TONIGHT, TONIGHT, TONIGHT! - Beat Crusaders (Bleach Opening 4)

;)

Enjoy this chapter!

DECIDE

Seven

'The Theatre Suicide'

One of Denji's friends, a lad shorter than me, rushed me right away as soon as Trigger hit his system. He must have had a Quirk that allowed him to grow wings like Hawks since he flew at me faster than I ever could have anticipated from anyone my age. But I had faced faster. I jumped on the boy, pointing my sword directly at his throat. Denji raised his hands, telling his friends not to jump in right away.

"Are we really just going to fight like this?" I asked him.

"You're the enemy."

"But I'm not your enemy. Denji, you do realise that if you fight me there is no way I can help you, right? I'm telling you this straight if you'll just allow me to help you-," Denji roared, his left arm turning into a sharp blade.

"Help me? And what about everyone else here? What about my friend that you are currently pointing your sword at? How is this helping me?" I didn't reply, not because I didn't want to, but because the time for talking was over. I pushed his friend aside as I sprinted towards Denji, swinging my sword down upon him with all the strength I had. Even as Denji blocked the strike with his arms, the sparks of metals clashing against each other illuminated the dark lab. And for the briefest of seconds, I could see his eyes.

How sad they looked.

And I was sure that my eyes told a similar story.

Neither of us wanted to fight, but we were forced to do so.

I ran backwards to avoid a wave of lava directed towards me. Tsk. One of Denji's friends could spit out magma, how fun. It wasn't just six people against one hero, it was six idiots on Trigger against one hero. I take back what I said, those odds were unfair. I was immediately put on defence as three of his friends rushed me at the same time, and I had to use every move I knew to parry their attacks, dodging left and right to avoid attacks that would have pulverised me, or worse.

Using one of Denji's friends, a tall fellow that could make a shield using his hands, as a springboard, I managed to slash one of Denji's friends on the back, meaning the numbers dropped to five against one. I smirked as the birdy guy squawked at me, before diving to try and rip my head away from my body. I had to avoid his talons from killing me, but I couldn't evade them from scratching my shoulders. I grimaced in pain as Denji gave me no time to rest, immediately going after me and I had to hold my sword with both hands to block all of his piercing attacks.

"You've been training on how to use the sword, haven't you?" Denji asked me, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Yeah. Did you just realise now?" I joked, kicking him in the stomach as I pivoted around on one foot to avoid another spray of lava that was aimed at where I was going to go next. I jumped backwards and collided with the wall, which helped me as I made two wolves to distract the lava user and the guy who was doing freaky shit with shadows. That left three people to deal with, Denji, one of his friends who could swap with other objects around the room and a girl who had a Quirk that allowed her to clap to turn the ground into weapons for her to use.

Should be easy enough to deal with them…

I deftly dodged to the side as the girl threw the spear at the wall I was standing in front of with enough force to shatter the wall completely. I whistled in response as I focused my attention on the stone girl as she tried her hand at fighting me one-on-one. But whenever I went to strike her, the guy who could trade places with objects appeared and disappeared right before my very eyes, taking her with her. Tch. I clicked my tongue in frustration as I fought Denji once more, trying to avoid even more of his attacks.

Left.

I slid over one of the tables on my left as lava melted the spot where I once stood, and I glared at the lava guy. How annoying. Even if they had Trigger, the fact was that they weren't fighters. But even then, while I could beat them all, the fact was that they were on Trigger, and their Quirks were dangerous. Not to mention the numbers advantage made what would have been an easy battle for me, one that tested everything that I had ever learned.

I thought back to Aizawa's tips he gave to Shinso and me if we ever found ourselves fighting against a group of opponents.

"Take them down one by one, make them turn against themselves."

I had tried on doing that, but it didn't work.

The next best thing I had to do was show them that they wouldn't beat me, but I knew that wouldn't work either. The fact was that this was a fight that Denji nor I could back down from because it was a fight against each other. We were both trying to protect each other and running away simply wasn't an option. I gritted my teeth in response as I summoned my Nimbus and used Scatter on the lava user. I didn't manage to take him out completely, but I grinned as he fell to the floor clutching his arm in pain.

