Welcome back to A Hero's Creed! I am still deliberating who passed and who failed their Finals, but we are focusing on another happening in the world. Here it is, the mission you all have been waiting for. First, Reviews:

Gamelover41592: Thanks, but I think this chapter will be even more insane.

LEGOBRICK13: The first movie is on my list for this week. I only know it from other Fanfictions, so I'll get to see how similar and how different they are from the source. I'm not going to wrestle with Quirked genetics until I'm forced to, so I'm going to ignore the Logic of Toru for as long as possible.

And yes, now Izuku has a combination Ezio's vision from Revelations (path trails) and Arno's vision from Unity (seeing targets through walls). I will neither confirm nor deny if the rats of Ground Beta worship Nezu, but I'm glad you enjoyed the fight so thoroughly.

Ah, and one more thing. *Opens portal and pulls in AHC!Momo and AHC!Eri.* I need these back where they belong. Enjoy your latest rage malfunction!

Monkey D. Conan: The judges are still deliberating, so you will have to wait another chapter for the results. Izuku got to show off, but now we see what his teachers can do. I hope you enjoy!

repoman906: I see you're well-versed in AC lore and common outcomes. I cannot confirm or deny which direction such similar stories will go in this one.

Wizardwolf 1020: I have a few ideas in mind, but seeing the movie for myself is on my list for this week. I'm glad you have such faith in my narrative ability, though, and I assure you the whole class will not be on I-Island because "plot." In fact, most of them will just not be there. No, this will be the start of my world-scale worldbuilding.

A/N: Before we get started, I will warn you all that this is the most violent and bloody chapter yet. The last few missions were small compared to this, three described deaths max, normally only two. This chapter actually makes me wonder if I should change the rating of this story to M. Just remember, in a story of Assassins and killers, fights are not pretty.

You have been warned, but you should've known what you were in for.

Chapter 32:

Seek and Destroy

Several Assassins stood in the shadows, their eyes on various points of entry for the Shie Hassaikai's main building. Keeper and Nekoi watched from the north side, Ganma Asui the west, Aizawa the east, and Akaguro the south. The building itself was unassuming, hiding in plain sight, converted from an average office building and the residences that surrounded it. The main entrance was connected to a gated-off courtyard facing the south overlooking the road. From what they knew, the majority of the compound was made up of an underground labyrinth of tunnels only accessible through yakuza-controlled buildings. The sun was not yet up, the first rays of daylight barely touching the mostly-cloudy sky. They were waiting, as they had been for an hour now.

"Do you think something's gone wrong?" Keeper muttered, the man seeing one of Nekoi's ears flick even under her hood as she studied the outside of the Shie Hassaikai base of operations through a pair of binoculars.

"Shut up."

"You don't think they caught her, do you?"

"Keeper, shut up."

"What if they—"

"Goddamn it, Keeper. You're always like this on missions," the cat-woman hissed. "Just stop. You and Assassin Toga worked together on her infiltration and you assured me it all went to plan."

"It did, as far as I know," the man in the red robes replied. "Just… What we did was highly experimental. Toga had some crazy ideas about what my Quirk could be capable of, but I don't know if it caused undo side effects."

Nekoi sighed. "And what did you two do that was 'highly experimental,' huh?"

"Well… You know how I can erase memories with Memory Loss and that they come out as this ball of silvery light. Typically, I just crush it or plant the memory in my own head if we need information from it, but doing that gives me a killer migraine despite the fact that it's my power. Well, we haven't pushed the limits in a few years since we didn't need to, but Assassin Toga wanted to know if they'd grown."

"So?"

"She asked if I could implant stolen memories into other people."

"…Ok?" Nekoi blinked, taking her eyes off the building's windows to glance at her longtime friend. "Can you?"

"Uh, yeah," the man said, scratching his cheek.

"You're not telling me something."

"What? I mean, there's a lot I'm not telling you. Like the name and face of the Shie Hassaikai grunt we jumped or the alley where we did it, but I've given you all the pertinent information."

"No, you're not," the female Assassin accused. "You get this hitch in your breath and scratch your cheek when you lie to me."

"No I don't. I have an excellent poker face."

"You do it when you feel guilty about something. Come on, Haruto. I've known you since we were children. Your tells were how I learned about your family's ties to the Order and got involved."

"No, you got involved because those thieves jumped us on our way home from middle school and I forgot to hide my training when I punched that guy in the throat."

"You're trying to distract me," Nekoi said. "Out with it. Now."

