[Midoriya and Yaoyorozu]
Midoriya hadn't felt this rested in a long time.
That's why, even though he'd just woken up, he was already tempted to go back to sleep. He squeezed his already-closed eyes shut even tighter, pushing his head deeper into his soft pillow. A welcoming warmth enveloped his being in an embrace from heaven.
"Mm..."
The foreign noise cut through the haze surrounding his clouded mind like a hot knife through butter.
Suddenly wide awake, he realized that something- two somethings- were wrapped loosely around his chest. Were those arms? Then, the thing that was pressed against his back, and the thing he thought was a pillow, were actually...
Midoriya's eyes shot open as a leg wrapped around his waist. His heart was pounding like it wanted to jump out of his chest, and his cheeks burned with heat that would put Endeavor's flames to shame.
"Mmm, Kuma-chan~, what're you doing here?"
His worst fears were confirmed. It was a person currently snuggled up to him. A person he knew; Yaoyorozu.
She squeezed Midoriya with her whole body.
"...Y-Y-Ya-Yaoyorozu?" Midoriya stuttered nervously, frozen in place by a sudden onset of anxiety.
"Hmm?" Yaoyorozu's eyes began to open slowly, Midoriya's voice waking just loud enough to wake her.
She glanced down at the thing she was currently snuggling up against and saw a shade of green. A very familiar shade of green, which she recognized as her classmate's hair. And if his hair was there, then his head...
Yaoyorozu's eyes widened upon the realization that there was a boy in her arms (and legs). And that boy was-
"...Y-Y-Yaoyorozu?" Midoriya stammered once more.
"AH!" Yaoyorozu cried, flailing in panic and pushing him off the bed- why were they even in a bed!?
"Oof!" Midoriya grunted, dropping head-first onto the floor.
Yaoyorozu sat up and slapped her hands to her face, trying to hide her shameful blush from the world. She was shaking with embarrassment.
"Ugh…" Midoriya sluggishly clawed his way into a kneeling position, using the mattress to support him since his muscles were being rather uncooperative.
While he did that, Yaoyorozu took a moment to still her racing heart, breathing deeply. When she finally calmed down to a degree, she noticed that something had changed; their surroundings were different from what she last remembered.
"Huh?" She looked around the unfamiliar room, which was dimly lit by a lamp sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.
"We're… We're in a room?" Yaoyorozu muttered, stating the obvious. She glanced to the side to see her classmate finally back on his feet. "M-Midoriya!" Yaoyorozu snapped apprehensively. "W-Wh-Wh-What happened!?" There was a slight accusation in her tone.
Midoriya rubbed the side of his head, which was throbbing softly. Hopefully it didn't develop into a worse headache. "I…I don't know," he murmured, surveying the room. Nothing in particular stood out to him. "I think… I heard sirens, and then… That's it. Did we pass out?"
"Sirens...?" Yaoyorozu could vaguely recall the ominous wailing that had threatened to deafen her. She also remembered feeling inexplicably tired upon hearing them. "Right. But, we fainted on the floor, right? So how did we end up on a bed?" Her face turned crimson once more, her hands covering her face at the embarrassment.
Midoriya snapped out of his sleepy daze. "Uh, I-I don't know! Really, I don't! I swear! I don't know why we're in a bed! A-All I can remember are the sirens!" Midoriya explained hastily, frantically waving his arms.
Yaoyorozu stared at her classmate with an assessing gaze, determining if he was telling the truth or not. Then, it hit her; this was Midoriya. Of course he wouldn't do something like that. "Oh, no. I meant…" She chuckled wryly. "No, Midoyria, I know you didn't plan this."
Midoriya, who had been quailing in terror, relaxed. Marginally. "Oh! Oh, good! I mean, I just… I wouldn't do that to you! Or anyone, actually!"
The taller girl giggled… until the phantom sensation of hugging Midoriya close to her involuntarily popped up in her head again.
Oh dear…
Flushing, Yaoyorozu looked down at her lap. "Actually… I-I want to say I'm sorry for… w-well..."
Midoriya knew what she was talking about, and he smiled sheepishly. "H-Hey, no worries! I-I mean, you weren't awake! So, I can hardly blame you for…" He was grasping at straws, unsure what he could say that wouldn't sound like a useless platitude. "Um… S-so, Kuma...chan...?" he asked awkwardly.
While Yaoyorozu thought Midoriya's attempts at reassuring her were rather amusing, his mention of that name had her flustered once more. "Oh! Um, well, t-that's..." She flailed, hands twitching through halfway-aborted gestures. "...M-My teddy bear," Yaoyorozu finished lamely.
Blinking at that, Midoriya now smiled softly at this information. "Your teddy bear? Aw, that's cute- sweet! I meant sweet!" he instantly corrected himself.
Yaoyorozu's face flamed up, but she wore the faintest of smiles. "T-Thank you. I, um, I know I'm a little old for teddy bears, but… sometimes, it helps me sleep better."
"Nothing wrong with that," Midoriya said sincerely, grinning widely to show that he didn't think less of her for it. Everyone deserved to have some comfort if they felt like they needed it.
Must be one of those human-sized teddy bears, if she mistook a person for it...
He cleared his throat. "W-Well, it seems like someone just put us here… O-on this bed." He glanced around the room again, though even he wasn't sure what he was looking for. "Are we in the same apartment room?"
Yaoyorozu frowned. "Hmm…" She followed his lead, gaze flitting about until it landed on the lamp. Her eyebrows furrowed. "The lamp's on…" she whispered, staring at the light fixture like she'd never seen one before.
