Inflorescence (SYOC)

by heartattak

"Everyone that has reached adulthood, you have already adapted to the ways of today and the radical change that is imminent shall utterly break and dismantle you. That's why we have no more room for you. In the next twenty-four hours, we will be initiating the BLOOM project... and the past shall be eviscerated without a trace, and the blooming of a new future shall commence."

3. BLOSSOM

Chapter 03 - Blossom

The shrilling emptiness of his mind cultivated a soporific and insipid noise that persisted with diligence, reverberating throughout his subconscious and forcing him into an everlasting state of discomfiture. He couldn't make much sense of where he was or if he was even alive at this point. More importantly, was he even sure if he wanted to know the answer to that question?

Wherever he was, unmitigated pain was still an intrusive source of company. He could consider that as an answer to the question of if he was alive or not. A small inkling of disappointment drifted through his mind at that realization, but that was his most insignificant concern.

He listlessly gravitated in a pathetic attempt to dissociate. The pain was unbearable. He wanted to cry out, to scream but for some odd reason, he simply couldn't. He could only live with it. He could only remain stationary and endure the suffering.

Unexplainably, he felt conscious but unaware at the same time. He couldn't breathe, though that was to be expected considering what happened before he met his pitiful end. He felt cold and blinded, experiencing a jarring sense of overstimulation.

His sense of hearing was seemingly gone. All he could decipher was an immeasurable pressure from something flooding into his head and through his ears. It was unpleasant. Everything felt so off-putting.

He felt submerged. He felt as if he was sinking deeper and deeper into his own personal purgatory. He felt contained and imprisoned, which did nothing to help with the faint sense of impending dread seeping into the only active portion of his mind. That dread would soon fade into bereavement. And that bereavement would eventually dissolve and form into a cloud of numbness to match with his physical sense of feeling.

Bicolored flowers with petals that were a mix of a brilliant yellow and invigorated red blossomed from the darkness, so sudden and questionably without a purpose. All they accomplished was reminding him of July. A month before everything he loved fell apart. Could this have been some sort of adumbration? A prognostic hint to where he'd end up next?

It was the only thought that was worth entertaining, but the foreboding feeling that would loom over him was persistent. A prosaic sensation that brought about visions of a darker tomorrow. It was somehow even darker than the one he'd already been dealt.

It didn't change what he felt though.

It was the most beautiful chrysanthemum flower he'd ever seen. And for once, it was no longer just him and complete nothingness. He had a source of color to bloom through the abyss...

And he was strangely okay with that.

---

(Shizuoka Prefecture - Monday - 7:56 PM)

All things considered, while a vast majority of Japan seemed to be a literal stain left behind by the messy downfall of humanity, that certainly didn't change the fact that there was beauty in the discordance.

The moon flourishing in preparation to take over the sun's position was a subtle reminder of that fact.

Illuminating rays of sunshine descended upon the forestry, highlighting the marvelous scenery filled with cherry blossom trees and abundant wildlife. There were a few EXILES in groups within the distance, but it wasn't hard to tell that they'd already been liberated. As such, they weren't a threat to anyone in the slightest.

The sky was casually settling into a very delineated melange of dark orange, pink, and indigo. It wouldn't be long before the sunset subsided and pure darkness would be its substitute. A time that would've been a warning sign for anyone to seek shelter and remain stationary until daybreak, but that wasn't the case for one girl in particular. From her perspective, nighttime was her comfort. The night was her blanketing source of contentment.

Brightly-lit pupils surrounded by a starry sea composed of purple and other astral-esque colors lazily scanned the area with an increasingly quixotic shimmer. She often loved to come here whenever she was laying low. Not only was the scenery a solid change of pace, but the inhabitants that lived near this location in particular were quite idiosyncratic.

Granted, in the days after a full-blown apocalypse, it was a little hard NOT to come across very peculiar characters. Some were good, some were bad, some were drifting in the middle, but all of them usually shared one thing in common; they were usually weirdos.

But hey, who was she to judge? If not unconventional, what was she? Normalcy certainly wasn't her cup of tea, and it never will be as long as Nyght steered the ship of her own destiny.

Her motorcycle was as illuminant as ever, filling her with a sense of pride as she cruised through the woodlands. She could've been to her destination by now if she utilized the full speed of her Dokuhebi, but that would've surely scared the critters back into their hiding spots. She wasn't BLOOM. She didn't get some sadistic kick out of terrorizing and inflicting fear on the weak and helpless. Plus, this was her first time seeing actual animals since leaving Oppai's shake shop.

Along with the inclusion of her own ambrosial fragrance, Nyght was blessed by the smell of fresh air, completely free from the usually unpleasant scent of pollution and smog. It was a very welcoming change of pace. It was reassuring to smell something other than death and desolation for once. That odor had its own appeal, but it would quickly get old after five or so minutes.

She sighed happily, lifting her head and nose into the air to treasure the scent as much as she possibly could. Who knew when she'd have the opportunity to enjoy this again?

'Let's see…' Nyght casually lifted her hands from the bars of her motorcycle, initiating auto-pilot mode as she stretched and realized a loud yawn. She raised her Gi-Pa and examined the coordinates. 'Yup, this is exactly where I need to be. The terrain is looking more familiar as well… I give it two minutes…'

Nyght smiled whimsically and canceled out the home screen on her Gi-Pa before laying against the seat of her moving motorcycle. She was practically already there. Where was the harm in taking a well-deserved rest beforehand?

Admittedly though, it was quite hard for her to not take her eyes off of the sky. There was going to be a full moon. Finally! Maybe after she finished conducting business, she could snap a few images of the moon tonight! The joys of unlimited storage were infinite, so Nyght could definitely afford to treat herself and go a little overboard.

Besides, it wasn't like she had TOO much in her Gi-Pa storage anyways. There were simply pictures of the moon, memories with old friends and a few former lovers, and an uncountable amount of... risqué photos from flings and alluring fans that somehow managed to get in direct contact with her.

Her face blushed lightly as she rolled her eyes and displayed a goofy smile. It wasn't like she hated the sentiments or anything, but it was really getting tiresome having to change her codes every week or so because someone wanted to share risky photos with her. Did she look? Of course! They went through the trouble of sending them after all, it would've been rude for her to not acknowledge them. Nyght had manners! Not many but a few!

Before she could proceed into another one of lewd daydreams, a synonymous chirp echoed from the interface of her bike. Followed by the fact that the scenery was giving way to a small community formed with naturalistic huts, Nyght knew that she'd made it to her destination.

A crowd of children, both young or in the tail-end of their adolescence, frolicked through the open fields. Some were picking an endless array of flowers from the frondescence, gathering them for what Nyght assumed to be floral arrangements.

They immediately stopped upon hearing the revving of her engine as she passed them by. A few of them instinctively ducked off and hid away, which was understandable. This was the fear that followed BLOOM's uprising; a sad reality where they couldn't even stay out in the open for too long in fear of being caught. If they weren't slaughtered, they were captured. If they weren't captured, they were slaughtered. There was no in-between when dealing with BLOOM, and it made her sick to her stomach.

She had to swallow whatever bit of anger she had though. This area in particular was quite timid and untrusting to outsiders, and she had to put on her best grin in order to reassure them.

They seemed to recognize her not long after they recovered from their initial wave of shock. Her heart bounced as their downtrodden and shaken expressions vanished and were replaced with consoled smiles. Nyght turned to give them a slow wink while a few of the youngest settlers hurriedly ran behind her as she entered the settlement.

Finding the nearest space to park her Dokuhebi, she took a moment to inhale. God, her lungs haven't felt this rejuvenated in weeks.

"Gracious Nyght! the Goddess of Dusk! You've come back to us once more!" Nyght felt a small hand tug on the corners of her bomber jacket, prompting her to look to the side as an adorable child with blue hair styled into a crown as she beamed at her. "We've missed you! Pray tell, what brings you to our humble abode?"

Nyght blinked. Why on earth was a six year old speaking like a Shakespeare historian? The more she thought about it though, the more she realized that questioning such a thing was pointless. This place was two shades of weirdness. Instead, she curled an eyebrow and reached to pick the girl up, placing her on the seat of her motorcycle. "Heya, scamper! It has been a while, huh?! I don't plan on staying for too long, I just wanna find and talk to Bardi if they're around!"

The girl slowly turned her eyes to the crowd as they caught up, blinking rapidly before turning back to Nyght with a look of docility and cluelessness. "Perhaps I've misheard you? I am not aware of anyone by the name of Bardi. Is anyone else familiar with Bardi?"

Echoes of denial arose from the crowd, who seemed just as incognizant as the child sitting on the seat of her vehicle.

Ah. How could she forget? Apparently, he was seen as their leader for whatever reason. Hell, more than their leader, he was regarded as some kind of deity.