"I…" Keeper sighed. "The idea Assassin Toga wanted to try… I've known I could do it for a while. With my own memories, at least. I hid it because I have enough work trying to silence all the slip ups that happen like with Akaguro and Ingenium. I fear that if I'd shown my ability, then I'd get stretched too thin and get killed. I'm not afraid of dying, but I don't want to leave the Brotherhood high and dry without another memory Quirk in our ranks."

"But now Toga knows you can do that and you don't trust her to keep quiet, so you have to come out with it," the woman deduced.

"I'd known I could transfer memories to and from myself," Keeper reiterated. "Either they were my memories given freely or given to me, typically from someone dead at that point. What Assassin Toga had us do… Well, she wanted some of the memories of the grunt she's impersonating. I'm afraid they might overwhelm her and make her think she's actually the guy. I know she's tough —she survived Akaguro's on-the-job training— but this is new."

"She accepted the risks and the lifestyle, Keeper. And you said this was her plan."

"Yeah, I know," the man sighed, slumping forward to rub his eyes. "It's just—"

The communicators in their ears crackled, Akaguro's gruff voice coming through. "Signal is coming from the south side. Reconvene on me."

Silently, Keeper and Nekoi nodded to each other before separating, each taking an opposite direction to circle around to the front of the building. Keeper was the last to arrive, the other five Assassins already there when he touched down. Akaguro pointed as soon as everyone could hear.

"We'll need to enter through the front doors unless we want to fight our way through. Himi's waiting for us just past the doors, but there are guards in the courtyard."

"They're acting like businessmen on a smoke break," Ganma said. "Seven in total. That'd be real convincing if it wasn't sun-up."

"This is a seek-and-destroy mission," Nekoi reminded everyone. "The grunts are little concern, but we aren't going out of our way to keep from killing them. They threw in their lot with the yakuza, after all."

"Can you four handle them?" Aizawa questioned. "I can watch from the rooftop when you attack. Keep them from doing anything to alert anyone else with their Quirks."

"You do that," the leader of the operation nodded. "Let's get moving."

Aizawa stayed where he was, watching his fellow Assassins make their ways across the street without being detected. The grunts in the courtyard made no indication that they saw anything. When the others were in place, Aizawa activated his Quirk, his hood rising slightly as his hair tried to counter the effects of gravity.

One of the grunts turned, clearly able to tell that something was amiss, but there was nothing he could do before the four Assassins dropped from above them, performing four simultaneous assassinations. Aizawa let his Quirk deactivate and leapt off the roof. His fingers hooked onto a windowsill halfway down, stopping his fall before he kicked off. Maintaining his momentum with a roll, he charged the gate, jumping off a parked car to get the height he needed to climb over the barrier.

The others were already looting the bodies and hiding them in the bushes when he touched down on the grass. Nekoi admired a pair of silenced pistols she'd pilfered from her kills while Akaguro, on the other side, studied a classic katana and several knives.

"No one saw anything?" Ganma asked.

"We're clear," Aizawa confirmed, accepting an extra pistol he tucked in his belt. There were four in total, so Keeper took the last one, the toad-man among them saying his fingers were too large for the triggers. Ganma did, however, accept a few throwing knives from their pool.

The door opened, a nondescript man with dark hair and shades stepping out and beckoning the Assassins in.

"Come on," he said. "I've looped the cameras they've got, but we don't have time to idle."

"Let's go," Nekoi agreed, the group stepping into the building. The entrance hall looked like any other office building, a desk with no receptionist on the opposite side of the room. The man stepped to the other side of the desk before his skin sluffed off, revealing Himiko in her Assassin robes. She blinked.

"Huh? I guess I didn't put enough force in that neck break before. Oops. Sorry, Mr. Receptionist." She activated her hidden blade and drove it downward. "Requiescat en pace."

"Which way, Himi?" Akaguro demanded as she stood, his protegee running to his side before reaching her hand under a table holding a vase of flowers. The wall clicked, a hidden door opening for them.

"This way," she said, leading them down a flight of stairs. "Overhaul's lab is located at the back of the maze, with the lackies' living quarters and eatery in between. The tunnels can be confusing, but they interconnect at multiple points."

"What about the Eight Bullets?" Nekoi questioned.

"They've got their own rooms close to the boss. They get up at different times, though. Sasaki rises late with a hangover most mornings according to the info I have, but Irinaka, Setsuno, and Hojo are all early risers. I already eliminated Tabe last night."

"I trust you were discrete?" Akaguro said.