"Huh?" Midoriya looked at the lamp. "Oh... Yeah, you're right." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I thought this building had no power."
Both contemplated silently for a few moments. Neither had any insights into the change in their situation, though, so Yaoyorozu finally climbed off the bed, standing on the opposite side from Midoriya.
"Well, power or not, we have to keep moving… And just hope that whatever happened to us doesn't repeat itself."
Midoriya nodded, a serious look on his face. "Right." Before they could continue forward, he paused in his step.
"Wait." He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to check the time.
"...Huh?" Midoriya stared at his screen in confusion.
"Oh! Our phones!" Yaoyorozu cried out, fishing her own device out of her skirt pocket. Before she turned it on, she also remembered the flashlights attached to the collars of their shirts. She turned it on, and the beam of light illuminated Midoriya's troubled face.
"Midoriya?"
"...Yaoyorozu, can you check your phone?" Midoriya asked her.
"Hm? Uh, alright?" She tapped the button, and her screen lit up like a spotlight. Squinting at the sudden brightness, she took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust. When it no longer felt like her retinas were being seared, she looked at her phone… And found nothing. Not even the time and the wallpaper she had on her desktop. It was all...white.
"...What?" Yaoyorozu was rather perplexed. She swiped, tapped, and even shook her phone. Nothing happened. "This is… Very peculiar."
"Yeah," Midoriya muttered, glancing between his phone and his classmate's. He'd tried everything Yaoyorozu did, but nothing happened. "Someone definitely tampered with our phones… But who? And why?"
"Could it be the kidnapper?" Yaoyorozu speculated.
"Maybe. Could be one of their accomplices, too- no telling who else could be here beside us," Midoriya said as he stowed away his phone. He looked up, narrowing his eyes as he stared into the beam of light assaulting his face.
"Ow. Oh! The flashlights!" He immediately switched his on.
Yaoyorozu nodded. "We should consider ourselves lucky that whoever moved us didn't take these. It would be best for us to avoid using our phones, in order to conserve battery. The building may have power now, but we shouldn't rely on it lasting in the event that we need to charge them."
Midoriya nodded. "Probably a good idea." He turned towards the exit - an old, sliding paper door. "Well, let's get going, then."
"Right."
Midoriya reached for the door handle, but as his fingers dug into the dusty curve, he paused.
Yaoyorozu noticed his hesitation. "What's wrong?"
"Do you... Get the feeling that something's not right here?" Midoriya asked hesitantly.
Yaoyorozu quirked a brow. "Well, your mother has been captured, we're split up from the group, Bakugou isn't here with us, Iida's gone missing, we might have witnessed a murder, and our phones aren't working," she listed dryly. "So… Yes?"
Midoriya turned his head to Yaoyorozu to look at her for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry. I just… It felt a little too quiet in here all of a sudden."
Yaoyorozu tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hasn't it always been this quiet?" She hadn't noticed anything particularly strange, besides the obvious. Perhaps the stress was getting to her classmate.
Midoriya chuckled weakly. "Maybe I'm just overthinking it…"
Yaoyorozu hummed noncommittally. Her face was neutral, but deep down inside, she couldn't help but wonder if the green-haired boy was right to be worried. Somehow, this town had been growing weirder by the minute. She was glad she didn't have to experience it alone.
The living room looked… Different.
With their flashlights illuminating the dark room, they were able to see recliners arranged in a loose semi-circle around a cabinet, upon which sat a large, flat-screen TV.
Were these here before? Midoriya wondered, fixing the new furniture with a piercing gaze, as if waiting for them to come alive and jump at the teens.
Yaoyorozu was apparently thinking the same thing. "What? ...None of this furniture was here before earlier… Right?"
"...S-Stay close to me," Midoriya told Yaoyorozu, who obliged, but kept some distance between them so that they weren't tripping over each other.
They crept past the furniture, warily casting glances at the shadowed corners of the room as they made their way toward the entrance. When they finally reached it, they froze midstep.
The door was completely intact, which didn't make any sense - hadn't Bakugou blown it off its hinges? Yet, there it was, not even a trace of soot on the doorframe.
"Why would they fix the door?" Midoriya asked Yaoyorozu.
"Maybe we're in a different room?" Yaoyorozu rationalized.
Midoriya considered the possibility. It made more sense, but a lot of this entire situation didn't, so he couldn't say for sure. The longer they spent in Chinmoku, the less Midoriya found himself able to rely on logic.
Deciding it didn't particularly matter, Midoriya went up to the door in the small foyer with Yaoyorozu close behind him. He reached out for the doorknob, when-
"HA HA HA!"
The two yelped and jumped away from the wooden barricade. The noise had come from behind them, so they whirled around, searching for the source of the boisterous laugh.
Forcing their fear into submission, they cast their sharp gazes around the apartment, which was filled with some cheery heroic music in the background. The TV had somehow been turned on, blue light washing over the mostly dark room.
"Do not worry, my friends! I will defeat this Villain and protect you! HA HA HA!"
"...All Might?" Midoriya murmured. It had taken a second for him to place the booming laughter, considering how unexpected it was to hear in a place like this, but now that he was paying attention, the voice was unmistakable.
"All Might-sensei?" Yaoyorozu also questioned in disbelief. They walked over to stand in front of the television, where a clip of All Might fighting a Villain was playing.
"Evil will not win today, for you are safe now! Why? Because I AM HERE!"
