Change - Miwa (Bleach Opening 12)

"Sora?"

The world around me felt like it was closing in on itself. All I could hear was a faint buzz. Eventually, Aizawa managed to drag me away from the rubble, but it didn't take much convincing for me to leave anyways. I needed to go. I couldn't bear to look at it any longer. My mistakes. I didn't even know if I was still breathing at this point, which should have worried me. But it didn't. I suppose I should have been asking myself 'what am I going to do now' but truth be told, I didn't want to do anything. I simply followed Aizawa around like an obedient dog.

Dog.

I understood why heroes were called the 'dogs of the government' now. They were simply attacking dogs, trained to kill. The public thought, I thought, that saving lives was a priority - but it really wasn't. It never will be. Saving someone doesn't show power, but destroying parts of a building does. It was strange that as Aizawa spoke to Nighteye and led the way to where they were, I felt nothing. I couldn't even grip my sword properly as Aizawa held it, the Hangetsu.

Half-moon.

I sniggered at the name, it was stupid.

Because in my sky, there was no moon.

Mugetsu.

Wordplay was a distraction to keep me from thinking about Denji's body. The way it must be trapped under all the debris, his arms and legs crushed by the weight of a building. I wonder how he felt when he died. Did he feel nothing at all? Or did he feel his body get crushed before nothing? What did dying feel like? Because I… I barely remember my death. It was so long ago that I can't even remember how I died. I forgot my name, what my parents looked like, and how many siblings I had.

I even forgot my old birthday.

I must have looked like a zombie because the first thing Midoriya did when he saw me abandoned the little girl he had saved and came rushing over to me in concern. I couldn't make out what he was saying, I tried to listen, but the buzzing in my ear just wouldn't go away. Instead, I stared at the shy little girl, who looked at me in confusion. And pity. I smiled to myself, clapping Midoriya on the back as I pulled him in close for a hug. He was alive. Izuku Midoriya was fine, and he had saved Eri.

That was a relief.

"-ora! Sora! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," I replied. I stood at full height and realised that I wasn't shorter than Midoriya anymore, no, we were the same height. "I can hear you just fine." He smiled at me, glancing back and forth between Aizawa and me. Aizawa still refused to meet my gaze.

"Did… did something happen?"

"Nothing happened," I said before Aizawa could get a word in. He looked at me finally, and I could see how sombre he looked. He didn't want this outcome to happen. Nah, it was more like he didn't expect it to happen. And I couldn't blame the man, because not even I thought it would happen. Even though it was my fault, I never would have imagined that I would have led Denji to his death. If I were a kid, an actual kid, I would have said that I couldn't believe it.

But I wasn't a kid.

This was my second life, and I knew that the chances of Denji still being alive were zero. With that much debris on him, I would be surprised if his body was still in one piece instead of being scattered around the area. It pained me to admit it. That I was responsible for my friend's death. But that was the truth. If I hadn't hesitated, if I had been stronger, if my spirits hadn't faltered, if I hadn't felt the need to defend my own existence, Denji would still be alive. The tunnel was shaky even before all that happened, but it was my weakness that made us stay there.

And no one could deny that.

Not even Aizawa.

"Aozora. Report!" Nighteye ordered me, pushing his glasses up as he stared down at me. "What happened after Eraserhead and you got separated from us?" I opened my mouth the try and speak, but no words came out. I didn't know what exactly to say, or rather how to say it. How could I tell Nighteye a report where in which I killed a friend of mine instead of saving him? I was grateful that it was Aizawa who stood forwards and gave Nighteye the report he wanted instead.

"We fought Rappa and Tengai, and after taking care of them we ran into Azrael," Someone squirmed at that. While Aizawa gave the report, I turned to look at the man squirming on the floor. Overhaul. Kai Chisaki. He was captured… The leader of the Shie Hassaikai was at our mercy. For a moment, everything became still as I glared at the criminal. Just how many lives had he taken? How many people had he hurt? What of Eri, the small girl he experimented on? What of…

What of…

What of Denji? The boy he allowed in his organisation, the boy he sent out as a soldier. The boy he ruined the life of, and currently the boy that was dead. I had my part to play in Dneji's death, but I wasn't alone. I wasn't the only one. I felt someone tug on my coat, my long white coat stained with blood. The small blue clouds near the edge of it were completely covered. You couldn't see them even if you tried.

I looked down to see Eri tug at my coat.

"Mister, why do you look sad?" Eri asked me innocently. I stared into her eyes, her red eyes. Blood. Her eyes reminded me of blood. Yet I couldn't look away, especially as she tugged on my coat once more. "Mister, are you okay? The bad man is arrested. We are safe now." I didn't reply as I ruffled her hair, an action she seemed to like as she giggled at it.

I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound came out.

"Cat got your tongue?" Overhaul asked me, clearly amused by the situation. Snap. Perhaps it was the fact that I was already on edge, or perhaps it was because I couldn't contain my anger, but I walked over to Overhaul and merely glared at him hatefully. I had never hated someone before in my life, yet as Kai Chisaki sat in front of me with a smug look on his face, I wanted to kill him. It wasn't a foreign influence on my mind, nor was it just me imagining things.

I wanted to kill Overhaul.

Just like how he killed Denji.

Like how I killed Denji.

Anger. I was so angry. I couldn't control it as I punched him in the face as hard as I could. Nor could I control it when I started to kick him as well. I don't know how long I stood there, trying to kill him before Midoriya pulled me away from him. Overhaul was still smiling. Even though his damn mask was in the way, I could see the smirk he had on his face. I tried to make Midoriya get off me, but when Mirio and Aizawa started to restrain me, I realised it was futile. It was over.