"Who do you take me for, a Recruit?" the blonde replied, a note of hurt in her voice. "He falls asleep in the cafeteria every night and half the time the others just leave him there. That happened last night, so I took the opportunity to get rid of him while everyone slept. He's down the drain with the rats."

"Good work, Himi."

"No night guards?" Keeper asked.

"Less than we expected," the infiltrator answered. "They were the lackies with the strongest Quirks, though. They didn't think anyone could get so far in and the night shift is about to clock out as everyone else wakes up. No one's going to find Tabe, though."

"And no problem with the memories?"

"Other than a strange craving for takoyaki? Nothing."

Keeper relaxed. "Good. That's... good."

Nekoi stopped, silently gesturing for the others to do the same. They had come to an intersection, a door ahead of them open to show the cafeteria Himiko had mentioned. Already, several of the earlier risers of the Shie Hassaikai were filtering in, pouring themselves cups of coffee and other breakfast essentials.

Among the men were Setsuno and Hojo. The former, Toya Setsuno, had blond hair that partially covered his left eye, a long, black, beak-shaped mask set on the table as he ate his breakfast. Yu Hojo across from him was bald, most of his face covered in a white mask that held tight to his square jaw as he discussed something or other with his fellow Bullet, a cup of coffee ignored by his hand.

"Two targets located," the woman in purple muttered. Using gestures, she ordered Akaguro and Himiko to go right and look for more of their targets. The pair nodded and headed down another hallway.

"Should we take them out now?" Ganma croaked. "We have two in out sights, but they are surrounded by their allies."

"No," Nekoi responded with a shake of her head. "If we cause a slaughter here, we'll lose our element of surprise." She paused. "Keeper, Aizawa, stay here and observe. If the pair exit, take the chance and kill them, but make as little noise as possible."

"You got it," Keeper nodded. Trusting him, Nekoi led Ganma opposite where Akaguro and Himiko had gone, the pair sticking to the shadows and peaking around corners as they worked their way deeper into the compound.

"Man, I'm telling you," a voice said, the female Assassin instantly jumping to the ceiling and clinging there with clawed gloves and blades hooked to her shoes. Ganma blended into the shadows, his dull robe seeming to darken until it was barely different from the dark hallway. "Weapons and drugs are just too expensive on the black market nowadays. It doesn't help that Heroes have started busting some of our deals."

"I know what you mean." The speakers moved into their view. The first was small, clad in a black bodysuit with a white bird mask over the face. He was sitting upon the shoulders of the second, a rather thin man with a suit, bird mask, and hat all in black. Nekoi recognized them as Irinaka and Nemoto from the pictures they had. Nemoto was the one currently speaking. "Our contacts could have lowered the price, but apparently their boss is skimming off the top. He's getting ready to host some bigwig from France and wants to make a good impression."

"And we're stuck with the cost?" Irinaka demanded. "Typical."

"It's not all bad. He's got some research he's willing to pay us for that would more than make up for the difference, but I need to run it past the Boss first before we accept. He's looking for a watered-down Trigger that can slowly increase the power of a Quirk over several years. He's got kids with weak Quirks that want to be Heroes. Says the Frenchman would be interested, too."

"Speaking of Heroes, we've got that one coming in later, right?"

"I was actually on my way to meet him," Nemoto replied. The pair were starting to get further away, their comment about a Hero joining them worrying Nekoi. Making a split-second decision, she gestured for Ganma to go on ahead and started following them, careful as she used her hooks to stay on the ceiling.

"A Hero, huh?" the smaller Yakuza questioned. "What's he want with us?"

"I'm not sure. That's why Boss wants me to be the one to walk him in. All I know is that he's part of the Templars and has been a guest of a couple of our… larger anonymous doners. Got any ideas?"

"Not really," Irinaka admitted. "I know who all our donors are, even the anonymous ones, but I don't have anything about what they do with their time."

"Then I suppose we're going in blind." He paused, thinking. "Maybe he knows something about this Frenchman if he's a fellow Templar."

"Do you think he's actually one of us? This Hero, I mean."

"Probably not," Nemoto shrugged. Nekoi crawled over to a camera, silently cutting its wires. Himiko said she'd looped the footage, but with the compound waking up —albeit still groggy— it was only a matter of time before someone noticed the tampering. "There aren't a lot of Heroes willing to work toward our true goal. They like their Quirks, after all. He's probably just a Templar. Still, we need to treat him amicably if we want to keep our funding."