Glancing at each other, the students sat down in the armchairs in some silent agreement, both somewhat reluctant to leave the room and go venturing into the unknown. Besides, it wasn't like they had any lead, and the person who'd taken them here must've put this on for a reason, even if they couldn't figure it out, right? It just made sense to watch it- maybe there'd be a clue?
Suddenly, a different voice fills the background, the music dying down to allow the narrator to speak.
"All Might. Such an interesting Hero, and an even more interesting man. From his debut in America to the present day in Japan, he certainly has been a beacon of hope to all of those who call on his name for help- a Symbol of Peace, if you will."
"Is… Is this a new documentary?" Midoriya asked, talking mostly to himself.
"A new one?" Yaoyorozu turned to the boy, looking for an explanation.
"Um, yeah, I..." Midoriya smiled sheepishly. "I watch a lot of stuff about All Might, and I've never seen this."
Yaoyorozu nodded slowly - did he remember every single documentary he watched, of which she assumed there were many? - at that but said nothing, instead returning her attention to the screen. All Might was still doing heroic acts, and it was then the narrator spoke again.
"His Quirk, though, remains a mystery. Not many know what his power is, or even the full extent of it."
"I wonder how this got turned on?" Midoriya wondered out loud.
Yaoyorozu frowned. "It must be the kidnapper's doing. Perhaps this is some convoluted attempt at mind games."
Midoriya hummed, frowning at the thought of this Villain toying with them. "Maybe we should get going, then. No reason to dawdle more than we already have."
"Right."
They rose to leave, but before either teen was even halfway to standing, the narrator spoke again.
"But you probably know, don't you, Midoriya?"
Midoriya's legs gave out, and he plopped back onto the cushion, staring wide-eyed at the television.
...What?
Did he hear that correctly?
On the screen, he saw All Might standing in the center of the shot, broad shoulders and powerful back facing the camera.
"You probably know the full extent of All Might's Quirk, right?"
"Wha-?"
"After all, he picked you, did he?"
Midoriya croaked, unable to properly formulate words, much less a full sentence. But what would he have said? What could he say?
"Ha! You know, it's actually funny, that he picked a meaningless little twat like you to carry on his legacy. Is All Might just dumb, or was he high on drugs on that particular day? No, it must've been constant, 'cause he spent so long training you, y'know? That's crazy; imagine being high out of your mind for months on end. No wonder he looks like a skeleton these days!"
The camera is slowly zooming in on All Might's silhouette, which is shadowed by the setting sun.
"Seriously though, what possessed him to pass his Quirk on to you, a runty kid with no outstanding abilities to speak of? And now that you have it, you can't even control it! Your own Quirk, and the only thing you can do with it is break your own bones? How are you ever gonna become a Hero like that? What, gonna scare the Villains into submission by turning yourself into a bloody pulp?"
Midoriya just stared at the screen in absolute confusion. Terror and adrenaline were coursing through his veins. His inheritance of One For All was supposed to be a secret- how did they find out? And how did they know so much about him?
"Like, damn, kid, what did he see in you? You should've just listened to him the first time around and given up. What was it that he said…? Right! Be realistic. Although, you probably wouldn't've done much better as a detective or police officer, if I'm being honest."
"How… How do you… What…?" Midoriya choked out, fear weighing down his tongue and fogging his mind.
Who is this person, that they know something like that? It wasn't exactly a secret, but there was nobody around! It was only me and All Might on that rooftop!
The camera had been panning upwards while zooming into All Might's figure until only his shoulders and the back of his head were shown on screen.
"You got a lot to learn, kid, and you're not gonna learn it from UA. But I guess you're there and here for a reason, right? To save your friend, your mommy, maybe even keep that one obnoxious brat from doing something stupid? Well, stupider- don't know why you bother, that kid's annoying as all hell, but you Hero types never make much sense anyways."
The camera inched even closer to the back of All Might's head.
"Well, guess what? You can't do it. You're in over your head, boy, and have been since the day All Might chose you, of all people. You should've stayed Quirkless, took his advice, and stayed out of the way of the real Heroes… 'Cause all you are now..."
All Might's head turned towards the camera. His eyes...
Midoriya blanched. Horror, more than he'd ever felt, even when he was being suffocated by the Slime Villain, washed over him like a tidal wave. It felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on his chest, making it impossible to breathe.
"Midoriya?"
All Might's eyes weren't there. Black, empty sockets stared right at Midoriya, but it was almost as if they were looking through him. Blood trickled out of the voids, running down All Might's cheeks, trickling over his lips, staining his blindingly-white teeth crimson. His trademark smile, designed to ease the hearts of people in danger, looked like a pained grimace. The longer he looked, unable to peel his gaze away, the more the expression morphed into something sinister, something demonic.
"Midoriya?"
"Is a poser. A fake. A joke. A loser. A burden. And most of all…"
"Midoriya!?"
"...A failure."
"MIDORIYA!"
Izuku felt his body spring into action. Rushing towards the television, he grabbed the screen and lifted it off the table. All Might's warped visage still grinning at him mockingly, Midoriya threw the device at the floor, shattering it with ease. Its glaring light still bore into his soul, prompting him to stomp on it with all his might.
After what seemed like hours, it finally went dark. His chest rising and falling, the bloody image of his mentor was seared into his retinas, making him fall onto his knees as he almost, almost, vomited everything out of his stomach.
"MIDORIYA!"
The greenette finally remembered that there was someone else in the room with him. He looked up at the taller girl, a contrite expression plastered onto his face that was more appropriate for a child confessing that he'd wet the bed, rather than a young man who'd just had a psychotic break.