"Sora! Please, relax!" Midoriya shouted at me.

"Yamazaki! Calm yourself!" Mirio told me, pointing at Eri. "There are other people here that shouldn't see what you want to do."

Aizawa didn't say anything, but it's not like he needed to say anything to me in the first place. He was trying to properly restrain me, while Midoriya and Mirio were only trying to calm me down.

"Please. I'll stop, just let me go." My voice found its way back to my throat as Midoriya and Mirio shrugged their shoulders. Aizawa looked a bit more apprehensive at my words, but eventually, even he let go. Finally, Nighteye walked up to me and placed his hand on my left shoulder. I could tell the man was trying to figure out what to say to me, especially when I was still glaring at Overhaul.

"Aozora. Please, forget about Chisaki for a second and look at my eyes," I did as he asked and watched as the man went through a varying number of emotions. "I-, you-," Nighteye shoved me away as he turned to stare at his hand in horror. "Your future. I thought if I told you that you're future was safe, that you wouldn't lose anyone else you'd be presentable for us to leave. But…"

"But what?" I found myself asking. My fists were balled as Overhaul still kept on looking at me, with curiosity in his eyes. I hated that look. So much.

"...Nevermind. Some things are better left unsaid-," I cut Nighteye off, grabbing him by the collar before anyone else could react. But even then, he merely stared at me. I could see pity in his eyes, that and understanding. I growled, letting him go as I walked away from the group before I could get even angrier. "Wait! I'll tell you one thing I saw," I paused to listen to Nighteye, but I didn't turn around. "You were in a graveyard, but you were happy. I don't know how old you were, but you were hugging a blonde person. Does that mean anything to you?"

Blonde person…

"I think it means that someone he cares about is going to die, again," Overhaul's voice bellowed throughout the arena we were in. "Isn't it funny-," Mirio shut him up for me by whacking him in the face. Even though Overhaul's mask was still on him, I could see that a small trickle of blood had managed to escape the mask and fall down on the floor. It wasn't nearly enough, but it didn't matter. I paced around the arena, trying to get as far away from Overhaul as I could.

And yet, Eri followed me.

"Mister, are you a hero?"

"Y-," My voice cracked, and I quickly covered that with a cough. "Yeah. I am."

"What's your Quirk?"

I summoned my Nimbus and let her sit on it, flying her around the room.

"Wow! That's so much fun! Uhm, what do I… uhm." Eri panicked as she looked at the floor.

"What do you call me?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Sora. Just call me Sora."

"Okay! S-Sora, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I told her. I wasn't fine. It was such a bad lie that even Eri knew since she tugged on my coat once more, and I had to stare down and meet her red eyes that melted anything. I understood why Midoriya and Mirio wanted to save her now, because no one deserves her fate. But our peace couldn't be kept, not when Aizawa walked over to me and stared at us.

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk with you."

I frowned at him.

"Then talk."

"Sora, about… Natsuki said a lot of things to me. That he and a lot of others were experimented on as children," Aizawa's face darkened as he looked down at the floor and refused to meet my eyes. "That you were experimented on too. No, in his words 'Sora is the final experiment.' Is this…"

"True?" Aizawa nodded. "Yeah. It's true. Yukari Aotsuki experimented on kids for a villain, the one All Might defeated recently. I was born from her being experimented on with Oboro Shirakumo. You could call me a bastard if you want," I joked as Eri gasped. She wasn't used to people saying 'bad words' and it made me smile. It wasn't a forced one, and I was grateful for that.

"I see," Aizawa replied, humming to himself. "Sora, I won't treat you differently because of that. At the end of the day, you are still my student. How you were brought into this Earth doesn't matter to me, because it doesn't change who you are," Aizawa leaned in a little closer and whispered in my ear so Eri couldn't hear. "I know you want to hurt Chisaki badly, but please don't lose control."

I nodded at him as Eri waved goodbye to Aizawa.

"You were experimented on too?" She asked me, innocently. She wasn't trying to hurt me or anything, she was just curious. And not the curiosity that made me angry, the childish curiosity that I once had in a different life.

"Yeah." I managed to get out, patting her head softly.

"Both of us were hurt," Eri told me, tugging on my coat once more. "But we are safe now," We walked back to where everyone else was as she pointed to Overhaul. "The bad man can't hurt us anymore." I smiled at her once more as she walked over to Mirio to describe how 'cool' my Quirk was.

"I'm a bad man now?" Overhaul drawled. "Kids have an imaginative mind, I'll tell you that. I didn't experiment on her, I was simply-,"

I tried to walk over to him once more, but Midoriya stood in my way.

"Sora, please! The police van is nearly here-,"

"Just like how he was nearly able to save his friend?" Overhaul interrupted, laughing at his own jokes as he riled me up.

"Get the fuck out of my way."

"Sora-,"

I pushed past Midoriya, despite his best effort as I began to punch and kick Overhaul more and more. I gave in to my anger. By the time everyone else was aware of what had happened, I was tackled to the ground by the combined efforts of Mirio, Midoriya, Aizawa and Nighteye, but even then I was still trying to fight back. Overhaul merely looked at me with such joy in his eyes, like he hadn't seen a subject so fascinating ever before in his life. It made me want to scream and shout.

"Come on? That was weak. I bet the rubble that killed your friend hit a lot harder than that."

I-,

Instantly, everyone's grip on me loosened as I summoned my Nimbus and smashed him in the face with a baseball bat. If it wasn't for Aizawa using his Quirk to get rid of my bat, I would have continued using it. Instead, I made Overhaul stand up as I started beat into him more and more, slowly forgetting the world around me until-,

One of Overhaul's hands managed to get free.

