"There!" Shiozaki said, spotting a flash of blue. "Mezou! Mezou to us!"
The giant mutant slowed to a stop, his thunderous steps quieting for only a moment before he spotted them. A small alley separated them. It was a miracle she'd even seen him, if she was honest—the alley was nearly impassable with garbage and rubble. Still, her peer was their strongest, and barrelled through the rubble like it was paper mache.
He joined the back of their group with a single nod, and they continued on their way. In her head, she began counting and recounting her class. Excluding her and Mezou, she'd managed to find eight of her classmates.
Reiko, Yui, Ojiro, Jirou, Kaminari, Kouda, Pony, and Hitoshi formed a ring around her as they surveyed the Ruins Zone. In her head, she knew Satou and Midoriya were somewhere in Central Plaza, while Sero and Kirishima were on the edge. Worry bit at her insides, but she pushed it aside. She staked her claim on her organizational skills, and she wouldn't prove herself wrong by succumbing to worry.
She tried to lift her hair, to use it as a sort of archaic calculator—and almost collapsed with the effort. Her gut felt hollow; like hunger, but not quite.
That left three unknowns. Toru, who she hadn't noticed since the bus ride. Aoyama, who she'd caught only the smallest glimpse of before everyone scattered. Finally, there was Tsuyu—and as worried as she otherwise was, she almost felt relieved. If any girl had to go missing, she trusted Tsuyu to handle herself the most.
"Eyes peeled, people! Gloves, glamor, and green! We find them and get out of here!" Shiozaki said, and a chorus of agreement echoed back. She stumbled on her next step forward, a stab of pain jolting her kneecaps, but she pushed through. It was a miracle the bandages on her knees weren't soaked through.
She'd have to thank Kirishima when he came back with Sero.
Midoriya, too, when he brought back Satou.
…
The thought carved a frown on her face.
Why? She thought, guiding the group down a new street. Why had he vouched for her? What could she have possibly done for him to inspire such trust? Or had it been a careless guess?
This new street was far wider than the last. They could all link hands and stretch in one big line, and they wouldn't reach the opposite sides. Such being, the rubble was fewer and further in between. They navigated the street nearly as easily as a normal one, with the only obstacle being a half-collapsed building that bisected it.
They converged on the collapsed building, expecting nothing more than more street on the other side. Luckily for them, however, they found a familiar glimmer of silver.
"Aoyama!" Kaminari said, struggling over an awkward piece of concrete. The thunder-struck boy nearly tackled the navel-laser boy in an embrace. 1A scrambled up and after them, though Shiozaki stayed behind. The rubble looked daunting to climb. Kaminari pulled back from the blond. "You crazy man! Thank god you're alive."
"Mes amis! Are you alright!?" Aoyama asked, looking between Kaminari and the pooling group of 1A around him.
"We're fine, Ao." Hitoshi said, jumping down from the rubble's peak. "Now all we're missing is Toru and Tsuyu. The others are together."
"Ribbit? I'm here too." Tsuyu croaked, stepping out from a nearby alley. Her hair was a mess and there was a scrape on her forehead, but she looked well. "I was looking for everyone too. Guess I found you."
"Dude! You're alive too, Asui!" Kaminari said, running over to Tsuyu, arms wide. He stopped just short of hugging her before a puzzled look came over his face. With a sort of awkward shift, he lowered his hands for a handshake. The frog girl glanced at his hand with a raised eyebrow. She back-handed the gesture and wrapped him in a surprise hug.
"Yeah. I was scared out of my mind. Call me Tsuyu." She said.
Shiozaki glanced at Mezou, who caught her gaze. With a single, knowing nod, the giant offered her a few hands. Taking them, she climbed to the top of the rubble.
"It's good to see you both alive," Shiozaki said, genuine warmth flickering in her chest. A distant wind fluttered her dress's hem as she looked down on everyone. "But don't get ahead of yourselves. Toru is still unaccounted for."
Hitoshi turned to her, a comment on his lips, but when their eyes met, he stayed silent. She shook her head, loosening the stiffness in her vines. Her head was still a little light, and the newfound breeze wrestled her self control away. The loose vines, usually held down by her willpower, rustled in the wind.
Kaminari stepped forward, free from Tsuyu. His exuberance dimmed, but she could still see the happiness along his edges.
"So how do we find her? Do we even need to, since she's invisible?" He asked.
Shiozaki's guts twisted at the question. On one hand, they absolutely needed to find her. Even now, in the far distance, the sounds of battle and war were nearing biblical proportions. On the other hand… the boy was right. Though she trusted Tsuyu to handle herself, Toru was naturally the safest. Those hellhounds would only ever find her if she let them. Hell, since her movement wasn't nearly so impeded, she might've escaped and called for help already.
The wind died down. They'd covered a huge area already, and all that remained was the exit a few blocks away. If Toru wasn't there, she probably wasn't in the Ruins Zone.