Yaoyorozu looked frightened. Her lips were parted slightly, eyes were the size of dinner plates.
They stared at each other in silence, the room quiet except for Midoriya's erratic breathing.
Yaoyorozu was the one to finally break the stalemate. "Midoriya… What… What happened?"
Midoriya blinked. "What… happened?"
Yaoyorozu looked at him, worried. "You… You were just staring at the screen and you wouldn't respond when I called you. You looked like... Like you saw something horrible. And then…" She gestured at the plastic shards and disjointed wiring littering the floor.
"What… What did you see?" Midoriya asked cautiously.
"I… Watched All Might doing things a Hero does. Fighting Villains, saving people from danger… What did you see?"
"I…" Midoriya rasped, taking a step back. Confusion was written all over his face and his throat felt drier than the desert. It was suddenly a struggle to stay on his feet.
"Midoriya? Are you… Are you alright?" Yaoyorozu asked, concern rising up five notches.
The green-haired teen's jaw flapped uselessly. Against his will, his eyes once more wandered to the broken heap on the floor that was the TV. "...I'm-I'm sorry." He looked up at Yaoyorozu, a manic gleam shining in his emerald pupils.
"W-We should go," Midoriya said abruptly, then walked quickly past Yaoyorozu. "C-Come on."
"O...Okay. Right." Yaoyorozu whispered as she followed Midoriya. Once they reached the door, Midoriya basically threw it open, startling the taller girl. He then stumbled his way into the dark hallway, doing his best to ignore the weight of her gaze on the back of his head.
Yaoyorozu followed him cautiously, she made the trek only a few meters before the boy came to a sudden halt. She also stopped, and reflexively scanned their surroundings to see what could have caught his attention. The hallway they stood in was in shambles; chipped, cracked plaster walls, holes in the ceiling, rotting wood floorboards. It looked different than the hallways they were once in.
Oh… Huh. We must be on a different floor then... Yaoyorozu decided. The thought sent the barest of chills up her spine- somehow, it was more unsettling to know that they'd been taken further than simply into a room next door, ignoring the fact that they'd been moved at all while unconscious. Upon remembering Midoriya's breakdown, she pushed the thought away and went to stand by Midoriya's side. The green-haired teen was hunched over, one hand on his knee and the other clutching at his head, fingers sinking into his curls.
She risked getting a little closer to him and saw just how pale his face was, his lips thinned into a tight, wavering line. Sweat beaded down his forehead, and he looked like he was going to hurl at any moment.
What… What could he have seen? He's acting like he saw something different than what I saw. But...
She never thought Midoriya would be prone to delusions. Sure, he was a mostly reserved kid who probably had some sort of social anxiety, but even so he always seemed fairly level-headed. But then again, she never really got to know him, did she? Perhaps this happened more often than she was aware of, and he learned to simply hide it from experience.
Still, though, what kind of hallucination would cause him to act as maniacally as he had five minutes ago?
"M-Midoriya?" She stepped a little closer to him, reaching out to place a feather-light touch on his shoulder. "Midoriya? Is… Is everything-?"
Midoriya whirled around, accidentally knocking her arm away from him. He peered at her with a wild glint in his eyes. "You only saw the documentary? Nothing else?"
"Wh-What? Uh… W-Well, I mean, I-"
"I saw the documentary too," he continued, bulldozing through her attempted explanation, "But it… It changed, all of a sudden. And… You didn't hear anything it was saying? Anything at all?"
Yaoyorozu decided to get to the bottom of this. "Midoriya, you obviously saw and heard something that I didn't. What was it?"
"I..." Midoriya paused. "You seriously didn't see anything? You're not lying?"
"What?" Yaoyorozu felt somewhat insulted by the accusation. Did he really think so little of her? "Of course I'm not! Why would I-?" She took a deep breath, forcibly calming down. She continued in a more gentle tone. "Midoriya, what did you see back there? Just tell me, please."
Midoriya stood there for a few more moments, before concluding that she wasn't lying. She seemed genuinely concerned for his wellbeing, and, looking back on it now, from her perspective he did sound and look quite deranged. Besides, he didn't have any reason to believe she'd lie to him about something like this - he was being far too paranoid. Although, considering the magnitude of the secret he was keeping, perhaps it was justified.
I definitely can't tell her about All Might and One For All. But I can't just not say anything… Should I make something up? She probably won't drop it until she gets a decent answer.
"Well, I-"
A noise echoed down the hallway.
Midoriya and Yaoyorozu both jumped in surprise, turning away from each other to face the direction the noise came from.
S-S-S-S-S-a-a-a-a-a-asgadkahhakddk…
The sound faded away.
"...What?" Midoriya mumbled, confused. His voice trembled a little as he stayed frozen in his spot
Yaoyorozu's body also refused to move, her knees knocking together endlessly as she let out a shudder.
...G-G-G-G-Gee-e-e-e-e-e-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-hegahdyfdhd...
"...He-Hello?" Midoriya called out into the inky darkness. He began taking slow, cautious steps to the sound. "I-Is anybody there?"
Yaoyorozu didn't want to head toward the mysterious sound, but she also didn't want to be left alone in this dark hallway. Letting out a loud gulp, she shone the flashlight on her collar onward down the hall as she followed him closely behind.
Neither made it very far, though, as another noise echoed down the corridor.
...Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo-ahvxchdbjhkfb...