Nyght slammed her head in the palm of her hand, faking as if she had said something blasphemous. "Dearest me, I must extend my deepest apologies to you all! Calling your chosen one such a casual name!" Clearing her throat, Nyght corrected herself. "Would you be able to show me the way to the… Enlightened One?"

A series of gasps cancelled out the awkward silence as the crowd started chatting amongst themselves.

"A request to see our Chosen One!?"

"What could be so urgent that the Goddess of the Night would seek out our leader's presence!?"

"Could it be a unity of some sorts!? An arrangement of ethereal love!? The entwining of hands to deliver a new faith!?"

Nyght wanted to roll her eyes and gag so badly, but she held herself from doing so. However, she could not stop herself from looking in several directions. If all of this became too much, she needed an escape route. Religion was a yucky enough subject for her. Cults were in a league of their own on her Yikes radar. "Quickly, quickly, my children! The matter is urgent! We shall discuss the details at a much later date! For now, me and the Enlightened One must resolve an issue of utmost importance!"

"Ah!" The blue-haired girl was the first to break away from her train of thought. "Right, my Goddess! Follow me! Our leader is sharing hymns with his holy instrument and the joyous sound of his voice in order to strengthen our morale! We shall guide him to you immediately! Let us follow the music."

'Follow the music, she says…' Nyght's grin devolved into a taut smile. Dear lord, why did such a cute little child have to be so unbelievably cringy? "By all means, my little blueberry messenger! Be the guiding light that ushers me through your paradiscal promiseland! For your compliance, you shall be graciously honored by my dust! A special dust that derives from the stars, quasars, and milky-ways of the galaxy! A dust that's made with glowing embers from the moon itself! The dust from the trail of comets that soar every few years!"

Geez, talking like this was exhausting. Is this really how they spoke to each other on a daily basis? Nyght only hoped that her spiel was believable enough.

"NYGHT-SAMAAAAAA, A THOUSAND BOWS COULD NOT COME CLOSE TO CONVEYING OUR GRATITUDE!"

She unconsciously tilted her head. The sudden urge to scratch her forehead felt quite understanding when she considered the circumstances. As Nyght watched the tiny girl staring up at her with stars flaring deep within her sapphire-colored eyes, the crowd gathering behind her exclaimed bright and jubilant cheers of admiration. Pretty soon, the entirety of the troupe flocked together to compose an all-out jamboree to celebrate their supposed burst of idolatry.

'Holy shit, it actually worked. What the fuck?'

Nyght didn't fight back against the smaller girl grabbing her hands, holding them softly as if she was the most delicate flower imaginable. If only this sweet little girl knew how many necks she'd snapped with these bare hands. She might've not held them at all.

"Shall we proceed, my Goddess of the Night!?"

Nyght merely grinned one of her signature smiles and winked lightly at the child. "Let's shall!"

---

As beautiful as the sky looked on days like this, it was always a sign that he'd likely have to save himself from the trouble of getting caught-up by the commune. Unfortunately, he was merely too taken aback by the environment to be conscious enough of their presence right away. That would not last for much longer though. They had a habit of making themselves very known, especially whenever they could find him mulling about.

Today was one of those days.

"Isn't the community that we've created in the name of your grace something special, my Chosen One?"

Despite their droopy and sleep-deprived appearance, a pair of lustrous eyes as golden as the sun peered off to the side as he heard one of the commune's inhabitants chime serenely. He struggled to not scoff to himself for a bit. He didn't think he'd ever get used to being called that. A "chosen one"? That was the last thing they needed to title him as. Something like that would've been more befitting for a therapist or a psychiatrist, which is what they desperately needed right now.

"Uhhh, yeah! It sure is, Yui!" Iyasu quickly muttered in agreement with the girl sitting a bit too close to him as his calloused fingers prodded the strings of his ukelele. "This place was overrun by cockroaches and giant horse-flies that could've picked me up and carried me off beforehand, but you've done a fine job in making something out of the little things."

"It's only by the will of your infectious tune and holy spirit!" Yui responded sweetly. She brushed her jade-colored bangs to the side, revealing more of her almost love-stricken gaze as she held a small Inu within her arms and combed through its fur. "That, and flytraps can be quite useful when working in unison with my Quirk!"

"Yeah…" Iyasu said idly. He took a moment to observe the dog laying happily in Yui's lap as she pampered it with passion and care. This damn dog was ignorantly living the dream while he was battling the instinctive urge to run for the hills and never return to this place ever again. Hell, he had even considered it beforehand and planned for the day when he needed to. However, he knew what his absence would do to this commune. "Glad I could… help?"

He helped them out all in the name of looking good and now he was stuck with them. Karma truly was a bitch, wasn't it?

Iyasu sighed, looking into the steamy waters that surrounded them as he observed his freckled face. He could still see that things were more delicate than ever for them though. Since the devastation of Mount Fuji, a place that happened to not be too far from them, the morale of the commune was slowly starting to deteriorate.

Iyasu couldn't blame them. Paranoia was starting to overcome himself as well, though he was happy that he at least had a way to take their minds off of the recent ruination a few miles away. For now, he could only play the fluttering and melodic sounds of his favorite instrument to keep their spirits afloat.

The light from the setting sun reflected from the waters of the hot spring, shedding a glow on a few of the settlers as they basked in the calming atmosphere. While the people definitely were… odd. Actually, no, odd was an understatement. Even though they were creepy, they were good people that didn't deserve to feel as if they had to fear for their lives every day of the week.

The thought was a bit hypocritical of him, especially since the only reason he was still here in the first place was because the idea of being out there by himself was far less appealing, but that didn't matter.

Besides that, at the end of the day, they truly did have something special here. The origins were a little too rooted to himself, but Iyasu was happy to see that he could help them in ways that allowed them all to come together in a positive (albeit unhealthy) manner.

"You've always been such a wonderful help, haven't you~?" Iyasu froze, feeling a soft bed of locks fall upon his shoulder. He looked over slowly to see Yui staring into his eyes with a rather… worrisome expression. The kind of expression that immediately made him red in the face. What exactly was she doing? Where was this coming from? "To think that both Koda-san and Shinai-san could be so blind to your greatness. It's a shameful thing. Regardless, if you'd like for me to personally sacrifice a piece of myself or repay you for all that you've done in any way, I am at your service."

"U-U-U-U-Uh, w-well, there… isn't any need for t-that—" Iyasu stuttered. A thousand words wished to come but they disassembled into nothing the moment that he felt Yui's soft and porcelain hands glide through his sunny-orange curls with adoration and care.

Common sense screamed for him to pull away and knock her off into the hot springs before sprinting for the hills, but he couldn't seem to react immediately. In fact, he couldn't react at all. 'I—!"

"Chosen one! Our drifting light of sound, please pay heed to my voice because we have a visitor that you're familiar with!"

"Coming right there!" Yui could barely react to the speed at which Iyasu moved away, blinking rapidly as she looked to see his previous spot empty with only a fleeting after-image in its place. "Sorry, we'll have to pick up on the extensions of gratitude later, Yui-san!"

If Iyasu looked behind him, he would see Yui with a rather disheartened pout on her face, which is exactly why he didn't even bother to turn around in the first place.

He gripped his ukelele tightly, ruffling the hair of the young child accompanied by a rather large group as he made his way to the outside of the hot springs and into the commune of huts. Looking about, there was quite a decent bit of chatter, even more so than usual. Only one person in particular could kick up this much of a ruckus outside of himself. The source of high morale he'd been hoping for finally showed up. Fashionably late as per usual, but they were strangely on time to save him from his… dilemma with Yui.

Turning one final corner, he couldn't stop himself from feeling giddy at the sight of long, midnight-purple hair, a beautiful face, eyes comparable to the Milky Way, and one of the most smug smiles in existence. Even if teasing was imminent, it wasn't a bother to Iyasu at all.

"Nyght-Nyght!"

"Don't call me that please."

"Nyghty-Nyght?"

"Not even in your dreams."

"My little Nyght-Lyght?!"

"Are you actually trying to give me a nickname or make me cringe? I can't tell which is more likely at this point but you're certainly doing a good job on the latter."

"...Hello, Nyght."

"Hello, Bardi! How have you been!?"

"So that's how it is, huh?" Go figure. He couldn't give her a cute nickname without getting picked on but she was allowed to call him Bardi? Iyasu pouted but wasted no time in hugging Nyght, who rolled her eyes playfully before returning it with a pat on his back. "It's been so lame without you around, have you decided that you'll let me roll with you now?!"

"Pffffffthahahahagod no!" Nyght laughed out loud. The queen of shooting his pride where it hurts, just like always. She hadn't changed a bit. "Naaaah, nah, nah, nothing like that and you know it, ya dweeb~! I just came because I've heard you've been having a morale issue that needed sorting with your craz—AHEM! I mean loving and befitting disciplines!"