Her mind struggled with the decision, fighting back with a ferocious turbulence. Half of 1A watched her, all looking up like she was some prophet sent to guide them—but she wasn't. She wasn't Moses, guiding her people; nor Abraham, devising divine wisdom—and by no means was she—
She killed that train of thought. There was no way to say what the right call was, but she was good at weighing her options. Toru could survive on her own, and it was Shiozaki's duty to look after the whole class, not just one person. Her lips parted, the command on her tongue.
A scream interrupted her thoughts—and girlish, high-pitched scream. 1A's gaze ripped from her, leaving her bare as they all zeroed in on the scream's source. Half her charges moved instantly, and another half moved only a single second behind. Kaminari, faster than anyone, burst into a sprint, quickly followed by Ojiro and Jirou. Shiozaki struggled down the collapsed building, biting her tongue as her knees cried out. They wobbled, their complaints working through her throat—but her lips stayed sealed.
Another scream—this time, a closer one. Less than a block away. 1A left her behind as they charged across the road, leaping over crevices and boulders and fallen light posts. Even Mezou moved on without her. The only person to spare her any looks was Reiko, who she waved along. Someone needed help—and it wasn't her. Shiozaki struggled after them, climbing the rubble, shuffling around the crevices, and slipping past light posts. The screaming turned shrill, piercing, and her heart plummeted with sheer fear.
It must've been Toru, she thought. And with those screams, if she wasn't dead, she was close to it. Shiozaki cursed her damnable legs and damned her cursed foresight. Her dress was gorgeous, and exactly what she wanted to present as—but god forbid she bring rations, right? Without calories or direct sunlight, she was useless. Kaminari reached the alleyway. There was less than a block between them, but to her hollow, wooden legs, the distance felt continental.
For a moment, she imagined a world where Kaminari wasn't there—or any of 1A. She imagined a world where she was alone, here, and where Toru needed her help. A world where a life hung in the balance, and she was useless. Shiozaki couldn't even scale a damnable two meter rubble pile, let alone move with any real speed.
Then, her treacherous mind took her to an even darker place—the reality she lived in. Toru was dying a street over—and she looked her classmates in the eyes and almost said it. Told them to escape without her. When Toru was a block away. Dying without them.
"Why, Midoriya?" She asked herself, muttering through labored breaths. "Why did you choose us?"
Maybe that was her coping mechanism, asking after the two of them. Shiozaki already knew why he chose Kirishima—that kind hearted, simple boy. He gave her a tongue lashing during the Battle Trial she hadn't forgotten—one she never would—when she'd dismissed Midoriya. She hadn't truly understood, at the time, why he'd been such a stout defender. If she was honest, she still didn't. All she could gleam was the goodness in the boy—and that, she decided, was answer enough.
Kirishima was better than her. Stronger. Faster. Braver, clearly. Plus, for acting the way he did, he was pretty smart; and right now, with Shiozaki's world falling apart, maybe he was smarter than her.
Yes, she admitted to herself—she'd voted Midoriya for president. Even now, she wasn't sure why—but Kirishima was her pick for Vice. That just made sense to her, him being a leader. Every group deserved a shining example of command—so why was she up there, standing beside him?
The screams died down to nothing. Half of 1A was in the streets—but something was wrong. As she got closer and closer, the more she grew confused. None were moving. They all just stared down the length of the alley, after Kaminari and Ojiro, motionless. Dragging her feet, she managed to stumble to a stop beside Mezou—and she froze, too.
Toru wasn't down the alley—or, rather, if she was, Shiozaki didn't see her gloves. Nor, she saw, was there even a girl down there—unless you counted Jirou, who stood with a single foot on the alley's precipice. She was frozen like the rest.
It was dark, and hard to make out with any real certainty—though the alley itself was bright. The creature shifted, tilting back its yellow hooked beak. From the main street, it appeared like a golden crescent holding up a massive, shadowy curtain. It hummed; a low, thin noise, before it cracked its beak open and loosed an unholy scream. What she'd mistaken as Toru's cry for help was perverted, violating every law of nature she knew. It wasn't a bird call, like the beak suggested. It wasn't human, like the musculature implied.
The closest natural comparison was a mountain lion's call—a genome which traded their roars for wild, awful shrieks. It screamed again, and like a banshee's call, Shiozaki felt the misfortune in the air magnify. She half-spun, half tripped as a building crumbled behind them. The impact shook the ground as a cloud of dust bloomed outwards, carried by the fallen debris. It got in her nose, choking her—but worse, it got in her eyes. Waving a hand before her, she coughed—and realized she couldn't see her hand. The dust turned her world blue-gray, devouring her sense of direction.
"Holy—what's going on!?" Someone asked, but their voice was too scrambled to deduce an owner.
The creature screamed again—but the sound was muted, now, with the smoke cloud. It bounced all around her, each particle reflecting an infinitesimal fraction of it back at her. She swiveled, reaching out for Mezou—but the boy must've moved, because he wasn't within arm's reach.
"Woah!" Kaminari cried out, his voice just as dull in the smoke. A loud, crackling spark echoed his cry. She just managed to catch the small light before it disappeared. What usually would've blinded her only registered as a dull, half-dead lightbulb. Shiozaki tried to step forward, but the moment she tried to move, another roar shook the earth.