But Denji once again didn't give me enough time to be happy about my small victory as he leapt up in the air and tried to skewer me. I rolled to the left, about to strike back when my eyes widened in surprise as the rock girl threw a spear at me and I couldn't dodge in time as it hit me in the leg.

"GAH!" I yelled, dropping down on one leg, but I used my sword to get back up, even if my bleeding leg was causing me many issues. I was fine! I had fought against worse foes before! This was nothing! I turned to face Denji, but what I saw wasn't my opponent. No, I wasn't even prepared for it as Denji had tears running down his face as he stabbed me. I dropped my sword in surprise.

It didn't hurt.

Not physically at least.

But emotionally, my mind was a mess.

Denji wasn't… he wasn't my foe. He was my friend. I turned to look around at all of Denji's friends, most were bruised and battered due to me. I coughed out some blood as I fell to the floor, clutching my left side in pain. I could… I could beat them without killing anyone! That was what I wanted to accomplish. But the entire time, they were trying to kill me. It was… Denji wouldn't…

"Why?" I asked my friend who was trying to wipe his tears away.

"Why I stabbed you? Or why I'm trying to protect my friends and you?! Sora, do you think I'm stupid? I know you're holding back. You don't want to fight me. Please, just stay down. I don't want to fight either." I growled, trying to get up from the floor, but failing each time. Shit! My blood had painted my right-hand red. I spat out some more blood as I tried to reach for my sword, but it was kicked away from me. Shit! Shit! I could still get back up! I could still fight-,

And fight who?

Fight your friend? Can you really do that?

Can you really be a hero?

Can you really be a hero while trying to save your enemy?

The only one here not giving it their all is you.

What is it that you really want from this battle?

Why do you still try to stand up?

Why do you still want to win?

What is there to win?

What drove you here in the first place?

What's still driving you?

…

I grinned at myself, slowly getting up from the floor as Denji and his friends took a step backwards. It didn't matter that I didn't have my sword on me as I summoned my Nimbus to create a sword construct. Just like old times. I'm not going to lose. Not now, not when I still haven't saved someone who needs to be saved! Not until I've protected everyone I can!

That was why I was here in the first place.

That was why I became a hero, and why I'm still a hero!

Stand up and be strong.

Stand up and fight for what you believe in.

Stand up and don't give up.

"You still want to fight-," I didn't give the rock girl enough time to finish her sentence as I slammed my sword against her head, knocking her out right away. Lava boy threw some more lava at me, but I made a Nimbus construct to tank the hit as I ran up to him and swept him off his feet, landing a blow to his chest that would leave him winded for a while. I then turned my head to face the boy who could trade places with any object, watching as he tried to run away from me.

Denji tried to fight, he tried, but I evaded all of his attacks, using only my right arm to parry his attacks while I used my left to shatter anything his remaining friends tried to throw my way. His friends retreated, leaving only Denji and me to fight.

"Just give up already!" I yelled at him, he was clearly struggling to keep up.

"I can't do that!" Denji replied, thrusting his arm to try and stab me in the leg, but it completely missed as I sidestepped it and kicked him in the face sending him flying backwards.

"Why the hell not?! Denji, you say you don't want to fight me, but you are the one fighting back!"

"Why did you stand back up then?!" He screamed at me. I coughed up more blood as I felt dizzy. Shit. "You can barely even stand, let alone fight! Why are you trying to fight me so hard? You have the audacity to show up here after refusing to save me and my friends my way! Y-you can't say that you can save us! How are you going to do that?"

How can I save Denji?

It's the only way.

The only I'll accept.

The one way where I can really save anyone.

I let my blade disappear as I pointed at the exit Natsuki and Aizawa used.

"Run. Run and don't stop running until you can't hear any more fighting. If anyone asks, so you were skipping school for these," I took out my remaining cigarette and threw the box at him. Denji watched me in confusion as I lit my final cigarette. "If anyone says others, call me. I'll back you up… you and your friends." Denji's eyes widened as he heard me say that, and I took a long drag from my cigarette. Surprisingly, it wasn't bitter. I knew that what I was doing was wrong.