Her stomach twisting and turning, she wanted nothing to do but to grab Midoriya's hand and turn the other way. After all, what are the chances that somebody wanted to be saved in this middle-of-nowhere tourist attraction full of health code violations?
But she kept her mouth shut. After all, what if it was somebody who was trapped here just like them?
As for Midoriya, he gulped nervously and trudged on.
The next groan sounded uncomfortably close.
...M-M-M-M-M-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-da-da-da-da-da-daaajhsdvsf...
...It also didn't sound human.
"Hello?" Midoriya tried again. "Who's there?"
...E-e-e-e-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yaaa-yorururururu-eskdnkfhssfhk!
Something stepped into the glow of their flashlights.
The teenagers' eyes widened in shock as soon as they had a clear view of what they were looking at.
This…thing - person? - was pale. Deadly pale. Midoriya had never seen such a thing, even in this world full of Quirks. No one's skin was that white, which made him wonder if this person (or thing) had ever seen the sunlight.
The pale being remained quite still, not even letting out a twitch. Still, his heart thudded harder with every second as he feared what this thing would do should they take one wrong step.
Taking a deep breath, Midoriya took a few more steps forward, their lights fully enveloping the figure-
Both Midoriya and Yaoyorozu gasped softly in fright.
"What... What are you?" Midoriya whispered in alarm to the thing.
Whatever or whoever this was, it was visibly nude, with not an ounce of hair, fur, or clothes on its pale body. But no genitalia either. Not even other features on its smooth, stark-white skin.
Sure, from a distance it passed off as human enough, having a regular pair of arms, legs, feet, hands, and a head.
But the head…it wasn't one that belonged to a man.
Izuku realized that this had hair after all, or at least some kind of mockery of it. Bushy, black tendrils grew out of the top of its head.
The thing looked at them, and the two gasped in fright as they saw how this man had no eyes. In place of his two eyes was an infinite nothing, with their light seemingly becoming sucked into the two voids.
Its mouth was pressed so tightly into a thin line that he wasn't sure if it could open.
All in all, this...creature just stood there...like a statue.
Staring at them with its big black eyes...
Midoriya and Yaoyorozu also stood there, their collar flashlights shining on it as they stared uneasily at this thing.
"...H-...Hello?" Midoriya said to it in hesitation.
The creature still stood there, not moving an inch…
...Until its head shook violently.
Both teens yelped.
And then...it yelled out something.
"O-O-O-O-O-O-AAAAAAH-H-H-H-H-H-Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-dododododskajahahhfff!"
Confused, but mostly terrified, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu began to back away.
"Y-Yaoyorozu?" Midoriya said to her as it kept yelling, keeping his eyes on the thing as he felt a little on edge, "G-Get something ready."
Yaoyorozu nodded, a little shaken, but doing as she was told. Hurriedly, she pulled down one of her stockings and tried to remember the molecular structure of a mallet, until-
"BAAAAA-BAAAAA-HBFDAHKFBAKHJFD!"
The monster lunged at Midoriya at such a fast sprint, it almost seemed inhuman.
Before Midoirya could react, the thing grabbed his head with both of its hands and began to shake him violently.
"AAACK-GF-FLA-UFF!" Midoriya exclaimed as his whole head was thrashing around from the creature's grip.
"MIDORIYA!" Yaoyorozu yelled out in horror, her eyes wide as she paused from her Creation making.
"BABABHABHSDAJAHDHFJSAKAYTTAJNYBYAVTYVAT!" The monster kept going with its wild yelling gibberish.
Meanwhile, Midoriya's neck felt like it's going to break from the violent vibrating and shaking from the monster.
"NO!" Yaoyorozu, filled with adrenaline, continued creating a metal long-handed mallet out of her leg. Once she fully created the mallet, she carried it in her hands and swung it down on the monster.
"BABABHSBHNFHGFS-"
WHAAAMM!
Yaoyorozu slammed the mallet down on the creature's arm, breaking it and releasing Midoriya. Midoriya staggered and fell back, landing on his rear, while the monster screamed out.
"AAAAAAM-NA-NAA-NNA-NA-MA-MMA-MA!" Staggering, it began to shake unnaturally, as its broken arm dropped to its side and wobbled unpleasantly, the thing shaking along with its whole body. The thing's head began to vibrate and shake as well, with its other arm reaching out to its victims as the appendage shook.
Yaoyorozu didn't wait any longer for it to recover. She swung the mallet at the monster's head.
WHAM!
She struck it, knocking the thing into a wall. It bounced off of it and landed hard on the ground on its side in a heap.
It then turned on its back as it lay there, limp...
Midoriya's neck hurts from being thrashed around, his collarbone feeling out of place thanks to his neck being violently shaken around by the creature. But right now, the pain was ignored as he was sitting there looking at this monstrosity with wide eyes filled with terror.
As Yaoyorozu stood over the downed monster, she breathed heavily as her adrenaline eased away. Staring down at the thing as her light shined on it, she observed the monster on the floor.
Upon close inspection, Yaoyorozu saw a resemblance to the monster with someone else...
"...Midoriya?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah?" said the voice of her classmate.
Yaoyorozu blinked and turned to Midoriya, "W-What?"
Midoriya looked at her in confusion, his eyes blinking as he still sat there, "You...called my name...did you?"
"...Oh...uh..." Yaoyorozu realized she said his name out loud instead of inside her mind. Thinking quickly, she asked him, "D-Do you-um, ha-...happen to know what...what this thing is?"