This one was thicker, more of a roar than a screech—and it shook the very dust cloud they found themselves in. Something whipped past the corner of her eye—less a clear image and more of a blue-gray bruise. A shadow in a shadow. She only got the smallest glimpse—but she knew one thing—it's shape was all wrong.
Hellhounds. At least two of them.
"Everyone!" She screamed, seeing another shadow-in-a-shadow slip past. "Back the way we came! There's at least two!"
Newfound strength crept from her heart, filling her legs with energy. She ran in the only direction she could, in this blindness: forward. Of all the asinine, vain features she'd allowed herself when designing her costume, she was proud that she'd chosen boots over sandals, even if it would've completed her look.
She managed not to trip on her way out. The dust grew thinner in the air, and by the time she could see her hands again, she could see her friend's hands, too. Her eyes bounced from friend to friend, counting their hands.
Two fur-lined gloves for Reiko. Twin, bare wrists for Ojiro and Kouda. A pair of rocker gloves for Jirou. Beige, bulky aviator-style gloves for her green haired companion. Yui's silver bracers. Ten. She was missing eight.
As soon as she made sure everyone was clear of the smoke, she swiveled, turning back to the alley.
"Kaminari! Mezou! Are you alrigh—"
The indigo cloud swelled navy before she could finish. It darkened so fast Shiozaki almost couldn't dodge in time when the anomaly burst. Like a freight train, the wind whistled as the twin-pair of masses exploded from the cloud, grappling all the while. Mezou held a death-grip on the hellhound—but it was clear the effort took everything he had.
A seventh arm grew from his shoulder and punched the creature across the jaw—but the hellhound's jaw didn't so much as budge. It plunged its massive beak down onto Shoji's new deltoid. The bite went deep, drawing a thick river of crimson, but Mezou didn't so much as complain. In a sacrificial bunt, he let the seventh arm take the brunt of the damage.
The hellhound ripped and tore at the limb once its teeth sunk in. With wild jerks, it threw its head from side to side, as if trying to pull the arm off entirely. Mezou groaned, but his six arms only gripped the monster's ribcage tighter, holding it still.
Shiozaki took a step forward, wanting nothing more than to help—but a thick, muscle-corded tail interrupted her thoughts. The strike came from above, striking the creature in the brain. The impact was sharp, but wet. It only stunned the monster for a second, but that was enough for Shoji to create a new pair of arms. His old wound shriveled and sank back within him. With his new arms, he reached out and grasped both halves of the creature's beak. He pulled the beak open, keeping it from biting him further.
A pink, lengthy rope snaked around the creature's neck. Mezou's hold on the creature's beak broke as its jaw snapped closed, but Tsuyu's tongue stopped its bite inches from Mezou's face.
"Wath ha plan?" Tsuyu said, pulling the hellhound's neck back like a lasso.
"I-I can't hold it forever!" Mezou said
"Do we…" Jirou began, her voice somehow both light and heavy in her ears. "Do we kill it? Is it—is there a moral line?"
"Hey!" Hitoshi said, screaming in the hellhound's general direction as it growled and roared in Mezou's face. "Hey, you ugly freak! You hear me?"
The creature only thrashed harder in Mezou's grip. Hitoshi slumped, and glanced at Shiozaki.
"I don't think it has higher brain function—and if it did, Ojiro probably ruined that."
"Hey!" He said, sliding back in earshot after delivering another heavy blow on the monster's back. "Screw you! I'm doing my best—"
Ojiro's face went slack. Hitoshi cursed, then waved an arm. The blond blinked, then again, and shook his head.
"What…?"
"Sorry—I was just trying to brainwash the motherfu—and you interrupted me, and wires crossed, and shit—I'm sorry." Hitoshi said. Ojiro blinked again before a shadow crept over his face. Behind him, his tail smacked the ground.
"Did—did you just brainwash me? Did you seriously just—"
"I said I was sorry! It was a god-damn accident, man!"
Ojiro took a step towards the scrawny purple-haired boy, and Shiozaki had enough.
"Quit it!" She said, before turning her eyes to Mezou. "Don't hold it open! All of its strength is built to chew! Grip it closed! Even I can hold a crocodile's mouth closed!"
The hellhound snapped at his face again, but heeding her words, Mezou wrestled its jaw closed. It thrashed in place, but with Tsuyu's tongue and Mezou's strength, they managed to keep it steady and still. More, smaller limbs grew from the extremities of his normal limbs, and then smaller limbs from those. Mezou grew long, branch-like limbs to wrap himself over twice. He intertwined the very extremities of those limbs, cocooning himself and the creature together, even as he held its jaw closed.
Shiozaki breathed a small sigh, feeling her beating heart slow. Okay. They had it—now, they just needed to figure out what to do with it. Behind the cocoon, the smoke was beginning to clear.
"Do we kill it?" Jirou repeated.
"Can we?" Hitoshi asked, glancing between the hellhound and Ojiro. "Tailman nearly scrambled its graymatter with a tail swipe. If any mortal being can shake that off, point me in its direction, so I can go the opposite way."
Ojiro glared in his direction, but Shiozaki set her eyes on him before his half-parted lips could retort.
"We can't kill anything. We're heroes." Shiozaki said, though her knees wobbled through the speech. "Killing it—especially when it's defenseless like this, would be against everything we stand for."
"I wouldn't call nearly ripping Mezou's face off defenseless!" Hitoshi said. "But come on. We're already breaking the law by using our quirks. No one gave us permission."
"It's not the same. We're defending ourselves with our god-given ability! That doesn't mean we use our gifts for murder!" Shiozaki said. Hitoshi turned to her, then, and gave her an incredulous look.
"That's what I'm saying! Killing this—this thing would be self defense! You saw them in the Plaza, right? They were drooling at the thought of us!"
A dull, ugly whine rolled through the trapped hellhound's throat.
Shiozaki liked Hitoshi. She really did—but he wasn't thinking straight. This… this creature bled. It breathed. It desired. It lived. She couldn't condone its killing.
"No, we just need to get far away from it. Or, better yet, knock it out. With all of us together, I'm sure we could—"
"Indiscriminate shock!" Kaminari screamed, in tune with the final settling of the dust cloud. The only thing that saved Shiozaki from lightning-induced blindness was the silhouette of Mezou trapping the hellhound. Her peers weren't half as lucky. The shock was a brilliant, immense blast some twenty meters down the road—yet she was sure she could've seen it just as well from two hundred.
Curious arcs of the blast spread out, unfurling like a blossoming flower. They singed the ground in every direction before flicking out with more force than they started with. One barely missed Yui—but even after dodging, the proximity was enough to singe her hair.
As intense as the blast was, it fizzled out as fast as it came. Shiozaki took a step forward, blessed to have remained untouched—but her legs were lead. Her shield, the ever-stoic Mezou, fell to a knee. The smell of burnt flesh hit her like a truck.
Mezou's shoulder hit the ground as he rolled over, releasing the hellhound—and the damage sent a vile complaint up her throat. The hellhound's back, once a proud, bulging physique, lay bare to her now. Its spine, or rather, what remained, was a charred, smoking mess. That wasn't what made bile threaten the back of her teeth, however.
Mezou's extremities, his limbs-upon-limbs, were equally blackened. There were other colors, too—red, angry streaks of lightning, and greenish-purple edges where the skin wasn't black.
Beside her, Ojiro scratched at his eyes, moaning.
"Arghh… I-I can't see—fuck! Damnit, I can't…" Ojiro complained, before sniffing. He paused, before tilting his head to the side. "What's that smell?"
Likewise, Hitoshi and Tsuyu complained whilst holding their eyes. Aoyama, however, only stood still, horror evident under his goggle's protection.
"Oh… mon dieu…"
Then he inched forward, and his armor sparked. Shiozaki traced the lightning arc's singed path beneath the boy's feet. He shifted another inch, and his armor sparked again. His medieval, metal armor screeched with every movement, but each scream faded with each movement. With a foot planted in dirt, the original current in his suit was long gone, and the sparks were only the dregs. Still, he sparked with each flinch, immobilizing him.
Shiozaki's legs were gone. She was mud at best, nothing at all at worst. Whatever adrenaline that empowered her escape left when Mezou moaned.
"Gods above…" Hitoshi moaned, before wiping at his eyes one last time. He blinked, then again, and Shiozaki could almost see the recognition in his eyes. "O-oh god? M-m-mezou?"
"Mmm.. nnh… ah…
Another low groan came from the ground, but this one was different. More articulate, if a moan could be such. She wanted to get closer, but with her strength, the most viable was to collapse and hope her body ragdolled in his direction.
God damn her, she could wash her dress later. She landed on her side, and with weak, too-heavy arms, inched as close to Mezou's mouth as she could. The proximity almost made her throwup, given the smell, but the vomit simply never came.
"Gah…" Mezou groaned again, and she saw how his sharp eyes shined with lucidity. They looked at her, then flicked aside, then repeated the movement. "G-gah… min… ari…"
A revolting shudder shook her whole form as the realization hit her—she'd nearly forgotten Kaminari in the chaos.
"Hitoshi…" Shiozaki said, struggling to prop herself up by the elbow. She powered every ounce of urgency she could through her eyes. "Kaminari."
Hitoshi's eyes widened.
"Oh fuck!" He said, twisting away to look at the source of the electrical explosion. "Kaminari!"
He sprinted out of sight, and Shiozaki was alone again. She struggled into a sitting position, before scooping Mezou's head into her lap with all the gentleness she could offer. If she was honest, she wanted to throw up on his face. The stench was near-debilitating, even ignoring her weakened constitution. She took a moment, whilst caressing Mezou's head and whispering prayers, to grieve.
The lump of dark flesh still smoldered next to them, but its twitching had long since ceased. She supposed she could blame Kaminari—but the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't. They'd borderline abandoned the poor boy—damn her, she'd borderline abandoned him. He'd only unleash such an attack if the other hellhound engaged him. While they'd all taken on their creature as a class, he'd been left alone. Kaminari just did what he needed to.
Their hellhound was just a stray casualty—one she'd have to accept. Perhaps Hitoshi was right, and it didn't have higher brain function—but wherever the afterlife took it, she hoped it wouldn't carry the wounds of life with it.
A sob jumped up her throat, just as her eyes burned and pins and needles crept over her lips. She tried to hold it back, but she choked as her vision ghosted over the burns on Mezou's quirk-born hands. He'd heal… but he shouldn't have had to.
He'd protected her, in a roundabout way. By existing. By giving himself up to capture the hellhound. Something that should've been her job—her quirk was a glorified capture type, after all. She'd just been lucky for him to stand between the blast and herself—and God forbid it, if the hellhound hadn't taken the brunt of the damage… But luck did not lessen what he'd done—not when he could've dived out of the way, not when he made the choice to stand his ground.
All around them, the same thing could be happening. Mr. Aizawa could be hurt. Thirteen could be dying. Ashido could be injured. Tokoyami could—
Something crashed in the distance, but Shiozaki couldn't be bothered. Distant explosions were nearly commonplace at this point. Instead, she leaned further over Mezou and planted a kiss on his forehead. He was burning up.
Shiozaki wiped a tear from one eye—but missed the other. It broke, streaking down her cheek to drop onto Mezou's face. She thumbed it away.
She should never have accepted the Vice position.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Hang in there, please. If you see the gates, I need you to stay far away."
Mezou grunted, but before she could decipher the reply, something hit her shoulder. She caught a flash of blond and a white gi.
"—What? Is Kaminari alright?" She asked, looking at Ojiro, but the boy didn't reply. He only pointed. Her eyes tried to follow his finger, but it was directly behind her. With infinite care, she placed Mezou's head down and twisted—and stopped.
There was a hole in the world—a giant, gaping chasm in reality.
"Ha ha ha!" The giant dark spot in the world crowed, before turning—and the dark, infinite void took on a more distinct shape. "Freedom at last!"
The gap in the world, at first a blob, grew a second, more angular shape at its summit. That shape twisted, and two golden, piercing eyes swept the whole world in its gaze. Now, she didn't know much about her classmate's quirks. She simply hadn't known them long enough to understand their ins-and-outs; but of Tokoyami, she knew one thing.
Darkshadow wasn't supposed to be that big.
It reached down and snatched something. At this distance, it was nearly too far to identify—but it scrambled in an animalistic way, with too-long limbs. A hellhound.
He popped it in its gargantuan jaws and crunched down. An awful bone-cracking sound echoed around the USJ before the quirk spit it out. She felt its impact in her knees.
"W-what is that?" Shiozaki whispered, her voice too hoarse to articulate the depth of what she saw. "That's… it can't be…"
Behind her, she heard the shuffling of footsteps—though one was an actual shuffle. Turning only enough to see both Darkshadow and the newcomers, she saw Kaminari—and her heart eased ever so slightly. His face looked dumb, and blood seemed to stain his white undershirt, but he looked alive.
"Whey…" He said, and a dribble of drool rolled out his mouth. Jirou, who supported him under his armpit, waved off Shiozaki's look. Hitoshi, holding up the boy's other arm, nodded.
"It seems his charge overloaded his brain—but at least that beast is dead. Smokin' and all." Jirou said.
"Which wouldn't be a problem," Hitoshi said, before snapping under the boy's chin. Kaminari only lolled his head to the side. "If he would just reply to me. I could automate his movements, but this guy's so fried that he can't even understand me."
Shiozaki looked back to Darkshadow. The beast took a step through a building, nearly collapsing the whole thing as it grabbed another hellhound. It took everything she had to struggle upright—and then it took Ojiro to stand. She leaned into him, knees quivering. A warm trickle went down her shin.
She pinched her dress up and frowned. Her bandages bled through. With her leaning on Ojiro, and Kaminari leaning on Jirou and Hitoshi, that left Yui, Reiko, and Kouda to handle Mezou.
And Toru was still MIA.
Darkshadow bellowed something heavy and baritone. The echo whipped her vines to and fro—and nearly pushed Ojiro and herself off their feet. She steadied them with a backstep and winced. Her blood wasn't flowing so freely that she was in danger of bleeding out—but it was enough that it was beginning to soak into her boot.
She'd never felt so weak.
"Reiko," she said, and her friend was by her side in an instant.
They hadn't known each other long, but of all her peers, Reiko was her closest companion. Their friendship came easily—naturally. Supernaturally, even. There was no delay in Reiko's response.
"Yes?" She asked, picking her up by the elbow. Reiko tried to lift her off Ojiro's shoulder, to take her burden for herself—but Shiozaki shrugged her off.
"I-I need you to take charge. I-I-I'm not well enough. Kirishima's still gone, a-and I need help." Shiozaki said, just barely able to hold back a whimper. She wanted to hang her head in shame, but she held Reiko's gaze.
Their eyes met for a solid second before Reiko nodded. She patted Shiozaki's shoulder, a quiet, newborn intensity between her eyes. Her posture straightened just as her gait widened. Reiko was already more than what she was now, leaning on Ojiro. Independent. Of course she'd be more of a leader than her, too.
"Alright everyone!" She said, gathering everyone's attention before pointing at the towering mass of Darkshadow. "That, there, is a huge problem. I've conversed with Tokoyami quite a bit between classes—and I can guarantee this. Darkshadow's size is directly correlated to his strength—and his strength is mania. As much as it pains me, he's no longer an ally—perhaps, not even our friend. Half of us are out of commission, so before we can do anything whatsoever, we need to get our people to safety and call for help! Jirou, you're the only one with a radio and your wits. Are you still jammed?"
The punk-rock girl looked down and nodded.
It was like a weight lifted from her shoulder's, now that she shed the responsibility. Even under the suppressive, smothering darkness of the Ruins Zone, she almost felt light.
"That's fine! Then we just need to get out of this forsaken dome. Ojiro," Reiko said, pausing to point at the tailed boy. "Switch holding Shio with Yui. Then you and Kouda will carry Mezou until he heals. I'll also switch with Hitoshi, and he can help you both. Understood?"
In the distance, Darkshadow's inane laughter permeated every inch of the air. But here, in this tiny circle of students, it dulled under an even greater force.
"Yes ma'am!"
They moved faster than Shiozaki thought possible after the attack, but then again, she wasn't their leader anymore. It only made sense they'd be better off.
Yui's soft hands found purchase under her shoulders, just as Ojiro took on one of Mezou's shoulders. Hitoshi took the other, and Kouda, as soft as he looked, took on the hard job of lifting the large boy's legs. Reiko and Jirou carried Kaminari easily, and with a single pointed finger, commenced their march.
She didn't know Yui well, but after this was all over, Mr. and Mrs. Kodai would receive a gift basket in the mail. The girl was gentle, completely non-judgemental when Shiozaki stumbled, and steadfast through it all. Her dignity did nothing to slow their three-legged race, and Shiozaki wouldn't trade her for nearly anyone.
The further they went, the steeper the walk became, until it was more hike than stroll. It took a great effort, but they traversed the rocky, unstable landscape of the Ruins Zone. In a way, she was glad—when they'd first entered, she'd almost immediately noticed the fiery biome across the Plaza. It wasn't exactly a comforting, the Ruins Zone, but she took comfort in it not being their worst option.
At last, after slipping through two alleys, her eyes caught on their prize. A twin pair of gargantuan doors. The only pristine thing in this God forsaken place. She paused amidst a bank-like structure with stone pillars.
"There it is…" Shiozaki said, muttering under her breath. "I knew she could do it."
Reiko'd done what she couldn't, and finished her duty. Now they could escape, their wounded would get aid, and their friends could get their reinforcements.
"...Don't discredit yourself. You did well." Yui said, for the first time in Shiozaki's time of knowing her. Of course, while the sentiment was nice, she couldn't help but shake her head.
"No," she said, struggling between a pillar and a slab. "I couldn't get it done—and when it counted, I was as useless as a babe."
Yui slipped between the pillar and slab after her.
"Mn."
They fell silent again, instead listening to their classmate's growing elation.
"Oh thank god," Jirou said, seeing the exit.
"Make way!" Hitoshi said, making it past them. "Big guy goes first!"
"Quit going so damn fast!" Ojiro retorted, glancing over his shoulder to the struggling Kouda. The boy was huffing and puffing—and like Yui, this was the most she'd ever heard out of him. He never faltered, but it was clear the task tired him. "Kouda can't keep up."
Hitoshi glanced behind them, but shook his head.
"I'm sorry Kouda, but it's only a little further. You're doing great. Don't slow down now."
"You're not his boss! Ojiro said, glaring at the boy opposite Mezou. "Yet you keep acting like we're all—"
"Quit bickering!" Reiko said, before glancing at Jirou. The girl, after a split second, nodded and took on more of Kaminari's burden. He wore a dumb smile as he melted into her side. A moment later, Reiko joined Kouda and took on a leg for herself. "Straight shot, let's ride!"
Shiozaki could only watch as the quartet split the burden four ways, carrying the boy together. The way she'd nipped an argument in the bud so easily… Another reason Shiozaki was glad she cast off her responsibility. Before, all she'd been able to do was beg them to stop, but Reiko actually offered a solution.
As an individual, let alone as a leader, she'd never be able to help them in her state. Perhaps, if she could get under direct sunlight for even a moment… but that was impossible, here. It was obvious to her, now, that Midoriya made a serious miscalculation. Reiko must've slipped under his radar.
In the distance, Darkshadow's rampage developed further—he must've thrown something, she thought, after she noticed a hole appear in the roof. The oddest hint of ozone fluttered through her nostrils.
They crossed the final stretch of space between them and the doors, and Shiozaki felt a certain giddy well up inside. Freedom was just a few feet away. After Yui's gift basket, she was treating Reiko to a nice dinner. Afterwards, she was going to pin Midoriya down and interrogate him—and everyone else who voted for her.
The quartet eased Mezou down, and Reiko made her way over to the doors. Mezou's carriers bent down and tended to him. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and placed both hands on the doors.
She pushed, but the doors didn't budge an inch. Turning, focused her efforts on a single door—then tried ramming her shoulder into it.
"D-damn, this thing is heavy." She said, before pointing at Kouda and Ojiro. "Get over here!"
They rose to their feet, and took a step towards the door—but a sudden, oh-too-familiar scream froze them in their tracks. It stabbed Shiozaki's ears like rusted nails. A dry globule of spit struggled down her throat as she sagged into Yui. The pain was immense, but manageable—until, like with all nails, the hammer came to swing home. A roar echoed the scream, deeper and far, far angrier.
The shattering of stone alerted her—and her stomach dropped. It seemed her prayers were answered, in part. The wounds of life did not stay with Kaminari's charred victims. The matt-black banshee was too large to squeeze through the bank's pillars. With a hand, it stretched at least six meters high and pushed the man-width granite pillar on its side. The impact scattered the rubble of the bank, creating a bloom of dust that camouflaged the creature.
It stepped through, dust trailing its hunched shoulders—or, rather, smoke. The smell of burnt flesh hit her nose like an unwanted acquaintance, familiar and repugnant. Deciphering what she was seeing was hard. With its black, light-absorbing skin, the details were impossible to parse through. Still…
Hitoshi, frozen over Mezou, choked.
"W-w-w-what? I-I—" He said, struggling to his feet. He looked at Kaminari and Jirou, then to Shiozaki, and then the hellhound again. "I-I swear! That thing—is it seriously immortal? It was fucking charcoal!"
"D-double that," Jirou said, a thick hitch in her voice. She took a deep sniff. "Charcoal."
"Whey…"
Beside Reiko, rubble began to shake. One by one, stone shards, half-burned wooden stakes, and broken glass lifted off the ground. Even from here, a good few people between them, she could hear Reiko's breathing through her black mask.
"It's alright… it can heal… but we've taken them down before. We can do it again." She said, her backfoot sliding into a strong stance. Her telekinetic debris began revolving around her, gaining momentum.
"Our heavy hitters are down! And I don't know about you, but I can't dish out 200 million volts! Power wise, we're nothing!" Ojiro said, glancing at the revolving debris.
"We've got two superhumans, three emitters, and two able bodies! It's just one opponent!" She replied.
Shiozaki could only groan as the dust cloud bulged outward on either side of the banshee. It didn't stand upright like the other one. Deep indigo skin, nearly black, hung below its golden beak. Instead, it dragged itself flat against the floor, groaning and growling all the while. It didn't seem to care for the sharp rocks, let alone the broken glass. This one smelt even worse—like a flaming garbage bin. The smell choked her.
On the banshee's opposite shoulder, a smaller shape appeared—an upright creature, skinny and short. Its fingers hung lower than its kneecaps, with a mud-green complexion. When its beak parted, a sharp, piston-like hiss filled her ears.
The three beasts from hell made no further noise, falling silent in favor of their stoic, frozen posture. They didn't advance—just as they did not retreat.
Her mind whirled with a thousand questions—firstly, being, how on earth the first two were alive. She saw the one burnt so badly that its spine was little more than a torched, snapped twig. Not to mention the original banshee, burned straight in the heart of the blast.
The one crawling on all fours moved first. It planted a palm on the ground, instead of a sinewy elbow, and pushed.
It managed to almost rise to its feet—but one of its legs was still lame. It was impossible to say how long it'd take for that to heal, but since they were hellborn spawns, she doubted the dark powers would let them suffer for long. She opened her mouth, the command to bullrush the door and close it behind them on her lips—but the words never came.
She saw Reiko, and the focus in her eyes, and the speed of her rotating vortex. Shiozaki wasn't strong enough to be a leader—but Reiko must've been. This was the final nail in the coffin—if Shiozaki was the leader, they would've already been out the door, but Reiko trusted herself and them enough to handle this threat.
Shiozaki pushed Yui Kodai towards Reiko. As much as Yui'd been a big help, her ability to change an object's mass and dimensions was the perfect pair for Reiko's poltergeist. If they had any shot, it was going to be them.
She fell, nearly immediately, but not all the way. Her palm caught on a nearby bolder before her debilitated knees struck the ground. There was no more strength in her body—the hunger and the lacking sunlight only continued to sap her strength, even now—but that didn't matter.
Most of her childhood revolved around her church. She'd always wanted to be a hero, but for the longest time, it hadn't seemed possible. Church was her parent's great devotion. Neither had a mind for her working anywhere but where they'd spent their lives believing in. It was their belief that their purpose in life was a slow sacrifice. They helped anyone who wandered past their community's doors, even if it meant the shirt off their back, even if it meant the one off hers. After her quirk fully manifested, she'd come to accept that.
Then All Might died, and the dynamic shifted. Her parent's unconditional love for their fellow man somehow expanded, seeing the greatest man of their generation fall. Slowly, her childish ideas gained ground in their hearts, and then their minds.
That man, perhaps worth a million others, sacrificed himself for a random, anonymous little boy. He let nothing at all hold him back. Not his status, not his power, not his love of life, not his wounds or aches or exhaustion. Even with a hole in his chest, he defended a single person from a great villain. Now, Shiozaki was here, running on nothing but love, and she had even more to lose with a lesser foe.