"We don't want to lose that," Irinaka agreed. The two turned a corner and stopped by a rung ladder set into the wall that rose upward. Nekoi swallowed nervously and backed away a foot, silently thankful that the lights in this place were set into the walls so her shadow was not cast over the floor. Nemoto climbed the ladder with Irinaka still on his shoulder, Nekoi sighing as she was finally able to drop from the ceiling. Her muscles ached from the strain; not so much that she couldn't move normally but just enough that she noticed it. Still, she steeled herself to crawl along the ceiling again. The hallways were narrow and had few hiding spots.

She waited for several minutes, her ears listening closely for any movement from above. She dared not risk exposer by attacking the pair, however, despite their isolation. Other Assassins might have taken the chance to kill Nemoto and Irinaka, but their words about this visiting Hero unnerved her and the information she could gain by watching their interaction could lead the Brotherhood to more Templar conspiracies they were unaware of. Plus, Nemoto would be leading this visitor straight to Chisaki and she didn't know what this unknown Hero would do if no one came to escort them.

Nekoi reached up, pressing a button on the device resting in her ear. It was a little awkward with her heteromorphic features, but that was something she'd long gotten used to. "Nekoi to all," she whispered into the mic attached at the base of her hood. "Belay any assassination on Chisaki until I say so. He's receiving a visitor to exchange information."

No one responded, but that did not bother her.

Finally, she heard a knock. Words were exchanged, and a door to the outside opened. Nekoi jumped to the ceiling again and watched, hugging the ceiling as closely as she could. The first one down the ladder was a man dressed in jeans and a clean —if slightly rumpled— button-up. A pair of large bands striped black and yellow were clamped around his wrists and his hair was styled into white spikes. Nekoi tried to identify the Hero by his square jaw and broad shoulders, but she couldn't place a name to him.

Nemoto and Irinaka followed him down, the former with a gun pointed on the man's back. There was a tightness in the casually-dressed Hero's jaw, indicating he knew there was a weapon trained on him. The Yakuza kept their eyes on him.

Thankfully, no one looked up.

"So…" Nemoto began, directing the Hero forward. "What brings you here today, Mr. Ogami?"

"I need some Trigger," the Hero answered after a moment's hesitation, his shoulders going stiff. Nekoi couldn't see his face but she imagined he was surprised at the effects of Nemoto's Quirk: Confession. "I'm falling behind in the polls and critics are saying my strength Quirk is starting to fail."

"And you can't have that?"

"Of course not. If I retire, the Templars will have no more use of me. The only reason I'm in the master's circle is for my contacts among the Heroes." The man did not elaborate.

"You think they'd get rid of you?" the mobster prompted.

"…Yes, I think so." The Hero's fingers flexed and released, clearly uncomfortable. "How are you doing this?"

"That's not important," Nemoto waved off. "What's important is that you understand we are a skeptical bunch, even with other Templars. Do anything to threaten us, and we will end you."

"I… I understand."

"Good. Now then, how did you hear about us?"

"One of my Hero contacts," the man replied. "He's a fellow Templar and buys from you all in small doses, just enough to compete in today's world. He… He said you could help me stay ahead."

"Which Hero?"

"...The Reflection Hero: Mirroro."

No one looked up, Nekoi feeling very much like a pre-Quirk comic as she crawled across the ceiling deeper into the underground base.

"This is Aizawa," a voice whispered into her earbud. "Setsuno and Hojo are dead, but we had to kill several underlings as well. We hid the bodies, but someone will see the blood soon."

"This is Akaguro," another voice said. "Sakaki died peacefully in his sleep."

"If you considered drowning in your own induced vomit peaceful," Himiko put in.

The ones Nekoi was following stopped at a door, Irinaka pulling a key from within a pocket. He handed it over to Nemoto who exchanged it for the gun, the behatted man unlocking the door and opening it. The Yakuza gestured for the Hero to enter first before following him in and shutting the door behind them. The Assassin sighed, dropping to the floor without a sound.

Reaching into her belt pouches, Nekoi withdrew a lockpick, the woman tapping her communicator before getting to work quickly lest anyone come around the corner.

"This is Nekoi. I lost sight of Irinaka, Nemoto, and the unknown Hero. They walked through a locked door, but I suspect Chisaki and the girl are close."

"This is Asui," Ganma replied. "I have visual outside the lab. The Hero in question is Death Arms. If you're quiet, you should be able to get inside."

"Have you located the girl?"

"I don't have visual, but yes. Chisaki was about to collect her when the others walked in."