Aizawa couldn't save me in time as he pushed me out of the way and I saw Aizawa's left arm go flying in the opposite direction. If it wasn't for the blood spilling from the stump on Aizawa's left hand, I wouldn't have realised it as I stood there in shock. Almost instantly, the tables were turned against us. I didn't even process it myself as Midoriya grabbed Eri and ran across the arena, while Nighteye stood in front of me.

"Tsk, you ruined my suit." Overhaul yelled angrily, pointing at the now visible bloodstain on his clothes. He twitched angrily at that, but other than that he didn't do anything else.

"Stay back!" Nighteye shouted at me.

"But-,"

Nighteye turned around and stared directly into my eyes.

"I said stay back," He repeated slowly. "You're just a fragile little kid in the way. I thought you could hold out a little longer, but your eyes tell me the full picture." Overhaul relished in his freedom as Mirio managed to drag Aizawa out of danger, placing him near Midoriya and Eri.

"You've lost the will to fight ever again."

I-,

Before I could reply, Mirio yelled loudly as he charged Overhaul with his fists raised up. But Overhaul raised his right hand just in time to catch Mirio in the face. It was horrifying as I saw Mirio get consumed with Overhaul - No, it was like they combined to join into one. Compared to before, Overhaul actually looked like a monster. Bits of Mirio's costume could be seen as Chisaki peered down at everyone in amusement.

"I must thank you, Sora Yamazaki," Overhaul began. "Riling you up was easier than I thought. And losing on purpose made all of you underestimate how dangerous I really am. So now, shall the real battle commence?"

DECIDE

Eight

'Cometh The Hour'

I ran back to where Midoriya and Eri were. The former was trying his hardest to bandage Aizawa's missing arm. Nighteye was the only one trying to fight the monster that was Overhaul fused with Mirio.

"Give up on him!" I yelled at Midoriya, pulling out my Nimbus as I used to try and patch things up for Aizawa. Shit. He was losing a lot of blood. "Go help Nighteye! Now!" I yelled as Midoriya nodded at me, worry in his eyes before he took off. Shit, shit! I tried not to yell in frustration as Aizawa squirmed around on the floor in agony. Fuck. Fuck. I couldn't watch the fight unfold behind me, but my hands were shaking.

"Come on! You can't die on me, you bastard!" I yelled, using my Nimbus to try and make another appendage for him to use. Even if it was temporary, as long as he didn't die. Not again. I couldn't lose another person. Yet despite all the pain, Aizawa was still somehow awake. I sighed in relief as he used his right arm to pat me on my head, smiling softly while doing so.

"I'll be alright, kid. You gotta focus on protecting the kid."

Huh?

"But what about you? I ain't gonna allow you to die-,"

"I won't die," He pointed at the arm I had created for him. "I believe in your constructions, so I believe that I'll live. It's as simple as that. Fuck," Aizawa banged his head against the floor in pain. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to do much in this fight. I'm leaving the rest to you, Sora…"

Aizawa's eyes closed.

For a second, I thought he had died, but I sighed in relief as I saw his chest rise and fall. Shit. I turned around to see Midoriya and Nighteye working together to try and keep Overhaul at bay, but their fight was coming closer and closer to us with each passing second. But with how Aizawa was injured, it was a risk just leaving him here. I looked up at the ceiling to see a small hole, jut big enough to maybe fit an adult man. I used my sword to tear some of my coat off, wrapping it around his arm before I made a few hand signs and wrapped my Nimbus around him.

"What are you doing?" Eri asked me, afraid if Aizawa would live or not.

"Don't worry," I managed to grin at her. "I'm gonna' send this bastard through the fucking roof!" Lifting him up as quickly as I could, I sent him flying through the hole and where I vaguely remembered the entrance of the building to be. Hopefully, someone would see him and the medics nearby would be able to treat him. I turned to face Overhaul, who was getting closer and closer. Eri actually stood behind me because of how much of a monster he actually looked like.

I balled my fists as I stared him down.

Nighteye and Midoriya weren't enough to keep him at bay.

"Stay here," I told Eri as I took a few steps forwards. "This will be over quickly."

'You've lost the will to fight ever again.'

I growled as I remembered Nighteye's words just a few minutes ago. Lost the will to fight? I was beyond pissed. I ran at Overhaul, only for him to smack me away rather easily. I impacted against one of the walls, causing me to cough up even more blood. Shit. Did he just reopen my wounds? I wiped the blood off my mouth, trying to get back up, but I couldn't. No, I didn't want to.

I did this.

I caused all this.

I lost control for a second, and Aizawa was now missing an arm, Mirio had been taken control of by Overhaul and Nighteye and Midoriya were fighting for their lives. And here I was, scared to get back up. I yelled loudly, trying my hardest to get back up. Eri ran over to me and she even tried to help me up herself, but nothing was working. Even then, I could only watch in horror as Midoriya and Nighteye had multiple close brushes with death, and I could only curse myself for not being strong enough.

What the hell was I doing all these past few months?

I trained my Quirk, and I trained my body. But it wasn't enough. Right and here and now it was useless! I was useless to save Denji, and I was useless to save everyone right now as well! I gritted my teeth as I tried to walk again, using my sword as a sort of walking stick while I made sure that Eri was kept behind me. I had already killed one of my friends, I wasn't going to allow another to die.

"Stay here," I told Eri once again as I tried to run towards Overhaul. I made multiple constructs from my Quirk. From my Truth Seeking Orbs, to multiple animals, and even a few guns as I tried to provide support for Nighteye and Midoriya. But even when I was using my hand signs, they barely reached half of the distance between us before they vanished. I clicked my tongue in frustration as I tried to get closer to the fight, watching as Overhaul slipped into the ground to evade their attacks before coming back up again to strike.