Her vines, dry and limp, crackled as they rose to hover above her shoulders. Maybe her strength was pitiful, maybe she wasn't a good leader, and maybe All Might died for less, but she was here, and she wouldn't let herself be a burden.
She took a single, firm step forward, and all the drooling gargoyles exploded.
Three-legged and half-paralyzed, the crawling hellhound moved first, aiming straight for Jirou. The hellhound galloped towards the girl, but without its fourth leg, it was slow enough for even Shiozaki to respond. Her vines shot out, snagging its good leg. It broke through the dry appendages almost as soon as she grabbed it, but the momentary delay was enough. Jirou, with Kaminari in tow, dodged out of its barreling tackle. It rammed past her, slamming into the USJ's wall. Spinning on a dime, Jirou slammed her earphone jacks into the ground.
Between the two, a giant sound wave ruptured the stone, sending it flying in the monster's direction. It shielded its face, but several rocks were large enough to knock its guard loose.
"Malevolent Maelstrom!" Reiko cried out, before flinging her high-velocity ring of debris straight at the beast's face. It pelted the monster with terrifying force. While some missed, most at least grazed the creature—and it was obvious from those alone the pale girl held nothing back. Parts of its beak broke off with the rocks. Broken glass sliced its face to ribbons. A single, small wooden stake stabbed through the creature's eye, enticing a bone-rattling roar.
In the same moment, the piercing scream of the banshee-monster tore through the air. It raised its arms and slammed its arms down, cracking the stone, but also launching the creature forward. Thick, veiny webs between its wrists and ribcage bore the monster aloft for a single moment, slingshotting it straight in Kouda's face. Before it hit its mark, however, a thick cord of muscle whipped its face, sending it crashing into the ground. Ojiro landed in a skid, the colliding forces sending him back a good three meters. His tail was red and bruised, but the creature needed a moment to gather its wits.
"Ants! Roaches! Flies! Swarm its eyes!" Kouda said, his voice a high-pitched shock that Shiozaki couldn't appreciate in the moment. The void-black shrieker managed to its feet, but suddenly slammed its face into the ground as bugs began appearing out of nowhere. They crawled out from the shadows of its body, from between fingers and webs and creases. It slammed its face into the ground again, and again, and again, shrieking all the while.
In this brief window, Shiozaki stumbled closer to Reiko and Ojiro, and she thanked herself for it.
Between the banshee's wild self-harm and the three-legged one's dismantlement, the smallest slipped into the fray. It tried to jump on Ojiro, but with its pitiful weight, Shiozaki's vines froze it. Ojiro pivoted on a dime, swiveling with enough force to crack his tail against the monster's beak. The hellhound's neck snapped to the side and sagged—but then it twitched, gripped its neck, and twisted it back in place. Ojiro stumbled as he retreated, and Shiozaki winced. His tail, a little past the halfway mark, bent.
A roar tore her attention aside, and she saw the three-legged creature push against the wall, rising to both legs. It stumbled, clearly built to be quadrupedal—yet it stood on both hind legs. Gripping the stake in its eye, it ripped it out—and in a few nauseating seconds, Shiozaki saw the wound heal over. Even the cuts on its face faded to scars, and then plain indigo skin.
It tested its new balance, staggered once, then roared again. Dropping onto its hands, it galloped straight at Jirou. With its legs restored, its velocity was staggering.
Despite the monster's speed, the world only seemed to slow down. Her vines were too busy restraining the small one to save Jirou, and with the way the girl sagged against Kaminari, it seemed the earlier sound-attack ran her powers dry. Reiko's hand reached out to do anything—but she couldn't lift anything heavier than herself. Jirou might've been the most petite girl in class, but it'd mean abandoning Kaminari to his fate. Already knowing this, she tried diving in front of them, but she wouldn't make it in time. Likewise, Kouda was too far. Hitoshi was lost in the chaos, his half-formed cry unable to reach the monster's ears. Ojiro's tail was broken.
Shiozaki met Jirou's eyes from a brief second, and her expression was filled with ugly fear.
Then a shadow smothered what little light permeated their battle, and the world shook with God's wrath.
[x]
AN: Woooooo! 1000 Favorites! The big number makes me smile. I like this chapter well enough, but I think the best chapter I've written so far is definitely next week. Look forward to it.
53 and 54 on the other hand are gonna need some more work. I felt a rush of mania writing those-and not really a good kind. Still, even as they are, I think they're passable. Unfortunately, I had to split 54 in half and make the second half 55 :( Kinda ruins overall flow, but it's better for a chapter-by-chapter basis, ya feel? Hopefully with the extra time it gives me, I can do a more thorough review. A beta would be nice in times like these, but a captain goes down with his ship.
Oh, also, people were complaining about the end of last chapter-honestly, I guess my bad, but I'm not sure what you're talking about. Like, in general, the whole second half, or just the climax in particular? Because the climax was supposed to be confusing,,, cuz ya know, their personalities were put in a blender and Darkshadow hit the "On" button.
anyways
Review!~~