"Everyone, leave this to us. Focus on finding Hurono, Katsukame, Rappa, and Tengai. Once you have them, the rest of the thugs are optional as you make your way to us."

The door clicked softly, Nekoi moving slowly as she opened it and peeked inside. The figures talking down the hallway were barely shadows, prompting the Assassin to slink inside and close the door. It was a wider area here, the ceiling higher than in the hallways with exposed plumbing running over the walls. Nekoi took advantage of this, climbing upward before any of the targets could notice her. From up high, she could see the doorway that probably led to Chisaki's lab. Them in question and his companions were standing before a blank wall. She crept closer, listening.

"—you think we'll help you for such a paltry reason?" she could hear Chisaki saying. He was a man with short, brown hair and a plague doctor's mask stylized red and yellow. His clothing was also more flamboyant than his followers', a green jacket with purple, feathery lining. The Mark of Cain hung from the necklace around his neck. His hands were covered in white gloves, one idly scratching at his leg. "You Heroes and your ranking systems are not my concern."

"Do you not want to help a fellow Tem—"

"You are less than nothing to me," Chisaki hissed, cutting off Death Arms' words. "Either give me something substantial or get the Hell out."

"Then I can pay you," the Hero grunted. "Double, no, triple the normal price if you can get me Trigger in little pellets like pills. I can't have anyone see me doping up and I don't want to overdose myself. A low, constant high."

"Do you know the current street rate of Trigger?" Nemoto questioned from Chasaki's side.

"No," Death Arms blinked. "I am well-off as a Hero, though."

Nekoi made eye contact with Ganma, the toadish Assassin also hiding along the pipes. His center of balance was lower than Nekoi's on account of his larger frame and the inability to cling to walls like his eldest child.

Something exploded in the distance.

"What was that?" Chisaki yelled, turning his eye on the Hero.

"Wasn't me!" the man responded instantly, his hands raised. Nekoi cursed in her head, drawing her stolen pistol, but she couldn't see Chisaki through Death Arms' bulk. With a quiet fshh, Nemoto's head jerked backward, a new hole right though his skull. His fingers clenched as he died, firing a bullet from his own gun into Death Arms' shoulder. Unlike Nekoi's shot, this one was not silenced, the BANG echoing through the room. "Fuck!" the Hero cursed, his other hand reaching for the new wound.

The Assassin reaimed her Pistol, firing another shot through Irinaka as Ganma threw four quick knives toward the remaining Templars. Chisaki dove, barely avoiding the two knives and the third bullet that came for him. Death Arms wasn't as fast, two knives stabbing into his right trapezius.

"Mimic!" Chisaki yelled. "Find them!"

"Yes, Boss!" A large man with spiked, ash-blond hair emerged from the apparent puppet, a hand already in his pocket. He pulled out a syringe of light blue liquid, jabbing it into his arm before either Nekoi or Ganma could react, his back already phasing into the stone wall.

"Come here!" Chisaki growled, throwing himself toward Death Arms who was slow to respond. The white glove around the Yakuza Boss' hand disintegrated before his fingers grabbed the pro by the forearms. Shinnosuke Ogami screamed in pain had his body was ripped apart, Chisaki drawing the other man's matter into himself. "Looks like you'll be useful to me and the Templars after all, Hero!"

Using his powerful legs, Ganma launched himself downward, hidden blade already extended. He fell on Chisaki, blade stabbing into the man's throat. A third arm ripped its way out of Chisaki's side, grabbing Ganma by the robes and throwing him to the side, his throat healing with his stolen mass. Nekoi pulled the trigger of her pistol again, the bullet lodging in Chisaki's inflating torso.

"Found you," a voice growled behind her, the wall shoving the woman from her perch. She turned, instinctively firing her last two bullets into the wall, but they did nothing to the stone as it writhed and moved. She hit the floor hard, the impact knocking the breath out of her.

"Assassins!" Chisaki yelled, now thoroughly mixed with Death Arms. One of his four arms smacked the floor, Nekoi rolling out of the way as a spike of stone shot diagonally from the floor. Another two throwing knives stabbed into his side, redirecting his attention to Ganma long enough for the woman to get to her feet. She pulled out her second pistol.

Almost casually, Chisaki grabbed Nemoto's body by the neck and held him up, using the corpse of his underling as a meat shield. Two bullets lodged into the man's chest before the body started to shrink, also being absorbed into the boss. Blue snaked its way up the veins of his arms as the Trigger Nemoto had been carrying was pulled into Chisaki's body.