"Uh..." Midoriya then got himself up, staggering a bit after that shakedown as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I...no I don't. I don't know what kind of…" he squinted at the thing as the light flashed on it, "...person?" he grimaced, "I-I don't know what kind of...whatever this thing is."
The Creation Quirk user inwardly felt relieved that he went with what she said. She didn't want to say that this monster person here almost looked like…
Shaking her head, Yaoyorozu said, "W-Well...either way-"
Then, there were some loud pittering and pattering noises coming from behind Yaoyorozu…
She froze, not only because of the loud noises but because of Midoriya's expression. He seemed to look surprised and horrified as he stared at something behind her…
She turned around quickly, the metal mallet held tightly in her hands.
The monster looked to be convulsing on the floor, limbs flinging up and down as its head looked like it was vibrating.
"D-D-D-Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa!"
Then the creature puts its feet on the floor and pushes itself up, its legs and its free arm supporting its weight as it got back up in a rather disturbing way, the monster still shaking as it did this task.
Yaoyorozu looked at the thing with wide fearful eyes. She held the mallet firmly in her hands as she held it out in front of her like a bo staff, making some attempt to try to defend herself from the creature.
"Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-da-da-da-da-da-da-sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-shoooooooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoooo!"
"Y-You stay away from us..." Yaoyorozu tried to sound intimidating, but the stutter didn't help.
The monster just stood there as it shook…
"...AaAaAaAaAaaaahhh-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-maaaaaaaa!"
And then, it lunged at Yaoyorozu, grabbing onto the middle handle of the mallet, in between her grasped hands.
"AHHH!" Yaoyorozu screamed as she tried to back away, the creature's hand tight on the handle as it looked like it was shaking the mallet loose from her grasp.
"YAOYOROZU!"
Then, something ran past her, a viridian green blur.
The blur then rammed his head at the monster's stomach hard, the impact making it stumble and releasing the mallet handle as it fell on its back. Once it landed on the hallway floor again, the monster started to rapidly convulse like it did when it first went down.
Midoriya quickly turned to Yaoyorozu, his expression filled with concern. "Yaoyorozu, are you alright!?"
"I-I...I'm..." Yaoyorozu looked to be almost in a shocked daze, but upon seeing that the monster was still trying to get up, she yelled, "MIDORIYA! WATCH OUT!"
Before Midoriya could turn around and use an ordinary non-Quirk-induced punch at the creature, Yaoyorozu grabbed him and hastily push him out of the way. When the monster looked like it was about to stand up again, she held the handle of the metal mallet with her two hands and raised it above her head.
She swung it down.
WHAAAM-CRAAACK!
She brought the head of the mallet down on the monster's forehead, slamming it with such force that the impact made the creature drop forward like a piece of lead. She also heard the audible crack that the weapon emitted when it struck the abomination. The monster went back down on the floor, this time on its front.
Yaoyorozu breathed heavily for a moment from the second rush of adrenaline. She could only hope this thing would stay down now…
"Yaoyo-...rozu…"
The girl heard her name in what sounded like...a desperate plea...but the voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"W-What?" Yaoyorozu looked down at the body in front of her.
"Y-...Yaoyorozu..."
The monster then began picking itself up with its other working arm and hand, its knees on the floor as it pushed its body up, slumping over as the thing's head droops down. She noted that below where the creature's face was, there were shattered pieces that were on the floor. As soon as she was about to wonder what they were, the monster turned its head up, its face now looking up at her…
Yaoyorozu's eyes widened like saucers, her eyes shone in terror and horror. Her throat went dry and her heart stopped.
"Wh-Wha-What?" she whispered in fright.
The face that was looking up at her…
The monster's...face was cracked. Almost like it was made of porcelain. The half of this thing's face was present, but what cracked away from that visage's other half was…
"...Now, why would you do that?"
...The face was...
"Y-Yaoyorozu?" said Midoriya's voice.
Yaoyorozu turned her head back to glance at the boy behind her...
The fearful but concerned expression of Midoriya was evident on his face. However, there was slight confusion in his eyes…
"...I-I-...wha-" Yaoyorozu was about to speak until she felt a firm grasp on her ankle.
SNATCH!
"AAH!" she yelled in fright, instantly turning her head back down at the monster.
The monster - Maybe? She doesn't know! - grabbed her ankle, and looked up at her, its whole head beginning to vibrate and shake again.
"YAOYOROZU!" Midoriya - the real one - exclaimed to her in alarm.
Looking down at the monster's vibrating face, Yaoyorozu felt the hand that was grasping her ankle begin to shake and vibrate as well in an inhuman matter.
"NO!" Yaoyorozu then brought the hard mallet down on the monster.
WHAM!
Yaoyorozu stuck it down on its head.
"AAAAAHAHAHDHBFBSDKBBGJBSJGA!"
A new surge of adrenaline coursed through her veins and she began to start hammering the creature on the head.
WHAM!
"AAAAGGSGSGDHARARSFDA!"
The thing's hand was loosening its grip on her ankle.
Yaoyorozu slammed the mallet on it again.
WHAM!
"AGAGAHAGHAHaaahAGhgaAAA!"
Its hand, while still shaking, lets go of Yaoyorozu's ankle.
Now free from the thing's grip, she went all out on it, hitting the monster over and over again.
WHAM!
"AAAAAAAAHRARARARAHaaaarearafjfjk!"
WHAM!
"AGRGRUUUasghahdhfhf…"
WHAM!
"AAAAAAAaaaAAAAAaaaaAAAAAaaaaaAAAaaaaaaa…"
WHAM!