It was highly illegal.

And it was the furthest thing from what a hero should do.

But I…

I didn't care.

Not one bit.

Saving and protecting those I care about was always something I prioritised over being a hero. Every decision I had ever made showed that. From me protecting Jiro during the USJ attack, instead of aiming to win the tournament saving Todoroki instead. I stopped Iida from killing Stain instead of aiming to help capture the villain. And even when I was selfish, like during our camping trip, I took Midoriya's place because I still wanted to protect him. If being a hero meant that I couldn't protect those who I wanted, then I'd stop being a hero.

Nighteye and Aizawa be damned, it was my life.

My loved ones.

My decision.

I watched as Denji's friends scrambled to get up from the ground, leaving Denji and me alone. The Trigger had nearly faded away from his body as he was still staring at me in shock and confusion, unaware that his friends had already left. That they had already been saved. I picked up my sword from the ground, wiping it against my coat as I went to look for my mask. Tsk. I picked up what was left of it, my mask was completely broken.

There was only a small piece of it that I could really wear, but all it did was cover my left eye.

"Why did you…"

"You better go, Denji," I replied, pocketing my broken mask. "Time waits for no one. You're my friend. The entire time I was fighting to try and protect you as a hero, but not as a friend. That was where I went wrong all those months ago. I thought that being a hero was the only way to protect what I could, not realising I was protecting everyone even before I went to U.A. Sorry for being such a shit friend. Not just to you, but to everyone else."

Deep down, I knew it to be true.

This entire time, being a hero wasn't the thing that defined me. I was wrong. That was why I slowly grew out of touch with my friends, while we were going our own paths in life, that didn't mean I had to effectively abandon them. It didn't mean that I had to put everything I had into being a hero believing it was the only way I could achieve what I wanted. That was just a lie, something I was leading myself to believe. And it cost me everything. But I was done letting it control me.

"Sora…" Denji began. "You-, Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. Just go. Escape while you can-," I paused, holding my sword out as I stood in front of Denji, protecting him.

Behind you.

Aizawa stood there, staring at me in shock. No, shock wasn't the correct term to describe it. He looked like he was betrayed. Shit. I silently cursed as I ignored the pain my side was giving me, wincing as I felt my wounds slowly repair themselves. But Aizawa didn't move his body, not even one small bit.

"What are you doing?" Aizawa asked me. "Do you even know the consequences of what could happen? Sora, think-,"

"I already thought about this, Aizawa," I interrupted him, taking another step forwards as I winced at my pain. I couldn't avoid this either. "I'm protecting my friend one way or the other. Whether it's from the Shie Hassaikai," I bent my knees slightly and raised my sword, getting ready for a fight. "Or even if it's from people I care about." Aizawa's face didn't show an ounce of emotion as he himself got ready to fight as well.

But I didn't need him to show any, because I already knew how he felt.

Yet I wasn't going to back down.

This was my decision.

Izuku Midoriya POV

Izuku knew that Overhaul was a tricky opponent. Just reading the profile that Nighteye had given him revealed everything. He was smart, cold and calculating even when under pressure, not to mention his dangerous Quirk that could render someone useless within seconds with only a single touch. Yet even as Mirio, Nighteye and himself fought against Overhaul, he realised that the information they had on him didn't do the man justice.

He was quite terrifying.

Even as Izuku punched him with as much force as he could Overhaul simply healed himself back up before launching a torrent of attacks against the three of them. And while Mirio could phase through the with ease, and Nighteye could dodge them, it left Izuku to be the only one struggling to catch up. With each projectile thrown at him, Izuku smashed them to pieces using a mixture of his hands and legs.

Overhaul was the only thing stopping them from saving Eri.