"I hope you guys are having better luck than we are!" Nekoi yelled into her microphone.

"Really hope it's not a competition!" Keeper yelled back.

"Boss!" Hurono called, the hooded and masked man shoving open the door to the hallway. He was dressed in a white cloak and a gold-and-black beaked mask that covered his whole face. "Assassins are in the base!"

"I know that!" Chisaki growled, his voice now layered. "Chronostasis, Mimic! Buy me time to grab the girl and get away! We're too close to lose now!"

"Yes, Boss!" the pair answered only for the robed form of Himiko Toga to tackle Hurono from behind, her blade punching through his chest. She reached around, grabbing his mask, and jerked his head to the side, breaking his neck for good measure.

"Chrono!" Irinaka yelled. "You bastards will pay for that!"

Chisaki reached over as his General Manager forced the three Assassins on the defensive with his Trigger-enhanced Quirk, one of the man's original hands digging its fingers into the wall as he finished rearranging Nemoto's organic parts and the Trigger into more muscle and a third pair of arms. The wall twisted, forming a hole the amalgamation stepped into.

The room was sparce, the only thing of note within being a small bed on one side and a toilet on the far wall. A little girl with long, white hair and a single, small horn cowered on the mattress, her tiny frame covered in a ratty, pale dress similar to a hospital gown. Bandages wrapped around her arms and legs and her face was twisted in fear. Tears slid over her cheeks from her red eyes, her back pressed against the wall to get her as far away from the monster as she could.

"Eri, we're leaving," Chisaki growled, stomping toward her.

"N-No…" the little girl pleaded, covering her face with her arms as she closed her eyes.

Chisaki had barely taken three steps into the room before he cried out in pain, a serrated knife hacking through one of his legs from behind. He stumbled as another knife drove into his back, only all the muscle he'd stolen from Ogame and Nemoto keeping it from driving into his heart even if it nicked his spine.

"Come on," a low voice said, Ganma rushing past the Yakuza Boss. With a single, fast leap, he landed on the bed, the furniture breaking under the force. He reached forward, scooping Eri into his arms as he readied to jump back before Chisaki could recover his wits. "We're here to save you, little tadpole."

"No, please," the girl begged, her voice lost in the rush of wind as the toadish Assassin jumped. Chisaki reached for him, his fingers destroying the back fringe of the man's robes as they passed. "Leave me. They'll just kill you like the others."

"I've got the girl!" Ganma yelled for Nekoi and Himiko. He sidestepped a rising spike and ran, trying to navigate the maze of other spikes Irinaka had turned to area into.

"We can't do anything while this guy's in the walls!" Himiko told him. "We need to—!"

"Behind you!" Nekoi warned. Running on adrenaline, the male Assassin flung Eri toward the women and turned, his hidden blade already exposing itself to block. He was too slow, Chisaki's hand grabbing him by the face.

Ganma Asui exploded.

"NO!" Nekoi screamed as Himiko caught the child. The blonde turned, using her robes to shield the girl from the bloody chunks that splattered over them like semi-liquid buckshot. Cradling the child against her chest, the younger Assassin grabbed Nekoi by the arm.

"We need to go!"

"You won't get away!" Irinaka snarled, the floor rising up in an attempt to catch them with its countless spikes. The Assassins were too quick on their feet to be caught in such a thing, Himiko knocking the door off its hinges with her shoulder. She ignored the horrid SNAP that came from the action and the rush of adrenaline-dulled pain that shot through her, the pair running into the hallway.

"GET THE GIRL BACK AND KILL THEM!" Chisaki roared.

"Th-This way!" Nekoi said, shoving down her emotions to be dredged up later. Covering their retreat with the rest of her bullets, she led the younger killer through the halls that Irinaka, Nemoto, and Death Arms had walked not ten minutes before, trying and failing to ignore the smattering of red over her clothing that had been —until very recently— a friend and comrade.

"Why?" the little girl whispered, her tears soaking into the front of Himiko's robes. "Leave me before he kills you, too."

"No way, sweetheart," Himiko replied, biting down a wince. "We're getting you out of this hellhole and killing those fuckers in the process. We can promise you that."

"Overhaul's too strong," Eri whimpered.

"Yeah well, most of his minions are already dead."

"But—"

Something crashed through the wall ahead of them, the bloody form of Chizome Akaguro denting the opposite side. He hacked up a glob of bloody phlegm only to curse, a broken sword falling from limp fingers.