"AAAAoooooaaaooooooaooooao-ao-ao-ooooooo-aaaaaaa-ooooo-aaaaa…"
Yaoyorozu stopped slamming the mallet on it as she breathed heavily, her eyes in sheer horror.
"...O…o…oo…"
She stared down at the creature, the thing with its face down, shielding its visage...
It went quiet…
However...Yaoyorozu noticed something else…
The monster was…bleeding.
A pool of blood was under its head, soaking in the blue carpet where its face was.
Her eyes widened even further in terror, as she began to realize…
Could...I mean...did I...what did I-
"Yayorozu?"
"AAAH!" Yaoyorozu yelled out. Then out of survival instinct, she whacked the dead body with her mallet.
WHAM!
"Yaoyorozu!?"
She brought the mallet down on the monster again.
WHAM!
"STOP IT!" Yaoyorozu screamed.
WHAM!
"Yaoyorozu!"
WHAM!
"STOP IT!"
"YAOYOROZU!"
WHAM!
"STOP IT!"
"YAOYOROZU, STOP!"
WHAM!
…Yaoyorozu stopped.
...It was Midoriya's voice. Not...his voice.
...She turned around at the voice behind her.
Midoriya, while still alarmed, also looked shocked…and concerned.
"...M-Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu softly said.
"Y-Yeah..." Midoriya gulped, "Are...are you alright?"
"...I...It..." She turned her attention to the dead body in front of her, the blood now spreading and staining more of the carpet floor, letting it get underneath her boots. Looking down at it, she began to wonder if what she saw…was real?
"...M-Midoriya?" she asked him with a scared stutter, "Did…Did this thing... talk?"
Midoriya looked at her in confusion. "Um…w-well, it was...it was just sprouting out gibberish, if that's what you mean."
"I…no, I meant…" Yaoyorozu took a deep breath, "Did...did it call my name? D-Did it say Y-Yaoyorozu?"
"Huh? Uh…n-no."
...Yaoyorozu backed away from the body, the blood now under her boots as they made bloody footprints. "Oh…"
Midoriya, now worried for his classmate, reached his hand out to place it on her shoulder. She jumped as she turned around, firmly securing the mallet in her hands close to her with a surprised look at him.
"H-Hey…" Midoirya raised his hands to let her know that he wasn't doing anything, "It's okay...w-we're fine."
"...Midoriya, did I...did I just kill someone?" Yaoyorozu asked the dreaded question.
The young man blinked and looked around his classmate to see the body. He now noticed, thanks to the clip-on light, that it was lying in its own pool of blood.
Midoriya gawked at the scene. Whoa...is...is that actual blood? Midoriya thought in shock.
Looking back at Yaoyorozu, his expression morphed into fear, but upon seeing his classmate's expression, her face contorting with guilt and shame, he decided to say something to try to comfort her on what she just experienced and done.
"Y-Yaoyorozu…I...I don't know what we just witnessed, or even what we encountered, but...it...well, it attacked us. So...we...we had no choice," Midoriya tried to reassure her, "You had no choice…"
The taller girl didn't look convinced at first, but when she saw his eyes, full of comfort and assurance, she took a deep breath and sighed through her nose, calming herself down.
"...Y-Yes...we...we had no choice," she said in a hushed tone with a nod.
"Yeah…" Midoriya glanced at the creature's body one more time, and back at Yaoyorozu, "C-Come on. Let's go this way," he pointed behind him.
"R-Right..." Yaoyorozu nodded.
Midoriya and Yaoyorozu then went the other direction of the hallway, the flashlights shining brightly down the run-down and shambled hall.
They walked in silence, still shaken from their ordeal.
After a minute, Yaoyorozu spoke out while they walked, "I...I wonder what that...thing was?"
"I...I don't know," admitted Midoriya, "But, that thing, it didn't look like…like it was a person, I would think."
Yaoyorozu hummed in agreement, "It really didn't...I mean, maybe that's because that thing's Quirk made it look like that, but...what was all that shaking it did then? Was that also it's Quirk?"
And seeing Midoriya's face...what...what could that have entailed? What relation to the thing's Quirk would've made it do that? And why? Yaoyorozu thought curiously.
Midoriya was silent for a moment, until he replied back, "I don't know if that person...well, I don't know if it even had a Quirk."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Yaoyorozu asked him, puzzled.
"I mean...well, it just looked...too abnormal. Even in mutant Quirk standards, it just didn't…look right."
"...But, it had to have a Quirk...right?" Yaoyorozu tried to make sense of that.
"...It could be some sort of..." Midoriya shook his head, "No...why would the League of Villains be here?"
"What?" Yaoyorozu uttered, her eyes widened, "The League of Villains?"
"It's just a theory, but…that creature we saw…could be something that the League could've made." Midoriya speculated.
"Wait...are you saying the League of Villains could be here?" Yaoyorozu asked him in concern.
"...That I don't know," Midoriya said with a frown, "But that makes it the more reason to find my mother and Kaa-chan. And maybe even warn the others as well."
Yaoyorozu was quiet as she absorbed that information.
Hmm...but would they even go this far away from not only Musutafu, but away from Tokyo?
She feels like there were some flaws in that theory...in fact...how would Midoriya's mother be able to get kidnapped that quickly? When was the last time Midoriya saw his mother? They left for Chinmoku around exactly twelve o'clock at noon, so whoever kidnapped his mother, would've gotten her in the early hours of the morning, probably after Midoriya left his home, she would think. Maybe it did make sense a little bit, but the people who captured his mother would have had some great time management if they could have done this. Also, why would they kidnap Midoriya's mother of all people? The Villain sounded like he knew a little bit about Midoriya as well...