"Ah! O-Of course!" Iyasu's eyes slowly looked to the crowd of people encompassing them—good lord, scratch that, this was the entire commune staring them down. Their doe-eyes were filled with wonder and fascination, looking as if they were witnessing history in this very moment. "I'm sure you're aware of the whole ordeal with Mount Fuji! It's been a matter that has worried us quite a bit. Seeing as your company provides us with a marvelous sense of comfort, I figured the best possible option would be to call upon the…"

Iyasu hummed for a bit.

A moment of silence between Nyght and Iyasu was made obvious as their eyes locked with each other. Weirdly enough, while this might seem like some sort of awkward silence to outsiders, they were indeed communicating in their own way. A conversation built on idiotic telepathy.

'Nyght, come on, help me out here, what is it that they love to call you?! I totally forgot and I don't wanna break immersion!'

'Goddess of the Night, baka. Oya, what in the hell would you do without me?'

'Die, most likely.'

'You know what? That should've been obvious, forget I asked.'

"GODDESS OF THE NIGHT!" Iyasu suddenly exclaimed from out of nowhere, standing triumphantly as the crowd was mildly shaken by how loud and sudden the outburst was. Even the small Inu in Yui's arms as she made her way to the front seemed to roll its eyes at Iyasu's antics. "So! Will you be willing to help with this, my friend?!"

'I'll spare you for the dweebery for now, I guess,' Nyght cleared her throat and gasped, feigning disappointment. "Alas, the work of a goddess is never done! I simply have far too much on my plate to settle for long! However!"

Nyght smiled warmly as she proceeded to emit an expansive aura that seamlessly accumulated from her fingertips. A series of gasps were heard from the crowd as the glow from the setting sun was sealed away and replaced with a blanketing source of celestial energy. Flickering orbs of light forming colorful prisms befell upon the commune, descending into the hands of the children that dared to reach for them.

"Have this! It is my… uhhhh, special life force! It foretells a future of prosperity and good luck coming your way! Let this be a reminder that even when I'm not physically here, I am watching over you all in spirit!"

Iyasu sweatdropped at the bizarre and admittedly unsettling scene as the entirety of the community frolicked to catch the astral lights descending from the sky. He'd say that he was surprised they bought into that whole spiel but realistically speaking, that would've been a lie.

In the background, he could see Koda and Shinai coming along to see what the fuss was all about. All it took for them was the sight of Nyght's act and Iyasu shrugging his shoulders before they rolled their eyes and walked as far away from the commotion as possible. Fair, Iyasu thought. Definitely very fair on their behalf.

Creeping up to a waving Nyght, he subtly tapped her shoulders before dragging her off from the crowd, though it was hard considering how strong Nyght was in comparison to him and how she seemed to be soaking the attention like a sponge.

"ENJOY, THY PEOPLE! ENJOY!" Nyght exclaimed before turning her attention to Iyasu as they made their way deeper into the forestry of cherry blossom trees and came to a stop. The two of them only looked at each other for a few seconds.

Then suddenly, Nyght snickered.

Iyasu snickered afterwards.

And in the span of a few seconds, the two of them burst into a moment of hysteria, crying at the absurdity while cackling loud enough to scare off the wildlife nearby. The feeling of laughter was so overwhelming that Iyasu found it hard for him to even stand on his own two legs without having them give out from the absurdity of what just happened.

"Special life force!? That's what you came up with!? And you were giving me so much shit about the nicknames!" Iyasu managed to squeak out, crawling to a nearby boulder for leverage.

"Hey, don't get mad at me! You were actually trying with those god-awful nicknames, I was actively pulling everything out of my ass better than you were!" Nyght retorted humorously while crossing her legs and leaning against a tree.

"Please, as if it's hard to appease these guys!"

"It's definitely hard as hell to keep up with that cringy ass roleplay gimmick they have going on! God, how do you put up with that!?"

"You get used to it after a while and they're good people!"

"You sure you don't just have some sort of god complex and use these people for a fetish or something~?"

"Shut the fuck up, as if you got room to talk!"

The two of them looked at each other with pleasant smiles on their faces. This truly put things into perspective. Both of them missed this.

"It's good to see ya again, Bardi." Nyght stated fondly, moving to where he was and standing above the ginger to offer a hand in lifting him from the ground. "Get up before fire-ants start gnawing on your ass and make you scream, we both know that with your pain tolerance, a mosquito bite could put you down for the count."

"To be fair, have you seen the size of insects now? I don't think you could blame me too much." Iyasu wasted no time grabbing Nyght's hand and nodded at her appreciatively. "But I guess it's nice to see you again too, ya bully."

"You guess, huuuuuh~?" Nyght slyly moaned. She pulled Iyasu to his feet (perhaps a little too hard) as she reached to pat his back affectionately. "Is that why I got a Gi-Pa message with fully bolded and cap-locked words talking about how you needed my help or you'd cry~?"

"Bold of you to assume that I'd even try to dispute the fact that happened in the first place. Enough about me though! How have YOU been?" Iyasu made an attempt to lean against the same tree that Nyght posted herself upon, though he almost ended up falling flat on his face, much to her amusement. "Last I heard from you was the Mr. Wasteland interview a few days ago, you never answer my messages!"

"I'm here now, aren't I?" Nyght shrugged, checking her painted and well-manicured nails absentmindedly. "Is that not the response that you wanted, hmmmm~?"

She had a point, he had to admit. Plus, with her being a huge target, it made sense that she'd rather not use her Gi-Pa much for conversational purposes. If the wrong person managed to intercept those signals, they could find their way right to her and that would've been disastrous. Then again, in his first meeting with her, she one-shotted a horde of TERRA-level EXILEs whilst roasting him about his ukelele and dusty overalls. Nine times out of ten, Iyasu knew that Nyght would always come out okay.

"You're right. You are here." Iyasu chirped. His smile faltered a bit once he took a closer look at Nyght. Though she was still as beautiful as ever, the bags underneath her eyes were a sign of her sleep deprivation. "Just about, at least. When's the last time you had any sleep, huh…?"

Nyght hummed lightly, taking a few minutes to remember. "I take a few naps on my bike regularly between travels but if you're asking when's the last time I had a full night's rest? I'd say… around a month ago? Maybe two?"

Iyasu's eyes almost jumped right out of his head. "Two months!?"

Nyght sighed, already feeling a lecture coming on. "Maybe more, honestly. I dunno, my sense of time is pretty fucked at the moment. I'm not even sure if my Gi-Pa has the right date."

Iyasu frowned. "That's… not good. Like, at all, Nyght."

"Probably not," Nyght admitted. Her smirk never left her face, but he could tell that there was something weighing on her and it played a hand in how tired she looked. "But I can't really afford to sit still for too long, you know this. I can't sleep because of paranoia, too many people want my head on a swivel for me to lay it on a fluffy pillow for them. It'll basically be free real estate for the bastards."

"Yeah…" It pained Iyasu that he didn't have much to say outside of that. "I… know."

"Hey~?"

"Hu-GACK!" Iyasu squealed, feeling Nyght's arm snake around his neck and place him into a headlock.

"Don't be all mopey about it now, you dingus!" Nyght teased. She tightened her headlock the more that he squirmed, laughing to herself as she felt him tickle her sides to free himself from her grasp. "Stop boring me with questions about my sleeping schedules, I got enough of that from Oppai! Let's just enjoy some "no thoughts, head empty" times for fuck sake!"

Iyasu found himself unable to respond, not only because he was unable to talk without choking on his words from the vise-grip Nyght inflicted upon him, but also because he was overtaken by how good her scent was and just how beautiful she was whenever she looked excited.

Iyasu struggled out a laugh, preparing to free himself by touching her arm and making her freak out from mushrooms growing on her skin. It worked like a charm every time.

"F-Fine! You asked for it—!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM

In the blink of an eye, the earth that once stood still and in a state of tranquility seemed to have had tremors coursing through its very core. The only thing that could be heard underneath the sudden resonance was the near-instantaneous screams of nearby villagers, who seemed to be unfortunately caught in the impact of the unanticipated destruction. Nyght could only widen her eyes and grit her teeth in annoyance as she was haphazardly thrown off of Iyasu by a burst of wind powerful enough to pillage amidst the vicinity and flat-line several trees in the process.

A spiraling monsoon of dirt, wood, and various other elements of the earth expanded throughout the area, making it difficult for Nyght to catch her footing as she pulled a panicking Iyasu out of the way of falling debris. Her heart rate accelerated from a steady pace and right into a moment of unfathomable overdrive, which was only made worse when she noticed how far she and Iyasu were from the commune.

Only a select group of the settlers were seen running their way, screaming for her and Iyasu to escape in the opposite direction. The others were either scattering towards their own escape… or were unlucky enough to get trapped in the carnage.