"Master!" Himiko yelled.

"So you aren't immune to your own Quirk," a voice said, the hulking form of Rikiya Katsukame stepping into the hole made by the Assassin's body. The man was so big that he had to hunch to not scrape his head on the ceiling. His face was covered in a black mask shaped like the head of a bird, his hands covered in a pair of gauntlet/knuckle dusters. Around his waist was a metal belt, almost like armor. "What a damn shame."

"I'll kill you!" Himiko roared, shoving Eri into Nekoi's arms before charging the man, one arm trailing behind her. The Shie Hassaikai member blinked under his mask, his massive hand reaching out to intercept her blade. His fingers wrapped around Himiko's hand and wrist, the man barely flinching as the young Assassin's hidden blade stabbed through his palm.

"Who the Hell are you people?" Katsukame questioned, waves of orange rising out of the blonde's skin. She visibly wilted despite her attempts otherwise, the orange waves moving down her arms and into the Yakuza. The girl sunk to one knee, biting her lip to keep from whimpering at the pain in her shoulder. "Although, you're certainly easier on the eyes than Noseless over there. Why don't you take that hood off so I can see your pretty face?"

Summoning her strength, Himiko pulled herself forward, sinking her teeth into the man's arm. He cried out, swinging her without thought the same way one does as if bitten by a squirrel. The action caused her hood to come loose, exposing her blonde hairbuns.

Nekoi took advantage of the chaos to move, dropping Eri in Akaguro's lab as she went by. She pivoted as soon as her hands were free, kicking off the wall. Katsukame swung, Himiko's canines ripping lines through the man's skin. She hit the floor and rolled, screaming in pain as her wound was jostled. Nekoi's own canines sank into Katsukame's shoulder, one of her blades stabbing into his bicep while the other punctured a lung through the back.

"Another woman," Katsukame said, seemingly unbothered by the metal in his back. He reached over his shoulder, his hand large enough to grab Nekoi by her entire torso. The same orange waves flowed from the purple-dressed Assassin as the man activated his Quirk: Energy Suck. He pulled Nekoi off him, holding her upside down. His fingers wiggled, the man giggling. "Hehe. Fun-sized, too."

"P-Put her down…" a voice whispered. When Katsukame didn't react, it came back a little louder. "Put her down."

The man paused. "Hmm?"

"Put her down!"

Katsukame turned, his eyes focusing on the little girl standing on Akaguro's legs. She had tears in her eyes, her lips trembling.

"The Hell is a little girl doing here?"

"Like Hell you don't know!" Himiko yelled, grey muck forming around her into a shell that looked like Katsukame himself, clothes and all. Roaring in his voice, the Assassin charged forward, punching the man with a copy of his own gauntlets with her good arm. He dropped his hold on Nekoi as the pair crashed into the cafeteria. She kept up her assault, punching him all the way to and through another hole in the far wall, the original falling on a yellow dome of energy.

"First an attack by guys who can cancel Quirks and fight and now two Katsukame's?" a man with brick-colored hair questioned, a hint of glee in his voice despite the many cuts across his arms. "This is the best day ever!"

"Why are you happy, you fool?" a man with short, blond hair and a brown plague doctor mask demanded. "These men are out for the blood of us and our comrades. They have already killed dozens."

"I know, it's great! These guys are going for the kill, unlike those wishy-washy Heroes I've fought before! It'd only be better if they didn't use blades, man!"

The yellow dome failed at the same time Himiko's disguise fell apart, covering the real Katsukame in sludge. A scarf shot forward, wrapping the blond —Hekiji Tengai— in its nanocarbon fiber from behind and yanking him away from Kendo Rappa.

"Master needs his Quirk erased!" Himiko called, bodily throwing herself away from the flailing punches of a blinded Katsukame. Aizawa did not turn to look at her, his hands dropping his scarf to wrap one arm around Tengai's neck. The man's arms rose, his eyes widening in fear as he tried to pry the limb away from his windpipe. Aizawa didn't give him a chance now that he had the man in his grip, his blade stabbing through the blond's back and out his chest. Tengai gasped as his heart was cut in half, the light leaving his eyes.

"Come on, man," Keeper said, spreading his arms to show his blood-stained blades as Aizawa headed for the hole through which Himiko had appeared. "Do we have to fight?"

"Of course we do!" Rappa laughed, his shoulders rotating. "Hey, can that girl there turn into me? I've always wanted to fight myself!"