I could still fight-,

"Stay back!" Nighteye howled, making me halt in my tracks. "Yamazaki, stay back and protect Eri! You can't fight right now so just-," Midoriya had to dodge out of the way as Overhaul touched the ground, reassembling the rock below them into spears and threw them at us all. I managed to dodge two of the spears headed for Eri and me, using a wall of Nimbus to stop them in their tracks. Midoriya managed to kick it to little pieces, but Nighteye couldn't dodge all of them in time as one spear impaled him.

I gulped, taking a few steps backwards as Overhaul laughed at us.

"You heroes are pathetic," He mocked. "Is this it? Was this supposed to be the squad that was going to take me down? A cripple, a man impaled while giving out instructions, a hero brat trying his hardest not to be defeated and a kid that's lost the will to even fight. I'll relish tearing you all piece by piece!" But before Overhaul could reach Eri and me, Midoriya kicked him away, growling angrily as I could feel the power radiating from him.

"Your opponent is me."

Mr Compress POV

"We should kill them," Atsuhiro Sako, more commonly known as Mr Compress, wasn't bloodthirsty. He preferred the term opportunist. But as he watched the fight unfold down below him, I grinned to himself as he realised how easy it would be to take out Overhaul, that bastard Midoriya and Sora Yamazaki. Three targets that Shigaraki wanted dead, Zero's promises be damned! Beside him, Dabi shrugged his shoulders as he watched the fight go down.

"I don't know. Maybe incurring Zero's wrath doesn't seem like a good idea."

"He's not our leader, Shigaraki is," Atsuhiro replied. "Furthermore, Zero isn't even here. We could just claim that they killed themselves in a fight." He frowned as he remembered Zero taking the unconscious body of Eraserhead, a pesky hero, back to the front entrance of the building for medical attention. It made Atsuhiro want to sigh, but he refrained from doing so as it would likely distract him from the fight.

Atsuhiro hated Zero.

With a burning passion.

He strutted around the place bossing everyone around on what they could or couldn't do, threatening everyone if they ever dared to hurt someone he had promised to protect. For a villain, it was rather ironic that he was deciding on protecting others. But it was the fact that he tried to influence Shigaraki and take out Garaki that annoyed Atsuhiro the most. Everyone in the League of Villains had their own morals, but they knew that Shigaraki was the boss.

However childish he may be, however inexperienced he was - Shigaraki was their leader. But the fact that Zero actively tried to undermine that and insert himself as the leader rubbed him the wrong way. It was obvious manipulation, but the fact that it was only him and Garaki actually caring about Zero's actions made him nervous. Secretly, he and Garaki already began to plan ways to get rid of Zero permanently. The only issue was timing it correctly-,

"How's the fight progressing?" Zero's robotic voice asked. That was another thing that Atsuhiro hated about Zero. Wearing a mask was fine, but the League at the very least knew his identity. They had seen him without his mask before, but no one had ever seen what Zero looked like before. Only Garaki seemed to know his true identity, but even then his lips remained shut due to a 'Quirk' that was apparently still in effect for him.

Not only that, but Zero wasn't intent on sharing anything about himself.

Another fact was that Kurogiri served two masters, Zero and Shigaraki, meaning he wouldn't tell any of them where Zero went when he wasn't with the League. And that was another thing - Zero barely made himself known. It wasn't until early this morning that he appeared, informing the League of the upcoming raid before forcing Dabi and himself to go along with him for 'backup.' It was quite infuriating how someone like Zero could hold that much sway.

Still, their goals were as Shigaraki told them: to steal all of Azrael's research and Eri. While they had already stolen the research, they were waiting for the perfect opportunity to nab the girl and hightail it out of the raid.

"Well Compress just asked me if I wanted to help him kill everyone down there," Dabi said lazily. "Obviously I said no, 'cause picking a fight with you is the last thing I want to do."

"Coward," Atsuhiro muttered under his breath, but he paid the scarred man no attention as he stared down at the fight. 'That Midoriya boy really has grown leaps and bounds since I last saw him. To think that he's fighting tooth and nail to protect those two - He's fighting even better now compared to when I fought him just thirty minutes ago!' Atsuhiro thought to himself.

"So, you want to take them out?" Zero asked him.

"I think it would be the best course of action. Of course, since you have your 'promises' my idea is exactly that. Just an idea." He replied, and watched Zero intently. The bastard didn't even twitch a muscle as he said that, making him a very hard person to read. Not only could Atsuhiro not read his face, but his body simply gave nothing away. That was the final thing that he hated about Zero, which at the end of the day added up as a minor inconvenience compared to the other egregious things about the masked villain.

"I see. And, if I may ask, how would you go about killing Izuku and Sora?" Zero asked him curiously.

"Well, I'd crush Midoriya's throat in front of Yamazaki, then decapitate the boy as he stares at his fallen friend in shock. Quick and easy. Maybe a little messy, but nothing a washing machine won't fix." Atsuhiro explained his plan, with a small smirk on his lips as he saw Dabi laugh at that.

"Just a little messy?"

"Well, you know how crushing throats can be."

"Interesting," Zero stood up, and so did Dabi. Atsuhiro frowned behind his mask, were they leaving already? But they hadn't gotten their hands on the girl-, "Dabi, you know what to do."

Atsuhiro watched as Zero handed over Azrael's materials to Dabi who burned them into ashes. He stood up angrily, pointing his cane at the scarred villain.

"What on Earth are you doing? That was our mission-,"

"Your mission," Dabi corrected as he scattered what remained of the materials in the air. "Shigaraki gave you that mission. I don't follow Shigaraki. Not when I know how it'll all end up for us if we do," Atsuhiro stared at him in confusion at that comment. "Ah. You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"That I know the future," Zero calmly answered, snapping his fingers as his familiar sword materialised out of thin air. "While I did make a bet with Shigaraki, only a fool would not sabotage it so I could win. And I am no fool. Apart from you, and of course Shigaraki, every other member of the League of Villains has accepted that I'm to be the leader. And so, I'm afraid that your time in our esteemed League has been cut short."

Atsuhiro screamed as Dabi set him on fire.

'That damned bastard!' He screamed mentally as his body screamed for help. Atsuhiro writhed around on the roof of the Shie Hassaikai building, peering down into the fight once more. Dabi had stopped the flames, but that didn't erase all the burns he had just gotten. 'But I guess, this is it.' Oddly enough, Atsuhiro was at peace with himself. Even if he wanted to get rid of Zero, he was simply outplayed.

"So what? Your plan is to just say that the mission was a failure, win your bet and become the leader?"

Zero nodded.

Atsuhiro laughed at the notion of that.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Why the hell would anyone want to follow you?"

"Because," Dabi drawled out lazily. "He knows the future. He's seen what happens to us if we let Shigaraki take control. We lose. Everything. Now I don't know about you, but I have goals I want to achieve. I can't kill Endeavour if I let Shigaraki be my boss. But Zero? Oh, he's going to help me get my revenge. And everyone else feels the same way, it was only you that was the odd one out."

"So that's it? I'm disappointed."

Zero closed the gap between them, and Atsuhiro knew his time was up. This was an unwinnable fight, and there was no way he could escape.

"Before I die, do you mind answering a question of mine?"

Zero didn't reply as Atsuhiro pressed further.

"Why the hell do you care about 1A so much?!" It was the one question that had been bugging Atsuhiro ever since he first met the masked villain. Even if Zero took his promises seriously, no one should take them that seriously. Not to a psychotic degree like Zero, To Atsuhiro, it was almost as if he used the promise to mask his true feelings. Because at the end of the day, they were villains - They should not be saving lives, they should be taking them.

"Why do I care about them so much?" Zero repeated, raising his sword. Atsuhiro could have sworn that he saw Zero's true face, or perhaps it was his mind playing tricks on him. But what he did see stuck with him, a face that was proud. "I thought it was obvious dipshit. It's because they are my friends."

And then the sword came down, and Atsuhiro Sako felt nothing.

I cursed at myself as I watched Midoriya fight Overhaul with nothing but his Quirk. I should be fighting alongside him, but all I could do was watch in despair. Why was I so weak? What the hell had I been doing all this time in U.A? The worse part was that I knew the answer to that question. I was too busy goofing off. I was too busy having fun with everyone else that I didn't train the same way Midoriya or Bakugo did.

I didn't push my body to its limits, I didn't dedicate myself to training the same way they did.

If I did, perhaps things would have turned out differently.

Perhaps I'd be able to fight alongside Midoriya. Maybe Denji would still be alive, maybe Aizawa wouldn't be missing an arm, maybe Nighteye wouldn't have been impaled by a spear. I growled in anger, gripping my sword tighter as I desperately wanted to jump in and support Midoriya, but I couldn't do anything.

Nothing.

If I tried to help him, I'd become a burden. I'd be reminded of how weak I was.

'You've lost the will to fight ever again.'

Nighteye's words kept on repeating in my head, and it took Eri to tug at my coat to remind me of where I was. To remind me of the job I had. Even if I couldn't fight alongside Midoriya, I had to protect Eri from Overhaul. I had to. It wasn't a question, it wasn't something I could half-ass, I had to protect her or else everything would have been for nothing. Me coming to U.A in the first place, Denji's death, Aizawa losing an arm, and even the raid itself.

If we took Eri away from Overhaul, we would be able to beat him.

Eri was his weakness.

But as it stood, even if I tried to run away from here alongside Eri, we would be at a disadvantage. Overhaul had Mirio's Quirk, meaning he could catch up to us rather easily. No, our best bet was to stay in the arena until more heroes showed up to help Midoriya take care of Overhaul. But even still, I was surprised at how strong Midoriya had grown. His kicks were causing ripples to appear in the air, that was how hard he was kicking Overhaul, not to mention the fact that Overhaul was growing more and more impatient as he kept on healing himself during their fight.

For each move Overhaul took against Midoriya, the green-haired boy had already struck twice.

"Sora, do you think Izuku is going to win?"

"He will," I told her. "Because Izuku just doesn't know when to give up."

That was who Izuku Midoriya was.

Who Deku was.

The true essence of being a hero, the fact was that he was so enthusiastic to join this raid because he was meddling in Eri's life. He wanted to save her so badly. While it was comforting to watch Izuku fight, using everything at his disposal to win, showing everyone the fruits of his labour. Of how hard he trained. Of how heroic he was, it made me…

Jealous.

It made me despair.

If he had been in my shoes, would Denji still be alive? How differently would have things gone? Just what am I missing compared to Midoriya? Why was I so weak while he was so strong? It wasn't just his Quirk, it was who Midoriys was on the inside! And yet, how come he looked up to me? Why the hell would anyone want to be like me?! I thought back to Denji, to how he died, and I felt sick with myself. How could I just… Why didn't I…

"Sora, why do you have such a sad look on your face?"

Why?

"Isn't Izuku going to win?"

Yeah but-,

"Shouldn't you be happy?"

How can I be happy?

I watched as Overhaul was backed into a corner, with Izuku aiming to land the final blow. Blood was pouring down his face, but Midoriya didn't even flinch as he evaded another attack, kicking Overhaul in the face before punching him in the chest - sending the villain flying across the arena, smashing through the remaining hills that were originally present in the arena. And yet, Midoriya still stood up refusing to fall. It was something that I admired, never giving up.

It was something I desperately wanted.

Because while I didn't give up, it wasn't because I was fearless or anything. It was because if I gave up, it meant the end for me and my friends. But now? All I wanted to do now was give up. I was tired. So tired. I couldn't stop thinking about Denji and the way he died, the memories we shared and the jokes we made together. He was… gone. I hadn't ever really lost someone before, not in my old life or this life, but I didn't know what to feel. One part of me wanted to let my anger out, while another part of me wanted to be more reserved.

That was why when Overhaul somehow threw Midoriya to the side and made a beeline for Eri and me, I raised my sword up with no hesitation. Even if I 'lacked the will' to fight, I didn't care. My arms were shaking as I held my sword and flashes of Denji's happy face all those years ago were the only ones that clouded my mind. I grinned to myself as Overhaul closed the distance between us, and I started to walk forwards.

I'll see you soon… Denji.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the familiar sensation of death to come. But it never did. No, instead all I heard was Overhaul's screech of anger. I opened my eyes, but instead of me being impaled-,

Eri-,

Overhaul cried out in anger as Eri fell to the ground right in front of me. I immediately rushed towards her, getting my Nimbus out as I tried to stop the bleeding. Oh God, the bleeding. At this point, I didn't know whose blood was on my hands. Mine, Aizawa's or now hers. Shit! SHIT! I tried everything, but no matter what her blood came flowing through to my hands like a river. FUCK! While Overhaul raged behind us, Midoriya caught up to the two of us and stared in shock.

Eri was…

NO!

Fuck!

"Come on! Stay with me-,

"Why?" Midoriya asked her. He was crying, but it wasn't like she was going to-,

Come on!

Why the hell are you asking stupid questions? Just help me stop the bleeding already! I growled in anger as I tried my hardest to stop the blood, even biting the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood as Eri bled out in my arms. Come on! NOT AGAIN! I couldn't fail to save another person, I wasn't going to have another person's life on my-,

"Because," Eri smiled, looking directly at me. "Y-you looked like you needed saving. And that's what a hero d-does."

Huh?

I stared at her in shock.

What the fuck was she saying? What was the bullshit that was sprouting from her mouth? I turned to look up at Midoriya, who wiped his tears away, nodding at the girl as he turned to face Overhaul once more. But Eri. Eri. When did I look like I needed saving? Who the hell said you needed to save me?! I shook her body in anger. Come on. Just wake the fuck up already! I growled in anger, but even then, she didn't wake up. Her red eyes, which were once filled with life, stared at the ceiling above us.

Empty.

They were cold and empty.

…

It was my fault.

Everything was my fault.

This raid had gone to shit, and it was all my fault. I made all the decisions thinking that they were fine, thinking that everything was good, but it wasn't. I was horrible. I was terrible. I was a piece of shit human that didn't deserve to live, not only did my friend die because of me, but I let an innocent girl die thinking she was a hero. Aizawa was missing an arm, and who knew about Mirio. Not to mention Nighteye was laying down in a pool of blood only a few metres away from me.

All this blood on my hands, all the pain and suffering, everything was my fault. I caused all this. I tried not to think about Denji, I tried to look away from Eri's corpse, but I wasn't able to avert my eyes from it. This was all my fault. I couldn't escape it, not even if I tried. But how could I escape this?!

I couldn't.

Everything was my fault.

My decisions ever since coming to U.A were nothing but selfish. All I had ever done was hurt others around me, and that was the truth. I could see it in front of me. In my mind. The results of my decisions, the reasons as to why-,

Why-,

Everything was my fault.

I couldn't protect anything.

I heard another scream this time, one that made me sad just hearing at how broken it sounded. Maybe-,

Maybe I should go to sleep for a while, I'll let you take over…

Izuku Midoriya POV

It was the most bone-chilling scream he had heard in his entire life. It made both him and Overhaul pause as they turned to stare at Sora. Izuku's face softened as he looked at Sora, covered in a mixture of blood. His once-white coat was completely red, not to mention his eyes. It hurt Izuku to look into his friend's eyes, at the hopelessness that was there. But he couldn't blame his friend for that, after everything that had happened to him, it would be strange if Sora wasn't broken.

'So much tragedy…'

Izuku didn't know if he could take it anymore. But as he looked at Sora this time, he noticed everything was different. His eyes had turned dark orange, no it was more red than orange. It looked like a mix of brown, Sora's normal eye colour, and yellow for some odd reason. But what was even worse was the blank look on his face, his mouth simply hung slightly open. It was then that Izuku realised that Sora Yamazaki had been broken.

"Sora-,"

Another bone chilling scream was heard.

"Deku?" Izuku looked up at the ceiling and saw Uraraka and Nejire float down and stood next to him. "Where is everyone else?" Uraraka asked as she saw Sora and immediately quietened. "Sora?"

No response.

Gripping his sword so tightly that Izuku thought it would shatter he flung himself at Overhaul with such speed that it was difficult to even track. It was then that Izuku realised the screams that were making all his hairs stand up were coming from Sora himself. Izuku watched in awe as Overhaul was immediately put on the back foot and started to panic as Sora didn't give him a single second to breathe. Izuku sighed in relief as he watched his classmate dominate the fight.

'That's what Sora normally does, he comes and saves the day like a hero.' Izuku thought to himself. Crunch. Uraraka gasped and Nejire had to look away not to vomit as with sheer brute strength alone Sora ripped one of Overhaul's arms off, screaming once more. Izuku looked at his friend in alarm-,

Sora was never that bloodthirsty.

Even as Overhaul regenerated his arm, Sora didn't back down as he made multiple swords that all impaled Overhaul at the same time. Izuku watched in shock as his friend, the person he looked up to, started to aim for the kill. Without even thinking, Izuku rushed into battle to try and stop Sora from murdering Overhaul in cold blood. But the closer he got, the more he realised that Sora wasn't acting normally. In fact, he wasn't even acting human.

It was far more accurate to say that he was acting feral.

Sora snarled at Overhaul, who was starting to panic more and more. Even as he tried to slip away into the floor underneath them, Sora let out another bloodcurdling scream as he used his sword to slash the ground into multiple pieces. Izuku was flung back by the sheer power Sora was giving out. He doubted he would be able to match it even if he used fifty per cent of One For All-, No, fifty wasn't enough. He had only seen one man capable of this level of destruction willingly, and he was currently in a coma.

"Deku! What's going on?!" Uraraka asked him, trying to catch up with him as he ran to stop Sora once more.

"Please, stay back! He could hurt you if you aren't careful!" He warned his friend, but Nejire didn't heed the warning as she flew over to where Sora was still trying to kill Overhaul. Overhaul had slipped into the floor again, and the attack that was aimed at him instead shattered the wall completely. Izuku had to pull Uraraka to the side to avoid the falling debris, lest they get buried underneath the building. But at the rate Sora was going, it would only take a few minutes and likely the surrounding street would be destroyed.

It was clear for anyone to see that Sora had lost control.

He wasn't capable of reasoning anymore, he had simply begun to just attack. To destroy. Friend or foe. Izuku bit the inside of his lip in worry as Nejire was thrown to the ground due to one of his attacks. 'What do I do? If I try to fight him, what if he tries to kill me? I don't think I could survive getting hit by one of his attacks!' Izuku thought to himself as he tried to reason with himself as to what plan he could scramble together. 'I need to bring Sora back to his senses, but how?!'

"Sora!" Uraraka shouted fearlessly, approaching their friend who simply glared hatefully at Overhaul in response. He ignored Uraraka, dashing towards his opponent with such force and speed that it cracked the ground below them. If it wasn't for Nejire flying in the sky who had caught Uraraka before she hit the ground, Izuku didn't know if she would have survived to tell the tale. They watched as Sora let out another scream, slashing one of Overhaul's legs off before grabbing him with one hand and throwing him through the ceiling.

Even as Overhaul disassembled the roof to build a meteor of debris that would crush them all to death, Sora merely screeched in response. Izuku could only watch in horror as the meteor, which was easily as big as the building itself, was flung at them with no hesitation. Overhaul was afraid. No to say that would be a lie, he was terrified. And yet, Izuku, Uraraka and Nejire could only watch as the meteor fell on them. Izuku was prepared to use One For All, even if it meant breaking every single bone in his body to shatter the damn thing, but it was Sora's reaction that caught him off guard.

Instead of running and fighting Overhaul, he merely stared at Izuku blankly. It was then that Izuku could see the lines forming across Sora's face, making him look less than a human, and more of a monster. It was then that Sora came running over to them, raising his sword up at the meteor.

"Pro…tect," Izuku heard come out of Sora's mouth. It was garbled, not to mention quiet. "Pro...tect. Must… pro…tect. Can't…let…them…die. Mu..st…protect." It was then that he launched himself at the meteor, creating the largest Nimbus construct Izuku had ever seen his friend make. If it wasn't for Sora's entire body twisting in an unnatural way, he never would have known that it was hurting his friend. A hand, big enough to break the current building appeared and crushed the meteor that Overhaul had created as if it was nothing.

Izuku watched as his friend fell helplessly to the ground.

Luckily, most of his injuries were already healed by the time Izuku had reached him. His eyes had returned back to normal, and the abnormal lines across his face had faded completely.

"Huh? What happened?" Sora asked them, confused as he scratched his head.

"You-, Don't you remember-,"

Izuku cut Nejire off.

"It's fine. We'll fill you in later."

Sora nodded at that as he looked around, whistling at the sheer destruction that had just happened. Izuku was simply grateful that his friend had come back to him, even if he couldn't remember anything that had just happened. 'That or he's lying.' Izuku tried not to frown as he scrutinised his friend a little harder. The key was in his eyes. The spark that was once there had faded completely, and in its place was replaced by emptiness. Sora's eyes revealed just how lost he was.

"Do you think our battle is over?"

Standing behind all the debris, with not a single scratch on him, Overhaul looked amused at them as he held a single vial in his hands. But Izuku could see the terror on his face as his eyes met Sora's.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked them. "It's something Azrael came up with. Something more potent than Trigger. Felix Felicis. Liquid luck." Izuku saw Sora's eyes widen as Overhaul drank the entire vial. Unlike before, Overhaul looked semi-human. Even if he had fused with Mirio, he still retained his human aspects. But a massive light forced Izuku and everyone else to cover their eyes.

Standing before them wasn't just Overhaul.

If anything, he looked more like a monster dressed in pure white.

"The one problem of Felix Felicis is that it burns the body out. But with my Quirk, especially now under this drug, I can heal myself," Overhaul replied as he touched the ground, assembling wings out of mere debris. "I alone have perfected this drug. I alone will forge our new society even if it means burning this city to the ground. Eri or no Eri, I have evolved. I don't have to deal with you diseases anymore, so watch… watch as I'll cleanse this society clean."

Izuku watched as Overhaul flew into the sky, but more importantly towards the city centre.

"Shit!" Sora swore as he tried to get up, but failed. "If he gets there…"

Sora didn't need to finish the sentence for the implications to be understood. Overhaul would be able to murder hundreds, if not thousands if left unchecked. What was worse was that any hero not on the Shie Hassaikai raid was at a nearby raid supposedly taking care of a 'League of Villains' asset. The only heroes patrolling the city centre were ill-equipped to handle Overhaul, let alone Overhaul on a deadlier version of Trigger.

Izuku stood up, walking over to where Nighteye was.

"You heard everything, right?"

"I did."

"Nejire," Izuku began as he helped Nighteye up from the ground. "Do you think you can fly after Overhaul while carrying Nighteye and me?" Nejire nodded at that. "Uraraka, I need you to alert U.A about what's happening." Uraraka nodded as she ran past the doors, making her way to the entrance where everyone else was.

"W-wait!" Sora yelled as he got up. "I can come as well-,"

"No," Nighteye cut in. Izuku winced at his tone of voice and watched as Sora's face fell. "You're a liability. How do we know you won't lose control again and hurt one of us? Not only that, but take a look at yourself. Are you going to sit there and cry about not being able to protect people again? There is a chance, with how strong Overhaul has become, that we may never come back alive. But it's a chance I will take because that's what it means to be a hero."

And with that, Nejire lifted the two of them up, flying after Overhaul.

"There is a chance, with how strong Overhaul has become, that we may never come back alive. But it's a chance I will take because that's what it means to be a hero."

I watched as Izuku and Nighteye were carried by Nejire, and I desperately wanted to create a Nimbus cloud to chase after them. But I… There was no way that I could fight against Overhaul. Not now. It was futile. Kai Chisaki had already won. And yet, a small part of me still wished to fight. I wasn't dumb, I had let Kurai take over completely - willingly. I wanted to murder Overhaul at that moment, and I gave into that desire leaving me completely unrecognisable.

But even then-,

Even then, I still protected everyone.

Why?

I closed my eyes, thinking about everything that had happened so far. No. I was going to fight. No matter how 'futile' it was. I owed it to Denji and Eri to try. It wouldn't just be shameful of me to fall apart, it would be hypocritical.

If Overhaul was going to the town centre, which was near U.A.

Where everyone else in our class was located.

Jiro. Kaminari. Mineta. Everyone else.

Nighteye was right, I could cry about how I wasn't able to protect anyone.

But I wasn't.

Not anymore.

Huh?

Where am I?

I was in a familiar house, the house that I had been trapped in during camp when Kurai took over my body. I walked around the house, but it was empty just like before. "Hello?" I asked, but I didn't get a reply. I shrugged my shoulders as I left the house, only to find myself at U.A.

Huh?

"Welcome." A voice said behind me. A small kid, maybe aged twelve stared at me. He had brown hair and brown eyes and wore a white robe. He didn't look Japanese at all, which made me narrow my eyes at him.

"Did the bastard finally come?!" I watched as a familiar face appeared out of thin air, lugging around a massive sword. It was me, only with yellow eyes and a sadistic smirk on my face as he wore a black robe. "Haha, the bastard finally returns."

"Kurai." I greeted.

"Now, now," The small boy started. "We invited you here for a discussion, Sora."

"Where are we?" I asked before I finally realised that everything was submerged underwater. Yet it didn't feel like I was drowning, not really.

"We are currently in the confines of your mind," The boy answered. "If you'll cast your mind to Izuku and his vestiges, it sorta works like that. Sorta. But that's not why we called you here."

"We called you here 'cause you wanna get up and fight!" Kurai screamed at me. "I'm fine with it, but if you really want to protect everyone then you'll need power."

"Yeah. You're right. I need-, Hey! Why are you turning your back on me?" Before I could even finish my sentence, the small boy turned his back on me and began to walk the other way.

"I cannot, and will not, allow myself to give you power." The boy replied.

"What he said. Why the hell should we give you power?"

"So I can protect-,"

"So what?" The boy turned around and asked me. "Do you think either Kurai or me actually care about what you think? Make no mistake, the things that you want to protect aren't the same things that we want to protect."

"And I'm telling you, I don't care! I will go and fight Overhaul anyway, with or without your help you shitty brat!"

"Shiro," The boy corrected. "My name is Shiro."

"Yeah. well, I don't care. I'm telling you if you aren't going to give me any power then just let me go." Shiro looked at Kurai, who shrugged his shoulders as the two of them eventually made eye contact with me once more. Shiro cleared his throat as he stepped forwards, speaking first for the two.

"If you want power, we'll give you it," I smiled at that. "Only if you decide to take up a challenge."

Huh?

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's quite simple," Shiro replied as he walked over to Kurai, and the two of them joined together. The resulting outcome was Shiro's body with Kurai's yellow eyes and a grey cloak. "If you beat us, we'll give you whatever power you want."

Tch.

"Fine then," I readied my own blade. "You're on, you pair of bastards!"

So we finally got rage mode Sora.

That was fun to write.

The next chapter will be capping off everything so far with a nice fight.

If you can't tell, I absolutely adore Overhaul. The fact is that he's a sociopath that doesn't care about anyone else other than himself, and he thinks that he's right. None of that Shigaraki bs that makes you like him, Overhaul is just a piece of shit and I love that about him. So yes, if it means I can write Overhaul more menacingly and give what I think he deserves to be a more epic fight and send-off, then that is exactly what I will do.