Nyght cursed underneath her breath. It didn't even take ten seconds for her to come to a harrowing realization. She had been followed.

"IYASU! KEEP AN EYE ON THE PEOPLE THAT WENT IN OUR DIRECTION!" Iyasu gulped softly at how quickly Nyght dropped her cool and casual demeanor for a far more intimidating mein as her teeth bared intensely. "I'll go see if I can help out anyone else in your commune to escape but until then, please do not come anywhere near the combat zone!"

"H-Hai! Got it!" Iyasu wasted no time in quickly holding the children and teenagers close before shooing them to a nearby hiding shelter they built underground in case of severe emergencies. "Wait, combat zone!? Don't tell me—!"

"Focus on THEM! Don't worry about me, Bard!" Nyght looked over and gave a tenacious grin before clicking her tongue as a darkening aura encompassed her body, fully staining both the earth underneath her feet and the entirety of the sky above her with a transcendental emanation. "I'll be just fine~! Whoever or whatever's responsible made a shit-brained decision picking a fight at this time of the day!"

And without another word, an unfiltered fulmination of astral-like energy burst from where she stood and she was suddenly nowhere to be seen. All that had been left by her is a massive crater composed of a blackened yet starry ambience as it spread out significantly once she cleared her distance. This was enough to put a smile on Iyasu's face as Yui, his dog, and the remnants of the commune were now coming fast to his position.

All of the villagers crowded around him, hailing sounds of relief and promises that most had made it out safely, but it was all completely white noise to him. A single thought crossed his mind before he ushered them to the shelter.

'Show them what you're made of, Nyght… please win.'

---

BLOOM Registry - Criminal Database

Opposer #10973 - Genkaku Iyasu

Faction Affiliation: Name is unavailable but has been seen with a mixed group of settlers that seem to worship him. Potential cult(?).

Danger Level - Currently insignificant. Threat level is non-existent, though that could change at any point in time.

Quirk: Cycle of Life Spores - Fungi-based Quirk; Subject is able to grow spores from his arms and plant them onto any living thing. Capable of taking energy from other things and giving healing possibilities to those that consume them.

Additional Information: Often referred to as Daze; carries a ukulele for unknown reasons.

---

It wasn't often that Nyght took many things seriously. On most occasions, she'd scoff at any attempt at duress or intimidation. Death was such a constant in her life that it hardly even made her flinch anymore. However, that was only the case for Nyght herself.

Seeing others have to face that same adversary, on the other hand, was one of the scariest sights imaginable.

She covered as much ground as she could, pulling any civilian that she passed from underneath the wreckage of the town as utter chaos ran rampant through what was once a beautiful and harmonic community.

An enormous airship with the deeply infuriating insignia she had grown so used to seeing hovered over the destruction like an incoming rain-cloud promising that a natural disaster was imminent. BLOOM. As if there was ever any doubt.

Descending from the main opening of the ship were several EXILES, primed and ready to slaughter anything that came into their line of fire. She could hardly process their appearance as what was left of the commune's survivors fought relentlessly against the intruders. Nyght was no fool though. These EXILEs were at least TERRA-level, meaning they were only four notches below XENO territory. In groups, they'd tear through them faster than lightning.

"Help me! Goddess, please!"

Hearing the sound of a trembling scream, Nyght turned to see the younger girl who had greeted her as she entered the commune cornered and circled by a pack of hyena-like EXILEs. All of them brandished hazardously sharp armor composed of unknown elements as their abnormally large heads loomed above her and cackled hysterically at the child's crying form. Their bodies were heavily contorted as tendrils made with a visceral mix of a greenish fluid and bone jutted from their spines and threatened to pierce her into oblivion.

Nyght clicked her teeth, trying her best to quell the increasing rage bellowing within her soul as she muttered a few words underneath her breath. If she was going to help anyone else, she needed to rid herself of the distractions first. Right now, there were far too many for her to direct her attention to the most urgent task. She'd fix that though.

"...Moonless Night…. Mugetsu Yoru…"

Suddenly, a single orb manifested in front of her, softly glowing as an almost insignificant ember. However, without a word of caution, the flames incinerating the commune and the shimmering sunlight from above were cancelled out as the area was enveloped in almost complete darkness. Nearby EXILEs seemed alert yet momentarily confused while the escaping civilians took the distraction as a chance for them to make their escape.

Rapidly, the orb grew from what was once a small speck of light into what appeared to be a large and blackened star, tempestuously blistering with blazing embers that felt almost as hot as the surface of the sun.

"Okay, soooooo for any of the kiddos around, you might wanna stop stargazing and get lost because it's about to get lit the fuck up in about a second or two!"

She heard the growling screams of most of the EXILEs intensify as they desperately tried to corner the light in hopes of sniffing out their target, but they were halted by the appearance of another orb of light. This time, however, the orb expelled wisps of a midnight-purple essence as it expanded far faster than the previous one and soon, a dozen more encompassed the area and ignited with an insurmountable expulsion of purely violative energy.

Nyght couldn't help but laugh as her starry eyes gazed upon the EXILEs hopelessly tucking their tails and running, only to be fully devoured by her Quirk's dangerous energy multiplying into immense clusters. The disgusting smell of their flesh being ravaged and eroded out of existence slowly brought a gleeful flutter from her heart as they were cornered and eviscerated by the innate force eating away at any sign of life left.

Even as they were unable to see a thing outside of the miniaturized nebulas forming out of seemingly nothing, Nyght's vision was clear as they bumbled about like idiots. She was bored after a while though, so it was only right that the circus show came to an end.

After all, what could be a better way to end a circus show than fireworks?

'Bang…~'

Nyght snapped her fingers and with a distorted boom that rattled the surface of the terrain, the several clusters hovering over the area sparked a constant loop of discharges. What was once a pleasant crop of land violently shifted into a terminated zone drowning in a tenebrous aura and sunken deep enough to create a titanic division between scattered sectors of the land.

The only source of light available was the laminating hue of her amaranthine-colored aura as her personal trichiliocosm hovered further and further along the skyline. She could feel her skin tingling. The light of day outside of her area of effect was dying off. Nyght could tell that her influence was starting to spread.

She had really hoped that the commune's settlers would be able to recover their belongings but seeing as their homes were ransacked before she could've even made it onto the scene, it was an ordeal that couldn't be helped.

It was a shame; this was all her fault. These people were supposed to feel safe and secure and in the span of only five minutes, they'd lost the home they built because of her own carelessness. Some goddess she turned out to be.

At least none of them were killed… or so she hoped.

Nyght grimaced and sighed before looking up to the sky, planning to use the cover her Quirk provided to send the airship down into a violent wreck but found that it was nowhere to be seen. An airship that had to be at least the size of a Tokyo skyscraper… somehow escaped during the process of her defending the villagers. She failed to see how that could have made any sense. Was her sense of awareness that bad?

"My goddess…" Her attention turned to the little girl, who seemed unharmed for the most part outside of a few noticeable scorch marks. She struggled to swallow the feeling of guilt rising to her throat. Thank god her recklessness didn't get anyone else killed this time. "I-I… our home…"

"I know," Nyght shuddered, hugging the girl close. "I'm sorry… let's… head back to the others. We'll rally up and I'll see if I can find you guys some shelter soon enough. I won't let you guys go homeless for my own mistakes. You can count on me, okay?"

"I dunno…~ Can they?"

That voice.

Nyght quickly cradled the little girl close, holding her protectively in preparation for what was to come. She couldn't even process her next plan of action before an innate and unforgiving pressure sank dangerously into her side, causing an immediate rush of internal blood to spew from her mouth as she was alacritously sent flying through the forestry.

Every part of her body was aching. Even the biting temperature of the frosty wind seemed to be too much for her to handle as she gritted her teeth while trying to keep a hold on the frightened little girl.

Despite the feeling of tree limbs piercing and digging deep into her body as she sailed by at an unthinkable speed, Nyght knew that it'd be better that she took most of the punishment. This was pretty much par for the course for her at this point. She didn't mind. As long as the sweetheart hiding in her arms was okay, where was the harm in a new set of fresh wounds and cool scars?

She wasn't given the luxury of a warning for what happened next though. The moment her back slammed into the coarse and sturdy trunk of a nearby Japanese maple, Nyght grunted loud enough to scare away any nearby wildlife as blood cascaded from her mouth once she fell harshly to the ground, rolling off the root of the tree.

Again, this was just another Monday for her, though a bite to eat would've done wonders for her instead of having her face deep in the dirt.

"Goddess!" Nyght felt the girl below her lurch away from her grasp and stand to observe her carefully. "My apologies, I should've warned you! Are you okay!?"

"Sure looks like little miss show-off isn't up to snuff to me, kid." Ignoring the pain as if it was second nature, Nyght stood as quickly as she could once she heard the bountiful steps of her adversary crushing the leaves underneath their feet. "In fact, I'd check to see if she has a splinter or two. There will be a lot worse coming from here on out."

Nyght's perception improved as she looked at the silhouette, urging the little girl to get behind her as she observed them closely. She did her best to hide the obvious agony coursing through her body as ichor continued to spill through her teeth.

The source of her bodily pains stood before her familiarly, almost as if they were greeting an old friend. Her beautifully tanned skin was relatively unharmed, even though she should've at least experienced some form of serious burn once she crossed her Quirk's penumbra. Their thick, pouty lips were licked hungrily as they closed more and more distance between the two of them, showing a level of desire that could've been mistaken for lust by the average person.

She was clad in a black unitard that did wonders in exposing their impressively toned limbs and abdomen, especially her legs in particular, which were not like a regular person's. They were covered in a thick layer of fur, right from her thighs to her feet. Her thighs in particular appeared as if they could squeeze through pure granite on their best days in Nyght's eyes.

Their feet were shaped in the same form of a rabbit's feet. It was oddly cute in a way, even if she knew that they were fully capable of curb stomping a head into paste.

Any other time, Nyght would've tried to kill the intensity of the situation by flirting. With an appearance like this, she could've thought of far more enjoyable ways for them to spend their time outside of fighting. However, the look of desperation and desire in their eyes wasn't one born out of a want for intimacy. It was a want for bloodshed.

"Hey," Nyght quickly pushed the little girl deeper into the woods, creating an opening in her area of effect for her to escape. "Your commune is in the bunker you all use for emergencies. I think you know where that is, right? Go there for me, okay?"

"But Goddess," Shivering, the child reached a quivering hand for Nyght's leg, clinging to one of the torn areas of her pants. "Will you be okay?"

"Am I not the one that brings you all the stars and the moon, my child~?" Nyght chirped playfully. "Don't worry about me… I got this stupid bitch…"

The child only nodded worriedly before scurrying off into the distance, almost tripping in the process.

"Didn't picture you as someone that was good with kids, you know?" God, how could such a hot voice irritate her this badly? Nyght couldn't be bothered to hide her annoyance as she watched the (unfortunately) memorable girl crouch low to the ground, looking ready to pounce at any second. "Blatantly calling me a bitch in front of her probably takes a few notches off of your parental scale though, don't you think?"

"Eh…~ It'll do her some good." Nyght snickered, taking the time to spit out more blood in between sentences. "Plus, considering how things are now, not sure if censorship or parental guidance is all that popular anyways. Obsessions seem to be all the rage though. Isn't that right? Bunny girl Reo~?"

"Hare. I'm a hare, you dumbass. In fact, I go by the Red Hare nowadays…~" Seeing the long, bunny (or hare, whatever) ears of her enemy twitch with obvious vexation brought an inkling of satisfaction to her spirit. It was almost enough to make her forget about the searing pain cursing the lower half of her back. Almost. "And you should be honored. Out of all of your other little braindead stans, I'm probably the hottest you have."

"Maybe you are, but it's not like you're into making out or doing anything other than getting your ass beaten… unless," Nyght feigned shock and gasped loudly. "Is that your kink?! Getting dominated and pushed into the dirt?! Face down, ass up!?"

"My kink is seeing you split in half like a rusted piece of iron getting cut by a chainsaw, mind indulging me a bit with that in mind?"

"Absolutely not. Kink shaming it is then, I am kink sham—!"

Anything less than another centimeter and Nyght knew that her head would've been nothing more than a projectile speeding through the forest with no end in sight. She quickly side-stepped with a single precise movement, watching with wide eyes as her assailant merely kicked through her after-image. Amazingly, their foot effortlessly slammed through the trunk of the maple tree as if it was made of cheap glass. Splinters of wood flew outwards as the sheer air-force of their attack created a highly-pressurized wind current that rippled through the coppice.

She felt a subtle breeze coming from her left flank, prompting her to fortify herself with a parlous aura before moving out of the way of another kick as her opponent flew at her in a rapid succession.

More and more, the forestry was demolished by their movements. With every spot that Nyght hovered towards, the earth below would become a scorching trail followed by the fissures created with every thunderous hop and landing that Red Hare created. It was honestly impressive. The bunny (hare) girl was actually managing to keep up. Who would've figured?

'She's gotten faster… WAY faster.' Nyght continued to lead her adversary on a wild goose chase through the environment, doing her best to avoid Red Hare's frenzied assault. 'And with hits like that, I don't think I'll be able to take too many of them head-on.'

While Nyght was simply an empyrean blur that twirled and danced through obstacle after obstacle with luminous embers following her as she evaded one barrage after another, Red Hare was a speeding missile that created a calamitous impact with every kick that she threw, decimating the ground repeatedly with each stentorian thump.

"Stop. fucking. Running."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Nyght's body screamed for her to halt, prompting her to stop in the nick of time. Trees that had been up likely for centuries were ripped from their roots as a tannish blur ricoheted between them before colliding with the cold, harsh ground before her.

The blowback from the descent pushed Nyght hard enough to recoil, but she quickly recovered and held her ground. Clouds of dirt dissipated as Red Hare stalked Nyght with an even more hellish grin than before.

"You're REALLY starting to disappoint me, sweetheart..." Everything else that was said faltered into nothing but white noise.

Nyght ripped her jacket off, taking advantage of the little breathing room that Red Hare allowed for her to have. Her eyes shifted to the recognizable symbol of a rose blossoming with intricate thorns in a twist on the enemy's unitard. So she was a part of BLOOM now? That explained a lot. The obvious improvement, her reaction time… it would seem that her little stalker had been busy.

"I ain't come here for no race or a dance-off. It's you. Me. These hands and feet. Nothing else. Stop leading me on a game of tag and fight me!"

"So~?" Nyght smiled. An opportunity to stir the pot had arisen. Her favorite activity. "I guess you were so sick from our last fight that you got desperate and went to BLOOM for some hook-ups, huh? Kinda pathetic, no? Selling yourself to them and becoming their whore because you're too insecure about a beatdown that happened… uhhh, I honestly don't even know…four years ago? Maybe less~?"

"Three years… and call it what you want, Goddess," Red Hare was immediately back on the attack, propelling herself upwards and coming down to deliver a vicious heel kick. Nyght, as expected, was fast enough to dodge with a long-distance backflip. Good. That's exactly what she wanted. "I'm not so prideful that I'll turn down a good thing to get ahead, Twinkle. I don't abide by some stupid moral code like you, I wanted power and BLOOM gave it to me. Now I can put you in the DIRT!"

Nyght was prepared for the heel kick. What she was NOT prepared for was the sudden sight of Red Hare transitioning from that same heel kick into a soaring punch that even she wasn't fast enough to properly deal with.

Nyght could only summon a small inkling of her aura as a barrier before Red Hare forced her knuckles right through the expelling energy to connect with Nyght's stomach. Red Hare grunted as the aura covered her arms and ate away at the fabric of her glove. Her skin peeled and blistered immediately, but she followed through and snarled as her fist sunk deeper into Nyght's lower abdomen.

Red's opponent lurched, eyes widened from obvious agony and seeing that expression on the normally smug and arrogant face of the hero was so worth it. Not even the best dose of Hollowdaze could compare to the high she felt in this very moment.

Nyght, on the other hand, was sent reeling. The sheer force of Red's blows were on par with getting hit head-on by a bus. She would know. It had happened several times before. Nevertheless, she strengthened her resolve and contorted with grace before landing on her feet again. Red Hare, not to Nyght's surprise, was still on the attack.

The landscape was slowly turning into a spreading battlefield as their personal war waged on. Every single one of Red Hare's attacks created chasm after chasm while the nearby vegetation never stood a chance of holding up against even the disastrous air of her kicks. Every now and again, Nyght would get caught by a punch or two, but it was far more ideal than getting hit by her legs and feet.

Despite the obvious destruction left in the wake of their confrontation, Nyght and Red Hare were both dead silent, no longer interested in bantering like before. Red Hare gritted her teeth frustratingly as she bounced to Nyght's position from a quick barrel roll to execute a definitive stomp from above.

CRAAAACK

Nyght was ashamed to have admitted it; if it weren't for her own reflexes and timing, she would've been nothing less than a stain on the floor of the earth. Even as she hovered several feet in the air, the undeniable power from Red's stomp felt almost planetary level. Her entire equilibrium was thrown off as the ground splintered and fell apart.

Dirt and gravel filled her vision, seeping into Nyght's eyes and making her scream from the irritated feeling of her retinas getting cluttered. The earth continued to quiver and break apart, eventually creating a fault that could probably lead to the very bowels of the earth if it got any larger in the midst of all of the unfettered chaos.

Nyght did her best to keep herself within the air. However, the sound of a screeching grunt getting loud enough to pierce her eardrums set her on high alert as she hastily dodged yet another downwards kick from Red Hare once she reached her level of elevation. Using the dirt as a blinding effect to pull off another finishing blow? Nyght would've been lying if she said that she wasn't impressed. This wasn't the same girl who's face she had split open a long time ago; Red Hare had gotten way less predictable.

Still, this was proven to have not been Nyght's first rodeo. Using the air pressure to ricochet and propel herself backwards to reach Nyght, Red Hare soared with lightning speed to initiate a tangent of body-breaking blows. With pure beauty and athleticism though, Nyght weaved to evade her enemy's cannonade, fully prepared to unleash some punishment of her own as her fists were coated in an annilative burst of stellular energy.

The spiral of dirt and rocks forming below became even more violent as Red Hare launched herself at Nyght one more time before feeling something pierce through her arms and legs like the scorched and serrated tips of a burning knife.

'Gotcha…~!' On her right hand, Nyght's fingertips were covered by linear strings of energy that were thick with edges that seemed sharp enough to split through almost anything. They coiled and stretched to reach Red Hare as the skin on her arms and legs mordantly blistered and boiled. Blood seemed to cascade from her limbs, but Red Hare seemed too caught off-guard and in shock to properly retaliate. "Now it's my turn to give ya some more sores…~"

Without a shred of remorse, Nyght arched the tip of her fingers to tighten the hold her tendrils had on Red Hare and brutally hooked them through the surface of her flesh to her very bones. Red Hare opened her mouth to squeal but was unable to when she felt all of the air yanked out of her body once Nyght rapidly reeled her in to bring her close.

Once Red Hare was defenseless and face-to-face with Nyght, the latter gave her an innocent smile before raising her other hand into a fist shrouded with a recalcitrant aura that promised imminent torture. "Aw, you still have the cute little scar on your face that I gave you, huh?! Let's see if we can get you another one to even things out~!"

"Weak…~"

For a second, Red Hare felt the recognizable scars on her face flare up with an intense wave of pain for the first time in years, even though they had healed a long time ago. Time seemed to slow to a standstill as she helplessly watched Nyght's fist dangerously pull back and shoot forward to go on the offense.

Her heartbeat rapidly ascended. Her pupils dilated to a rather unfathomable degree. The blood from her brutalized limbs amalgamated with the sweat dripping from her forehead as she clenched her eyes shut and braced for impact. In the darkness of her closed eyes, flickers of the past were all that remained, along with the echoing sound of Nyght's voice filling her consciousness.

"So… so… weak…~"

CRACK

"GAAAH!"

Red Hare wasn't sure what hurt the most; the feeling of an explosive force connecting with the entire left side of her face or the immeasurable pain from the fervid aura licking and seeping through her facial skin upon impact.

Blood splattered from Red's mouth, splashing in the wind as she was sent into another direction after passing Nyght by. Her mind was overwhelmed by a blaring cacophony of noise, almost as if her brain was telling her that she was experiencing way too many sensations at once. Unfortunately, she had no time to recover as she was suddenly pulled back with just as much force as before.

CRACK

The next shot from Nyght landed in her lower torso, instantaneously causing Red to gasp and vomit the smallest bit of bile as her body was directed to fling her into another opposing direction via her restrained arms and legs. The punch seared right through her unitard, exposing her stomach and the development of a worsening bruise along the skin of her abs. Red Hare's attempts to catch her breath were useless. The most that she could muster was a sharp gasp that devolved into her shakingly sucking her teeth until Nyght reeled her right back in.

CRACK CRACK CRAACK CRAAACK

Nyght, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. From an outsider's perspective, she was treating Red Hare like a human paddle ball. With each punch, she was soaring in a direction that was opposite of a hovering Nyght, who casually did a trick or two between hits. Why? No reason in particular. She simply felt like it.

With a mocking titter and a ballerina-esque twirl within the air, Nyght intensified the aura engulfing her fist for one final attack. Because of her movements, Red Hare was yanked up to Nyght's eye-level once more, the tendrils piercing through her bloodied arms and legs locking her in place as Nyght constructed a massive claw-like extension. Red's vision was blurry and unfocused. She could only see a purple-ish blob of light swinging through her face before complete chaos ensued.

BOOOOOM

The moment that Nyght's attack connected with Red Hare at point-blank range, she was greeted by a force that was unlike anything she'd felt in a long time. Not even EXILEs that she'd sparred with could send her into such a state of agony. She was very familiar with the intensity of Nyght's Quirk, but she was not ready to experience it head on. Red Hare screamed, feeling not only the force from Nyght's extension clawing into her face and upper chest but also the scorching heat of her essence consuming and eating away at her flesh.

It was the only thing keeping her awake before her body was sent falling to the ground, crumbling into an depredating heap and collecting dirt as she tumbled amidst a crushed and charred terrain. Red Hare gasped repeatedly as she turned over on her aching back, grunting intensely from the feeling of the ground's jagged surface digging into her scarred back.

Blood pooled from several areas of her body. There was a set of open wounds along her upper chest that would undoubtedly cause scarring. There was a split opening directly on the left side of her head that fell to her neck. However, outside of obvious burn scars, those were easily her least significant injuries.

Her arms and legs seemed to be in the worst of shape as an alarming layer of skin seemed to have been rotted off and burned inordinately. Her legs were more or less the same, though her left one in particular felt off. Minor nerve damage, she feared. Every breath came out as a pitiful gasp, and she could feel her implants going into overdrive in order for her to sustain consciousness.

As blood leaked from her upper brow and covered her face, Red Hare glared up to Nyght, who calmly hovered to the ground before limping over to her. Bruises decorated her face a shade of slight purple, and the decent amount of blood covering her mouth and bleeding out of the tatters of her pants and muscle shirt showed that she took a decent enough beating as well.

"Phew!" Nyght took a moment to respond, turning to the side and spitting a decent amount of blood out of her mouth before responding. "You were a bit of a handful for a minute there, weren't you!? Good for you, good for you! You made me work for it a little bit!"

Red Hare said nothing. Whether it was because she was still disorientated or not was left up to Nyght's imagination.

"Aw, come on, you don't have to look so sour~!" Nyght stuck her tongue out and casually reached to poke Red Hare on the nose playfully whilst rubbing the honey-blonde tips of her long ears. "You should be proud of yourself! You certainly didn't get stomped and that's much more than I can say for a lot of other people! However, I've kinda wasted enough time as it is… soooo do me a favor?"

Red Hare clenched her teeth hard enough to draw blood from the orifice of her gums. Her fists began to rattle rebelliously against the stabbing pain in a venture to regain control of her upper limbs.

"Stay down. I'm a little tired out and I don't wanna have to hurt you anymore than I already have!" And with that, Nyght gave her a wink and skipped off happily, almost as if she wasn't hurt in the slightest (the noticeable wince on her face with every bounce definitely gave her away though).

For a moment, Red Hare only looked at Nyght as she moved along. Suddenly though, she got a chance to see a bright twinkling in the distance, even if it was hard for her to see much of anything else.

Her eyes widened, a sense of realization hitting her just as hard as any of Nyght's blows.

Instead of shallow deep breaths, Red Hare was fully hyperventilating. Her heart rate exceeded in a way that was completely abnormal as she suddenly released a vicious growl loud enough for Nyght to stop in her tracks.

"No…" If not for how legitimately impressed Nyght was, she would've rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance at what she was seeing. Instead, she was shocked. More than shocked, actually. In a quick motion, Red Hare suddenly smacked her hands against the ground, tiredly yet successfully using all of the strength that her lambasted body and limbs could muster. "Nyght… I don't think you… realize how important this is… to me...?"

Even with her eyes hidden underneath her matted blonde hair, Nyght could feel Red Hare staring daggers at her as she somehow managed to stand on her legs once more. She couldn't properly describe how she felt seeing Red Hare like this, but it was obvious that she was way different than before. It was like she was possessed; she seemed so driven by her own desperation that her physical well-being was an afterthought.

Nyght didn't think she was scared… but she couldn't deny that the sight of Red Hare in this very moment sent a different kind of shiver down her spine.

"No… I will NOT stay down…" Nyght warily watched closely as Red crouched to the ground, a deep shadow covering her face as she continued. "You… gave me something… to work for… and as much as I hate to admit it, I am on a time limit. You were right… I AM desperate… if you were in my shoes, you'd know why… but you aren't."

Nyght kept listening, trying to make sense of what she was talking about. Had she hit her a little harder than she should've?

She never saw the wicked smile on Red's face. Her eyes were bloodshot and manic, spasming as wildly as her breath as she finally finished her piece.

"But it's okay… I don't expect you to understand. But if you're going to fall… it has to be me. It NEEDS to be me! If I don't leave my mark here?! Then I never will… and I. Can't. Allow. That."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A millisecond. Nyght blinked for a single millisecond and it was one of her biggest mistakes in recent memory.

The impact was so sudden, so out of nowhere that she never even registered the pain that rattled through her until she realized that her body was lurched inward, worsening the feeling of her ribs dangerously digging against her inner organs. The only thing in Nyght's peripheral vision was the ground, a bloodied leg and animal-like foot embedded into her torso, and the wet feeling of tears filling her eyes as she was pushed upwards from the driving force threatening to crush through her body.

A geyser of blood spewed from her mouth. An unhealthy amount, in fact. Nyght never even had a chance to throw her head backwards before getting nailed with yet another kick, which collided with her head and came hazardously close to knocking her teeth out. Her body trampled across the ground, worsening the sudden buzz clattering about in her mind and making it hard for her to perceive anything else.

Her body tried to move on it's own, but Nyght's motor control was so out of focus that it was an impossible endeavor. She only managed to quickly make it to her knees before she came close to falling once again.

Nyght had no clue where Red hare was. In fact, she hardly even knew where she was anymore. Unfortunately for her though, the former question was answered quickly once she felt her ragdolled form lifted from the ground and rammed hard against the surface of what felt like a boulder.

THUMP

"Fuck!"

As if the impact from the boulder hitting her head wasn't enough, the feeling of Red Hare's solid skull colliding with her nose was an added cherry to the cake. Nyght found herself to be completely helpless to her now-frenzied opponent. All she could hear was the crazed cackling of her adversary as she unloaded a flurry of unfocused punches and kicks to her body. Ever so slightly, she could see the punches coming, even if they were opaque. She could feel her nose and jaw coming close to being broken, though she was lucky enough that her Quirk instinctively activated to cushion the blows whenever they came close enough.

Nyght was lucky too; it was pretty obvious that she was concussed and any more direct hits to the head would result in brain damage. Considering her very alarming lack of brain cells, Nyght knew that she couldn't afford that.

There was one more positive that Nyght couldn't help but to unknowingly smirk at; though powerful and painful, Red's hits were nowhere near as dangerous as they were at the start of the fight. It seemed like she'd done herself a favor by making the bunny (hare, whatever) girl her personal paddle-ball not too long ago.

"Why… are… you SMILING!?"

WHACK

Red Hare delivered a hammer fist across Nyght's now bloodied and bruised face, immediately causing the girl to fall to the ground in a twitching heap. The warmth of her rival's blood staining her knuckles and coalescing with her own cruor brought a satisfying tingle to her spine as she stared her down. Looking to the sky, she saw the twinkling light growing larger and larger by the second. Time was starting to fade.

With the adrenaline within her starting to slowly cease, Red Hare was beginning to feel the effects of fighting through her injuries coming to bite her in the worst way imaginable. Her breathing, though slightly stabilized, skipped every now and again. The undesirable sensation of her mouth drying out was evident. Every step felt like she'd taken a full sprint around the world and back. The amount of blood that she lost wasn't a good sign either.

Deep down, outside of the first few attacks, she knew that most of her hits were far weaker than they needed to be to put Nyght out of her misery. She needed to end this now though, by any means necessary.

Clicking her tongue, Red hare stood on wobbly legs as she moved backwards to gain a fair amount of distance between her and the momentarily helpless Nyght. With every step, she tried to forcibly thump her metal-clad foot against the ground to replenish any little amount of strength that she had left within it. In one swift motion, she crouched to the ground, her target locked on the very boulder that anchored her body in the positioning that she needed Nyght to be in.

There was a lot that Red could say at this very moment. She could cry of happiness with the fact that she at least managed to stagger and daze Nyght. She could laugh and taunt to assert dominance over besting the person who had changed her life forever. There was so much she could do, but there was simply no desire.

With one final launch at Nyght, Red was only focused on doing what she'd set out to accomplish so many years ago.

As she burst high within the air, blood trailing her body as she accelerated further amongst the stars created by Nyght's blanketing effect, Red curved and extended her leg to spiral, using her momentum to her advantage once she became a human missile aiming to fully put Nyght to rest.

Unbeknownst to the BLOOM soldier, however, Nyght's eyes were finally open, glimmering with a sudden shine that was unrivaled by even the interstellar visuals high above the atmosphere. Her aura returned to its former glory, and one of the smuggest smiles she'd ever made came into existence when a mischievous realization dawned upon her.

'Huh… seems like it's midnight… my favorite hour…~'

Red Hare's eyes widened as she approached to see Nyght's essence igniting as brightly as ever before. Her danger sense had risen to an all-time high, but it was already too late for her to do anything about it at the speed that she was falling.

Whatever it was that Nyght was preparing for, all she could do was brace for it as best as she could.

Amidst the amalgamation of stars that clustered Nyght's aura, there was one that hovered to meet Red Hare head-on.

BAAAAAAANG

Red Hare felt her mouth being forcibly pulled back from the searing air force that pushed her away as she was completely blinded and sent flying across the terrain. She was no more than a ragdoll as she barbarically smacked against the jagged remains of a nearby tree. Luckily, she managed to avoid being impaled, but the abdomen portion of her unitard was completely gone, showing only deep scratches against her back and stomach laid covered in dirt, grime, and her own blood.

The entire area that she laid in seemed completely devoid of any sort of light whatsoever, though there was one MASSIVE exception. Lifting her head as much as she could, Red Hare shook at what stood before her.

Nyght was up once more, battered and bloodied beyond belief but still in all of her glory as an astronomic maelstrom of energy fully encompassed her menacing form. It seemed to be composed of cosmological elements, with star-like orbs flourishing amongst an intersidereal cyclone that sucked every morsel of light out of the vicinity. It was almost as if there was nothing outside of her and Nyght. Just pitch darkness. It was moments like this where Red Hare honestly understood why people seemed to be convinced of the fact that Nyght was some sort of cosmic entity.

"You did good," Even in the midst of her shock, Red felt how Nyght seemed completely genuine when she said that. There was no sarcastic drawl, no mocking or belittling cadence… only a simple air of admiration in her words and Reo wasn't sure how to feel about it. "Honestly, it's a miracle that I thought to hurt those strong arms and legs of yours! Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that I would've been a stain on that boulder~!"

Nyght began to hover freely about her, looking as relaxed and carefree as she'd ever been. It didn't make any sense. How was she even stringing together coherent sentences after what she had done to her?!

"You seem confused," Nyght saw the look of bewilderment on her face and chuckled triumphantly. She honestly couldn't blame her, though she was fully expecting to pass out after everything was said and done. "You see… fittingly enough, the name that people have given me makes a lot of sense in hindsight. The moment that clock strikes midnight, this little ol' Quirk of mine tends to kick it all of the way into overdrive. Ya feel me~?"

Red Hare fell into a deep stupor. "...What!?"

"I know, right!?" Nyght chirped, zigzagging throughout the vicinity like a living asteroid. "Everyone always has that same reaction! I didn't even know myself until around a year ago! A century ago, something like this would've sent the masses into a state of panic, I reckon! That's the Quirk singularity for ya though, huh?!" Pouting at her broken nails, she saw Red Hare's silence as a nod to continue. "Not a lot of people really know about it. I certainly didn't expect for you to find out, but here we are~!"

Red Hare felt the slightest twinge of pain in her heart. Somehow, Nyght's words hurt her more than any of the injuries plaguing her body in this very moment as she struggled to stay awake.

"Now~!" Nyght flexed her fingers and rolled her shoulders. "I think you've been the cause of enough sorrow around here and I really need to be hightailing it out of here with my friends before things get difficult, so here is what I am going to do!"

Red Hare felt the air around her grow heavily. Never had her danger sense ever ascended to such an unfathomable degree than it did in this very moment.

"Graveyard…~"

Nyght winked before suddenly snapped her fingers, fully dispelling the aura around her and completely killing every source of light present. She was surrounded by a spell of pure caliginosity, a darkness that was so pall that it admittedly felt suffocating.

Instinctive fear that had remained dormant up until this point flooded from the depths of her soul as the abrupt sounds of growls and grunts arose from the shadows of the umbra. They sounded close yet far away at the same time in a strange way. Familiar chants of war arose from the darkness, keeping an almost bestial tone that was unrivaled, even by her own fear.

Finally, there was the smallest inkling of light in the two eyes. Eyes that she could've mistaken for Nyght if she didn't know any better but these seemed far less lively. They had the same starry quality. However, this time, they seemed predatory as they glared her down from a height that towered over her broken form. More and more appeared as the menacing sounds of growling, screaming, howling, and chanting intensified. Bit by bit, they became more distinguishable as they approached.

They were monumental in size. She could feel it just from the tremors beneath her seated position. The first that made itself visible stood above her with ginormous fangs that seemed to be made entirely of a comet's embers as it's long legs trampled across the ground with every step. It's incredibly bushy tail was mystified, and the wolf-like features were greatly taken to a whole new level of intimidating with the added edition of pharaonic wings added to its arsenal.

Seeing the beast up close gave Red Hare a sense of deja vu because she had seen such a creature like this before. It was a KIT-SUNRY. This was an ONMI-level EXILE, making it one of the strongest of its kind for the various Quirks at its disposal. However, instead of flesh, bone, and various other elements, this one was fully contoured with Nyght's own energy. It didn't end at just this beast either. Red Hare violently recoiled when she noticed the sudden appearance of spider-like legs towering over even the KIT-SUNDRY. This was a PROWLER. Not as dangerous as the wolf-like cretin before her but just as intimidating based on size alone.

Then came a ghoulish behemoth in astral armor with two swords as long as trees. A JACKIO soldier. TERRA-level.

On the shoulders of that creature was a snake-like creature exposing a set of three heads. MEDUSA. Lower on the scale, making it only a EROS-class EXILE but it was just as dangerous in crowded areas.

Soon enough, there was a horde of beings that were simply too extensive in numbers for Red Hare to keep up with. Her point was made though; if they jumped her right here, her body wouldn't stand a chance of even being recognizable.

Even amidst the theriomorphic jeering, Red could hear Nyght's playful laugh resound in an everlasting echo.

"They look familiar to you, Bun-Bun~? That's because these are most of the little creepers your employers have amassed over the years. As you can see, I've been pretty busy myself! I'd say a lot more about them, but I have to go, unfortunately." Nyght feigned a sigh of disappointment. Even if she couldn't see her face, Red could feel the shit-eating smile on her face. "Don't worry! They won't hurt you, they're actually very playful guys when you get used to them! However, there is one condition~!"

By now, they were circling Red Hare like bloodlusted sharks.

"Please stay down and stay~ still~!"

And from then on, Nyght was completely silent, seemingly leaving Red Hare at the mercy of these creatures.

Red Hare wanted to be defiant. She wanted to spit in the face of these replicas and stomp all of them out before going straight to Nyght again. She'd already taken most of them out in the initiation process anyway, what was a second round to her?

But deep down, Red Hare knew that in this state, she was simply prey for them to manhandle. Nothing more, nothing less.

A painfully deep sigh erupted from her as she felt the nose of the KIT-SUNDRY prod her clobbered body, almost as if it was daring her to make a move.

"Fuck."

---

BLOOM Registry - Insider's Database

Coadjutor #97604 - Inaba Reo; operates under the moniker of The Red Hare

Faction Affiliation:Operates under our jurisdiction. Highly valued enforcer of the HOUNDS a leader of the disbanded group known as The Warren.

Danger Level - Destructive force of nature. Passed initiation process with flying colors and managed to best an OMNI-level EXILE. Easily the fastest in her unit and leagues above the others in hand-to-hand combat.

Quirk: Ballistic Bunny - Mutant based Quirk; subject is capable of doing whatever a lagomorph does. Has additional factors that make such a Quirk quite powerful beyond belief with proper training. Subject has heightened senses, precognitive abilities, immense speed, and brute strength.

Additional information: Subject is a descendant of a No. 5 Hero named Usagiyama Rumi. Also known as Rabbit Hero: Mirko

---

Three months.

It had been three whole months of pure radio silence from her cousin. She didn't even get a single text message.

How hard was it for someone to take at least two minutes out of their day to reach out to loved ones properly?! She couldn't understand the logic behind not checking in. Had she done something wrong? Did she make a mistake?

On second thought, of course she didn't. She didn't make mistakes. Ever. Nyght was just doing what she did best. She was being a fucking idiot that thinks she can do everything by herself.

Her Gi-Pa suddenly vibrated, causing her to almost chirp out loud and immediately look down in excitement. However, her smile faltered a bit once she saw that the message wasn't from who she needed to speak to. Still, she wasn't disappointed since it was from someone else that she treasured dearly.

Neha-chan/bestie 3

still haven't heard from Samejima at all?

A soft sigh escaped her past the lips of a girl with mesmerizingly pink eyes that matched the color of her straight hair, which was long enough to fall all of the way to her waistline in length. The cat-like ears sitting atop of her head twitched momentarily as the bass-heavy music thundering amidst the nightclub hammered the walls in unison with the lively chatter and commotion from all of those in attendance.

She was seated comfortably in a booth away from the crowd, surrounded by deeply intimidating security guards posted by her side as she smoked from a hookah. As she straightened the lacy dress hugging her body and exposing all of her voluptuous attributes, she exhaled before quickly responding to the message with an obvious frown.

Ailurophobia

Nope. : / Honestly, the fucking nerve of that girl. I've had people put in the ground for less than this, she should be grateful that I even give her the option of calling me back. We're family! .

She took a few minutes to run her nimble fingers along a nearby cat with fluffy fur seated beside her as she wanted for a response, which didn't take long.

Neha-chan/bestie 3

I'm sure she'll turn up eventually. You know how she is… living by her "code" and everything. She's so obsessive with what she's looking to accomplish that it's hard to talk sense into her.

God, she was fully aware. Still, she'd be a hypocrite to speak against her cousin when she took into consideration that she was fighting the same fight. The difference for her, however, was that she wasn't so dumb as to not make connections and ask for help.

Ailurophobia

You're right. Be a dear and drop in tonight. I know you're in the area, trust me. It's getting lonely around here.

Her Gi-Pa chirped within ten seconds of her response.

Neha-chan/bestie 3

Sure thing. I need a drink.

And with that, the girl moaned and crossed her legs, staring off into the dazzling scene of her place of business ramping into a whole new level of liveliness. A part of her hoped that nothing had happened to Nyght. Her heart dropped at the very idea of her cousin's reckless ways finally catching up to her. She took pride in one thing though; whoever made it happen would be dealt with on that same day. Nyght was her only remaining family and as a result, she fell into a list with all of the things she held dear to her heart.

And nobody, not a single soul, would ever fuck with something that Ailurophobia loved and get away with it. She'd make sure of it.

'Nyght… wherever the fuck you are, you'd better be okay.'

A single claw came into existence as she traced along the rim of her wine glass.

'Otherwise, I might have to start slipping into my old habits again.'

---

AND WITH THAT, WE CAN OFFICIALLY GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A HUGE THANK YOU TO THOSE THAT TOOK THE TIME TO SUBMIT TO THIS STORY! I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART! The official roster list will be on my profile for the entirety of the world to see!

As you can see from the amount of time that it took for me to update… this was hard. This was REALLY freaking hard. I'm going to be completely honest with you when I say that looking over this list, rearranging it, swapping out characters, and trying to piece together who fits and who doesn't really made me cry. Like, I'm an extremely emotional girl in general, but this BROKE me.

Honestly, I grew attached to all of these characters. It looked like everyone really tapped into a whole new level of excellence with these sweethearts. As you can see, I've even extended the roster size a bit. I couldn't help it… .

But now, I think this is what I'm sticking with. I've thought about it long enough.

To the people who did not make it into the main cast, my words from the previous update still stand. I… am sorry. I really, really am sorry. The only explanation I can give you is that I, once again, cannot accept everyone. It's unfortunate and I know that everyone worked hard, but that's the way things had to be.

...However~

Just because your character isn't a part of the main roster doesn't mean they won't be in the story~~! This is a huge world after all! I'll be sending messages to those that'll still have a presence in the story as a fundamental part of world-building!

Now, I HAVE A WARNING FOR THE PEEPS SELECTED; INTRODUCTIONS MIGHT BE SLOWER THAN WHAT YOU ARE USED TO! Some of y'all's characters might be a bit before showing since… well, this isn't just a story where they're all in the same place at the same time like other MHA SYOCS! It's the whole country of Japan! So since quite a few OCs are all spread out, it'll take a while to get to them! Be patient! The next chapter will be dedicated to quite a few of them! Brace yourselves!

I… think that's all I have to say! Have a hefty chapter for the hefty wait (I told you I'd take my time)!

Byeeeee~! Reviews would be greatly appreciated for morale purposes!

PS: NYGHT HAS BEEN COMMISSIONED! FOR THOSE THAT WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW NYGHT LOOKS, CHECK THE COVER ART OF THE STORY! ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE ARTIST BY THE NAME OF MIYUKIKO! A LINK TO HER ART WILL BE ON MY PROFILE! ALONG WITH THIS, ONE OF OUR SUBMITTERS, ALTOMI, DREW NYGHT AS A CHIBI AND I HAVE IT FOR MY PROFILE PIC! I SHALL ALSO LINK THEIR WORK! SHOW LOVE TO THESE TWO!