"I think she's a bit busy with your friend there," the Assassin replied, hopping backward to avoid the Villain's rapid-fire punches. He'd already taken two of them and wasn't looking forward to another dozen.

"I'll leave that guy to you!" Nekoi yelled, the woman carrying Eri once more as she and Akaguro ran into the room.

"I'd rather not do it alone!" Aizawa yelled back, his words quickly followed by a crash. Nekoi ran to Keeper's side, Rappa barely avoiding her hidden blade, while Akaguro drew his stolen katana and charged Katsukame's back. Nekoi drew her remaining pistol and aimed it at the Villain.

"Woah, chill!" Rappa said, holding his hands up. "I can handle blades, but a gun's going to far. So not fair! Totally kills the thrill of the fight."

"We aren't here for a thrill!" the cat-woman hissed. "We're here to punish you for torturing a little girl!"

"What? No way! I'm down for a good old fight to the death, but kids are a no-go, man!"

"Then you should have told that to your boss," Keeper put in.

"That's not cool! Who even are you guys?"

"You don't know who we are?" Nekoi asked. Rappa shook his head. "I'll give you a choice, then. You can renounce the Shie Hassaikai and walk away right now or I'll gun you down where you stand. What will it be, Kendo Rappa?"

"Count me out," the red-haired man answered. "I'm not dying to a gun and I'm not going to stop you from saving a kid. I only worked for Overhaul because he beat me in a fight and I wanted to beat him in the end. I don't give a crap about his whole 'Quirks are a disease' spiel."

"If we ever hear you're working for him or his associates again, we will come for you, and you will never see us coming. Dying in your sleep or poisoned by your drink? So much for your glorious death in battle."

"Fine, deal! Deal."

"Good," Nekoi nodded, tucking her pistol in her belt. "I was out of bullets, anyway."

"I'm not," Keeper grinned.

"Hurrgg…" Katsukame moaned, sinking to his feet with Akaguro's katana through his chest. Himiko reached up, grabbing his mask and pulling his head back. At Akaguro's nod, she slit his throat open with her hidden blade, ensuring he would never get back to his feet. Akaguro pulled his sword free and swung it to the side, the blood that had coated it splattering over the ground.

The rumblings of the building slowed, the remaining Assassins turning to look at Aizawa through the holes in the walls. The son of the Mentor was panting, his robes scuffed and one of his hidden blades broken at his feet. He was glaring down the hallway.

"Irinaka?" Nekoi asked.

"Fleeing," Aizawa answered. "Deemed fighting all of us impossible and went to get his boss. Where's—"

"Dead," Himiko answered. "Chisaki got him."

"Without the girl, their research is worthless," Nekoi said, cradling Eri in her arms. The poor girl was shaking like a leaf in the wind, her breathing just shy of wracking sobs. "We're pulling out."

"Chisaki—" Akaguro began.

"I'm not losing anyone else!" Nekoi yelled, cutting him off. "Ten powerful Templars are dead, the yakuza are all but gone, the Shie Hassaikai's mission is out of reach, and we've rescued a little girl. I won't lose anyone else chasing after the two most powerful ones when their plan is already in shambles. Let them get desperate and get caught by the Heroes. We're already lucky Chisaki's not coming after us now; we aren't taking the risk. Am I clear?"

"…Alright," Akaguro acquiesced. "Let's go, everyone!"

"Fuck, my shoulder hurts!" Himiko swore. "I think it's broken. Thank God we're leaving."

"Aizawa, make the call," Nekoi ordered. "Have cover-up burn the buildings upstairs to the ground. They should collapse and destroy the evidence. If we're lucky, we'll catch Chisaki and Irinaka in the blaze, but I won't count on it."

The man nodded, pulling out a separate communicator as the group hurried away from the battlefield, leaving Kendo Rappa surrounded by the bodies of his former colleagues. He blinked and they were gone, vanished into the shadows as if they had never existed. He stood there for a minute.

"…I need a drink, but that was awesome! Best fight ever! …What the Hell is a Templar, though? And who was the little girl?"

End of Chapter 32

You might notice Eri didn't use her Quirk despite the pressure. Note the smallness of her horn when she is introduced. The Assassins got lucky, else they might have lost another of their number to a fate worse than death.

Six Assassins go in, but only five come out. How will the loss of her father affect our favorite frog and her family? What will become of Eri now that she in in the hands of the Brotherhood? What will Overhaul and Mimic do now that their plans are foiled? How might Nighteye and his agency react to the sudden decimation of the yakuza he'd been tracking? Tell me what you think!

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods