into the outside, but Cassie hesitated. She didn't want to leave her home like this. All her memories. She forgot to take any other photo's other than Dad's. She wanted to run back to her room, but Ifrit's gaze stopped her in her tracks. She complied, sighed, and stepped over the doorstep. Nothing grand happened – no fanfare, no end of the world. Even the street looked normal – or as normal when Teeth attack a town. It was deserted, not a soul present in sight. Every house's door was closed, curtains were drawn, light's were off.
Ifrit started moving at a leisurely pace, and Cassie followed. He dropped the body onto the ground – it fell like a sack of potatoes. Flayed skin on its face fluttered, like countless flags in the wind. Ifrit turned to her house, and… started covering it in his quirk, the oily black substance. Cassie realized what he wanted to do, but her body was paralyzed with the realization.
When the explosion hit her ears, she finally snapped out of the trance. Her childhood home burned – the photos, the kitchen, where Mom made the best pancakes in the world, her father's room. Her room. All the memories that she made in this house, burned with it. She stared at the bonfire of her old life, and cried, hot, ugly tears trekking down her face.
Ifrit stared at the fire too, his body as monolith as ever. When all that was left of the house was just the burned out foundation, he turned around, picked up the corpse, and proceeded down the street, to center of the town. Cassie had no idea how the fire didn't spread to the surrounding houses.
She stared at the charred husk of her home for a moment more, and went after Ifrit. Nobody came to investigate the fire, even if the sound the flames were making was probably heard all over the street. Nobody glanced behind the curtains – Cassie didn't know, was this a blessing, or a curse. She didn't want to be seen walking with Ifrit, but she wanted somebody to help her. A hero to save her from the her impending fate.
If they were walking to the town center by foot, it would take a lot of time. Fifteen minutes minimum. Didn't the Teeth have a shit ton of cars, or something. They have that whole nomad aesthetic. Where are they? Ifrit is a big name in their gang, he should get a car. And how the fuck can he carry a corpse, and still walk faster than Cassie. It was unfair. She tried to match her speed to him, but it would tire her out, and then Ifrit would be forced to carry two people. Or wait for her to restore her vigor. Those two options would probably make him even more pissed at her.
The town was… deserted. But it looked normal. Nothing burnt to the ground, no corpses laying around in the streets. The whole no-people-in-daytime looked surreal, but it was leagues better than Reiko expected.
The plaza at the center of the town though – it was packed with cars, painted red and gray. With gratuitous usage of bones everywhere. Skulls on the radiators, ribs duct taped to the mirrors. In the center of this whole clusterfuck the was some kind of throne, made out of more bones. The bones didn't look natural though – just an amalgamation of collagen and calcium. A man in whole bone armor sat at the top, the armor looking like a carapace on some kind of insect. Plates over plates over plates.
Lord of Bones. A-rank villain, pushing S-rank. Can create a shit ton of bones all over the place, and even control bones of others. Cassie and Ifrit marched through the corridor, made out of cars, and people dressed in more red and gray colors, right up to the throne. Two more people stood beside it – packed to the brim with bones all over their clothes. Was it some kind of hierarchy? The more bones you had, the closer you were to the throne, or something? Goons behind them didn't have a lot – just some ribs, or vertebrae here or there.
"Ifrit.", person to the left of the throne said. His voice was deep, masculine. He was close in build to Ifrit, in contrast to the guy on the right, who was more akin to Cassie. Ifrit didn't respond, just dropped the corpse on the ground, the flayed skin once again flapping in the wind. With the shock of the murder passing, it even looked somewhat funny. Like when you shake around a peeled banana.
"Who's the girl? And what's with the corpse?", the guy on the right asked.
"Vex. Our new recruit. And her rite of admission.", Ifrit responded. Cassie didn't see their faces, but she would swear that they frowned. Lord of Bones leaned forward, placing his face on his fist.
"It doesn't work like that, Ifrit. You know that. But I am intrigued nonetheless. Girl, come forward.", Bones said. Cassie glanced at Ifrit, who gave her a minuscule nod. Cassie took a step forward, coming into spotlight. Lord of Bones stared at her for a moment, and nodded.
"Hmm. I'll give you a chance. Animos.", Bones said. The man on the left immediately sprung into action, transforming into a horrifying… wolf-thing. Werewolf? Cassie instinctively jumped to the left, and summoned her quirk, which saved her from being mauled to death by the beast. She screamed, and the guy on the left laughed at that. That sent Cassie down a memory lane of people constantly laughing at her in the school, because of her… everything. Her being weak-willed and letting everyone walked over her, her accent, her not being like everyone else. Her quirk answered to her emotions, force fields, no, blades appearing all around her. The wolf pounced at her once again, but Cassie didn't dodge this time. No, she mustered all of her blades, and sent them at the target.
Countless cuts appeared on Animos's body, his charge stopping dead in the tracks. He let out a roar, and her quirk burst into fragments, dissipating. She tried to summon more, but none came. Dread filled Cassie's body – this is how she would die, after over-working her quirk in a battle against an opponent that probably just underestimated her. Animos quickly recovered, and jumped forward at her, Cassie still frozen in place. She closed her eyes, to better prepare for the pain.
But it never came. She heard a cracking sound, and then a crash. She opened her eyes – a wall of bones stood between her and Animos. He howled once more, but even Cassie understood the meaning of this – the bout is over. She won? No, she passed the test. Probably.
"Strong quirk. And ruthless, when your back is up against the wall. Good. Only one thing left, Vex.", Bones said. The wall melted down, and evaporated. Ifrit picked up the corpse once again, walked up to her, and dropped it.
"Pick.", he said. What? Pick up the body? Or what? She glanced at him, and Cassie would swear that she heard a sigh. He pointed at the skull on his face. Oh. Pick that.
"I'll even give you a present, Vex. Even two presents. I'll fashion you something of the bone you would pick. And you can pick our next target. This one was too boring, for our liking. Not many heroes, not many villains. And killing defenseless civilians is too boring.", Lord of Bones said. Animos, who took up the place at the right of throne once again, flinched, but didn't say anything.
She can pick the next what? Target? She didn't fucking know what bone to pick, pun unintended. But picking which town to hit. That was too much. Can she back out of the deal?
Ifrit jabbed her in the shoulder with his fist, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked down on the body. Fashion anything she wanted…
"The skull. Into a full mask.", Cassie picked. Ifrit huffed, but didn't say anything.
"Ha. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Very well, Vex.", Lord of Bones said, and descended down the steps. He jabbed his fingers into the flesh of the corpse, and bones flowed down his arm, forming a mask. "It would need straps, of course, but here it is."
Cassie took the mask out of his hands, and put it on her face, tilting her head upwards to prevent it from falling. The cool feeling of the bones felt… liberating. Like she was not Cassie Kusanagi anymore.
Like she was Vex, this time for real.
They complained about not getting enough action, didn't they? Well, Vex will give them action.
"Morioka.", she said.
"What?", Lord of Bones questioned.
"We are going to Morioka."