With a sudden surge of speed, Izuku kicked Overhaul halfway across the room where Mirio slammed him to the ground. Yet as Overhaul got back up, healing his wounds up right away, Izuku couldn't help but be alarmed. It was as if the man wasn't taking them seriously. Even Nighteye was surprisingly calm if a bit wary of him, but Overhaul was barely fighting back.

And if Izuku had learned something ever since coming to U.A, it was that those who barely fought back were either confident that they could win or they were distracted. But as Overhaul disassembled a nearby hill and threw it at Mirio, who phased through it with ease before punching Overhaul in the jaw, sending him flying backwards, Izuku swallowed down his nerves. There was no way that they could lose. It was three against one. Perhaps Izuku himself wasn't as experienced as Mirio or even Nighteye, but the fact was that One For All allowed him to level out the difference between them.

Despite having been kicked around the arena, the fact was that Overhaul still managed to defend Eri. It made Izuku want to go past his limits and punch Overhaul into tomorrow, but he knew that if he did that, he would become a burden to Nighteye and Mirio. The only thing he could do was hang back and provide support, taking any chances he could in trying to beat Overhaul once and for all. Izuku ran at his opponent, flipping them over as he made sure to avoid Overhaul's attempts to touch him, not before landing a kick on his face as he leapt in the air and sent a few projectiles at Overhaul who was rapidly losing his advantage.

Nighteye came from behind Overhaul to land his own punches on the villain as Mirio phased through to the floor to restrict the man's arms. Izuku landed the final blow as he punched Overhaul in the stomach, as hard as he could, causing the man to fall over. It gave Mirio enough time to pin him to the ground, and for Nighteye to put Quirk suppressant cuffs on the villain.

They did it!

'We won!' Izuku sighed in relief. The battle was over.

Overhaul laughed at their faces, however. Even if he was pinned to the ground, with his Quirk cut off from him, the fact was that the fight was done. Yet, at least to Overhaul, he was laughing as if the fight was just starting.

"Do you really think you've won?" Overhaul asked them as he sat up from the ground. "You can put me in all the handcuffs you want, but the truth is that you'll never really beat me. You can 'save' Eri all you want, but she'll always come running back to me. You can try and stop Trigger's production, but as long as Azrael works, it'll never stop. You can even try and stop the Shie Hassaiaki, but they'll always be another group to take our place."

"Stop talking as if you're a hero," Nighteye responded. "The one people you will inspire is copycats. And like yourself, we'll take care of them easily. In fact, I promise you this Kai Chisaki, you'll be able to see everything you've ever wanted to fail all around you in the comfort of your own cell." Overhaul bristled at that, but he didn't reply. But it didn't matter. Izuku nodded at Mirio as the two of them made their way over to Eri, who was sitting all alone.

"Y-you beat him!" The blue-haired girl cried out.

"It's like we said, Eri-chan," Mirio gave the girl the biggest smile he could put on. "We are heroes. And we save people who need help, people like you. We were always going to win because heroes always win. And maybe in the future, you can be a hero too." Izuku nodded at that. Eri was safe. He had accomplished what he had set out to do in the raid, and it would be any minute now that everything would be wrapped up. Yet despite that, Eri looked up to Izuku in confusion.

"Why? Why did you save me?"

Mirio opened his mouth, but Izuku beat him to the punch.

"Because," Izuku ruffled her hair gently. "You looked like you needed saving. And that's what a hero does."

Aizawa didn't say anything as he didn't back down, but neither did I. I suppose it was inevitable since Aizawa wanted me to arrest Denji and his friends. But if I did that, I'd be betraying myself and everything I believe in. Everything I've ever fought for. Maybe I was wrong about it, but I wasn't going to throw Dneji to the wolves because that's what a hero does. I was Sora Yamazaki first and foremost, and I wasn't going to give up on that!

Never again.

I jumped right into the action, creating a wave of Nimbus underneath one of the tables as I threw it at Aizawa, before running after the man not giving him any time to breathe. He managed to dodge the desk, but he couldn't avoid my sword I managed to briefly cut him. That was before Aizawa kicked me in the chest, turning around to try and apprehend Denji. I growled, summoning my Nimbus as I made a rope construct and wrapped it around Aizawa's legs, yanking him to the ground before pouncing on him once more.

I got another hit in, but that was before Aizawa swept my legs off the floor, forcing me to summon my Nimbus construct and float up to the ceiling of the lab, slashing the lights to obscure his vision. But that didn't prevent him from using his Quirk to nullify my Nimbus, resulting in me falling to the floor with a heavy thud. I deftly dodged to the side to avoid a deadly combination of punches that would have knocked me out as I jumped backwards and hid behind one of the few desks that weren't ruined.

I controlled my breathing, closing my eyes as I thought of a plan.

Aizawa knew all of my moves, but at the same time, I knew most of his moves. To win this fight, I had to constantly surprise him. That meant I had to take risks, but the more risks I took the more Aizawa would be able to trap me. I silently clicked my tongue in frustration as I got up from the floor and ran over to Denji, grabbing him by the arm as we sprinted to the exit, with Aizawa following us closely behind.

"Run!" I yelled to Denji as Aizawa launched himself at me, and I had to drop down to the floor to evade a kick aimed at my jaw. My eyes narrowed as I managed to get another cut in on Aizawa's leg, but it was quickly turned against me as he grabbed my sword and threw it to the floor, ignoring the big gash on his hand. Tch. My sword was behind him now, which meant that I had to let him pass to get my weapon back.

But if I did that, I'd be leaving Denji open for any attacks.

I sighed, bringing out the knife that Mei had forged for me.

Spinning my knife in my hand, I turned to grin at Aizawa who stared at me impassively. I wasn't trying to win the fight, not that I could anyways, and Aizawa knew that. I was really just trying to slow him down to give Denji enough time to escape so he wouldn't be arrested. The fact that Aizawa had come back without Natsuki meant that he failed to capture him in the first place and that the exit was an easy way for Denji and his friends to escape and not face any fighting.

"Move aside, now," Aizawa demanded as his Quirk activated, his hair floating and his eyes turning red. "I won't ask twice."

"Stop chasing after my friend, and I'll think about it," I replied as I readied myself for round two of our fight. Aizawa didn't give me much warning as he leapt off one of the walls, pushing me backwards as he tried to get over me. I flipped my knife so the sharp side was facing downwards as I cut him once more in the leg, causing him to fall on top of me. I jumped backwards, getting up from the ground as quickly as I could as I pushed Aizawa hard and jumped on top of him.

Aizawa tried to throw me off him, but I kept on punching him in the face to make him stop. Sadly, my efforts were for nothing as he used his capture weapon and wrapped it around my throat, causing me to let him go as he ran after Denji. Shit! I coughed up more blood as I chased after Aizawa, sending a few Truth Seeking Orbs to slow him down. Eventually, I caught up to Aizawa and Dneji as the tunnel we were in opened up, and we could feel the vibrations from above us.

All the fighting at the entrance of the Shie Hassaikai hideout.

It was still going strong.

"Why? Why are you so incessant on doing this?!" Aizawa shouted at me. He couldn't understand, or rather he didn't want to. "You are a hero. This is your job. Allowing criminals to go because they are your friends goes against everything we stand for! How do you think everyone in 1A would react if they found out?!" I stood in front of Denji once more, who was scrambling to get up from the ground after having been tackled by Aizawa.

"I don't care what they think! This is my decision! Maybe you don't get it, and that's fine, but I became a hero to protect everyone I care about," I told him. "If I let you arrest Denji, I'll be going against that. I'll have proved to myself that I can't protect anyone. What do you think is going to happen to Denji in jail? Do you think the other gangs that were impacted by the gang war the Shie Hassaiaki started are going to leave him alone? They won't. Not even you can promise me that Ryutaro won't start something, and you are supposed to be allied with him! If I let you arrest Denji and his friends, they'll die."

"That's not for us to decide!" Aizawa shouted back at me. "We uphold the laws, we uphold justice. Even if… even if we are doing something that goes against our code, if it means we are saving people it doesn't matter! But this? This is a farce. The one person you are saving is yourself. Sora, this isn't about you breaking the law, it's you being selfish. How many crimes has your friend committed? How many people has he killed since joining the Shie Hassaikai? You'd forsake justice simply because he's your friend?!"

I-,

I turned to look at Denji, who stared at me guiltily.

"Sora, he's using you. I know you can see it, so please, do the right thing. Hand him over. You can protect him even if you hand him over, but if you let him go now, you'll never really save him. The 'carefree tomorrow' you want will never come to fruition if that happens." Thud. The fights above us were getting louder and louder as the vibrations shook our tunnel completely. Logically, I knew that Aizawa was right. But I… I already turned my back on him once.

On everyone.

Even during camp, I nearly left 1A.

And for what? I hurt everyone because I was trying to act like a hero. But the truth was I didn't know what was a hero. Being a hero clashed against everything I wanted to do, and everything I believed in. Saving the public? Protecting the law? I couldn't give two shits about that. What I believe in, and what I always will believe in, is protecting those I care about. Protecting them because I died. Because I felt guilty about leaving because I didn't want anyone to leave me.

And yet I had no problems leaving others.

Hypocrite.

I was a big hypocrite.

I dropped my knife as I fell to the floor.

The fight was over.

"S-Sora? You aren't going to help me? I thought we were friends-," Denji was cut off as Aizawa glared at him.

"As if you could ever be friends with him," Aizawa roared at him. He was beyond angry. "You used him, you used his love for you as a weapon, twisting his trust and doubts so he could help you. Is that what a friend does? Tell me, is it?"

"But I-, he's a hero, yeah? He's supposed to save me, right? Why would he promise to save me if he was just going to drop me off at jail and let me die anyways!" Denji screamed at Aizawa, but deep down I knew that he was screaming at me as well. He wanted me to fight for him. "I'm weak. I know that. But I have to protect Sora as well! It's what he does for us!"

"But you aren't Sora, that's the difference," Aizawa replied. "Just give up."

And for the first time in forever, I felt… lost.

I didn't know what to feel.

Everything was numb.

I really was underwater, and right now I was drowning. I couldn't escape my thoughts even if I tried, because that's how miserable I was. I just wanted to die. I was supposed to be a hero, and I threw that aside for what. No, it wasn't what I wanted to do, and it wasn't why I came to the raid in the first place, it was as Aizawa said. I was used. My own friend had used the love I held for him as a weapon, and I had done something unforgivable. I let all of Denji's friends go, despite knowing they were criminals.

To get into the yakuza you had to complete a test first.

Everyone knew the test, and it was why yakuza were feared.

They had taken a life.

I let murderers go.

Free.

It was like the air turned bitter as I realised what I had truly done. I hadn't saved anyone, I hadn't protected anyone, and looking at myself right now I'm sure I wouldn't see a hero. I was disgusted with my decisions, to the point where I wanted to stab myself because of my shame. Ever since I became a 'underground hero' it felt like my world was slipping.

What even was a hero anymore?

Why did I come to U.A in the first place?

Rumble.

"This tunnel isn't safe," Aizawa told us as he helped me get up from the ground. "Come, let's go before-,"

"S-SHUT UP!" I turned around to see Denji holding the knife I just dropped. "I ain't going anywhere. Do you know how much I sacrificed? I dropped outta school, I abandoned everyone to become a criminal. And you're telling me that the only way I can get outta this life is to just give up and die?!" Denji asked us incredulously.

"Drop the weapon." Aizawa warned him, but Denji took a few more steps back.

"You think I abused my friendship with Sora? Really?! Of course, it's fine to call the criminal the bad person, but what about Sora? This was all his decision. I didn't force him to do anything, it was all him! He wanted to save me! He got this idea thinking it was fine! Do you think I could use Sora? I just wanted to protect him as well. I told him to stay clear from the Shie Hassaikai, and here we are. I joined the Shie Hassaikai cause no one was helping me. I had to pay for my gramps medication, and now all my money is gone. Who's gonna pay now?!"

"Just put down the-,"

"SHUT UP!" Denji yelled, tears spilling down his face as he waved the knife around. "None of you heroes understand. Up in your towers, away from us all. Do you even have any emotions?! How the hell can any of us trust you when all you do is wear masks around us? When all you do is lie and ignore us for ages, and when you finally show up it's to scold us for doing a wrong thing? Maybe if you were there, things could have gone differently. Sora, I don't blame you for our friend group drifting away." Denji said as to took another step backwards, the vibrations getting louder and louder.

"But I do blame you for my life going to shit. You said we were close friends, like family," Denji screamed at me. "Where were you while I needed you most? Where were you when I needed family? Where were you in my life, Sora?"

"I-, I was-,"

Aizawa tried to tell me to stop, that I didn't have to push myself any more than I already had. But I shook my head. For someone that prided myself on keeping my friends close, on having a real bond with them, I really did fuck up.

I fucked up hard.

"I'm sorry, Denji. You were suffering all this time, and I didn't know. I didn't help you when all you needed was a friend, but it doesn't have to be that way anymore," I raised out my right arm. "I can help you. Finally. You don't have to suffer all alone anymore, I can promise you that. Please. I'm here to stay."

Denji's tears wouldn't stop falling as he dropped the knife on the floor.

Finally.

It was over.

Thud.

Aizawa yanked onto my collar as the ceiling fell down on us. Smoke. Smoke and dust filled my eyes, and I couldn't stop myself from coughing as I stared up at the now-visible sky. Ryukyu was still fighting against a giant man, one of the Eight Bullets that I recognised as Rikiya Katsukame. I got up from the floor and I stumbled forwards, my eyesight still blurry from all the smoke and dust. Shit. There was even debris all over the floor, and I made sure not to trip over it as I walked forwards.

"Denji? Denji, you there?"

No response.

"Denji? Denji?"

No response.

My eyes widened as I ran forwards, tripping over some more debris, but I didn't care. "DENJI! DENJI, WHERE ARE YOU!" I shouted from the top of my lungs. "DENJI! DENJI, I'M RIGHT HERE! HELP IS COMING! DENJI!" I tried using my Quirk to lift up all the rubble, even using my own strength causing some of my nails to be ripped off, as well as my hands getting cuts all over them. My throat was hurting because of all the screaming I was doing.

But it wasn't enough.

No matter how much debris I lifted up, it felt like there were ten times more compared to before. Come on! Denji's stuck! Come on Sora! You can't give up! SORA! Come on! Come on! Just move already! My friend is trapped in there! I have to help him! I screamed in agony, trying my hardest to lift up all the debris. I don't care if I die! Please! Please just give me the power to lift this up! PLEASE!

…

COME ON!

DENJI IS STUCK IN THERE!

DENJI IS-,

"Sora, stop," Aizawa pulled me away from the debris, despite trying to escape him so I could help lift up the rubble. "Can't you see? Use your eyes." Aizawa refused to meet my eyes as his voice wavered slightly. No. I turned back to the mountain of debris that lay where Denji was standing just moments ago. Ha. I found myself laughing as Aizawa let me go, and I fell to the floor.

This was-,

Ha.

Haha.

In my heart, I knew it was true.

Denji Narukami, my friend, someone who I had sworn to protect. Someone who I had just saved. He was… No. No.

Who's voice was that? That scream. Why was Aizawa crying? Why? Why couldn't he even look at me? Why? Why wasn't Denji here? Why? Why was I so useless? Why? Why was I just standing here? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Why was this all…

Despite all this, tears didn't spill for me. I didn't want to believe it. But it was the truth. I wanted to avert my eyes from it, to say otherwise, but it was the truth. Just like with All For One, I could only stare blankly, I could only feel numb at the sight in front of me. Why? Was I this broken? Did All For One break me? Ha. That was funny. I tried not to look, but when the ugly truth was staring right at me, I had to accept it.

Denji was dead, and it was my fault.

I killed him.

I wasn't drowning anymore.

That's because I was finally dead.

Three chapters to go.

Will I make the deadline of the 24th? I don't know myself.