She was about to ask those questions when they reached a dead-end intersection, hallways to the left and right.
"Huh…" Midoriya looked to his left and right to see if the hallways had an end to them. Thinking of how to proceed from here, he told Yaoyorozu, "Maybe we can split up. I'll go left and you go right?"
"Um...okay..." Yaoyorozu didn't know about going off in a different direction on her own, but she was training to be a Hero, and she needed to be heroic in times like these.
Midoriya senses Yaoyorozu's discomfort, and tells her, "Hey, no worries. I honestly believe you can take care of yourself. A-And if you ever need help, just call me…well, not on our phones, but…well, g-give me a holler?"
Yaoyorozu smiled softly and nodded, "I will. Thanks."
Nodding as well with a reassuring smile at his classmate, Midoriya then went to his left, as Yaoyorozu went to her right.
As soon as Yaoyorozu ventured off by herself, to the right of the hallway with the mallet in her left hand, she instantly felt alone...
No. Keep going...you're going to be a Hero! You should act like one! In fact, you saved Midoriya! That was a heroic thing to do, right? ...Although, I think I killed that…that monster-looking person.
Shaking her head to clear away any dreadful thoughts, Yaoyorozu kept going forward…
As she passed certain room doors in the hallway, she wondered what floor they were on. Almost passing a room door to her left, she stopped to look at the room number plaque on the side of the door to see which floor they were on...
The plaque said 217.
Blinking at this, she realized that they were on the second floor.
But...we were on the first floor… Yaoyorozu glanced around the hallway to see her surroundings, I mean, it makes sense, I guess. We're definitely not where we were...but why would they put us on the second floor when we're trying to get to the third floor to find Midoriya's mother?
She looked down at the room's doorknob.
...
She felt like checking to see if these rooms were even open...
Yaoyorozu reached for the doorknob and twisted it…
...The door opened.
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu uttered in shock, "It's...opened?"
While holding the doorknob, she opened the door...and went into a dark apartment room.
Her light flashed inside the room, where she stood in the foyer. She turned to her left and saw the foyer leading to the main living room. Coming up to it, she saw that the room was in total disarray. There was a worn couch, some chairs haphazardly placed, and scattered plaster debris all over the floor.
It looked haunting in a way...the whole area hasn't been lived in for so long, yet it still remains...now the only things present were the remnants of what the room left behind...
Yaoyorozu walked around the debris in the main room, looking around to see if there was anything of interest. To the bottom left of the room, there was a dirty-looking kitchen with a partly opened fridge. Deciding to go over there to check what could possibly be in the fridge, she made her way there.
The fridge looked surprisingly clean. Curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly grabbed the handle, cautiously opening the fridge door as she leaned forward, the light shining inside of it.
Inside the fridge, there was...a brown bag. A bag that was propped on the top shelf inside the fridge.
"A...bag?" Yaoyorozu said curiously.
The bag looked like there was something inside of it, the bottom of it stained by…whatever substance it secreted out from. The stain was a blackish color...whatever the bag contained, it might have expired...
Scrunching her nose in disgust, Yaoyorozu stood back up and was about to close the fridge door...
...Until a deep distorted voice rang out.
I walked.
Yaoyorozu gasped and blinked, standing straight as she looked around the room.
I could do nothing but walk.
...It sounded like...it came from...
The young woman looked back at the opened fridge...
...She slowly reached out and opened the fridge door again, the feeling of alarm, confusion, and dread seeping through her.
Not knowing what else was inside this fridge, she leaned forward once more to look for anything.
...It was just the same stained brown paper bag.
"...H-Hello?" Yaoyorozu softly said, her tone displaying some fear in it.
...I could only walk. The paper bag crinkled and…spoke.
Gasping in fright, Yaoyorozu backed away from the fridge. Eyes widened in terror, Yaoyorozu tried to understand how a talking bag is…speaking to her.
What was inside it? And...come to think of it, was the stain on the brown bag...
Blood?
She stared at the bag...she got close to the fridge again, and looked straight at this supposed bloodied bag.
...It crinkled as it spoke again.
But then...I saw me walking in front of myself. But...it wasn't really me...
Watch out.
This place...it's...a separate reality.
The only me is me...are you sure the only you is you ?
...And it went silent...
...Yaoyorozu felt uncomfortable.
She wanted to see what was inside this bag...but at the same time, she didn't.
...She went with the latter. She doesn't want to find out. She just wants to go. Now.
And so, as she left the fridge open, she turned around and power walked out of the room…
WATCH OUT.
"Ah!" she almost tripped over her feet, but stood her ground, and rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her.
SLAM!
Breathing heavily as she leaned on the door with her hands, Yaoyorozu gulped some air and calmed herself. Upon doing so, she pushed herself off the door and backed away from the room.
I...I really need someone here with me.
Yaoyorozu decided to go back to Midoriya. So she went down the opposite way to find him.
Midoriya walked up to the hallway, passing room doors as his light shined through the darkness of the hall. As he kept walking, he thought back to their encounter with the monster(he feels bad calling it that, but it did look like one…in a way).
That was a close one...that thing almost dislocated my neck. But...what was it? Was it like that Nomu thing that the League of Villains made? Are they somehow involved?
He then thought about Yaoyorozu's reaction to the monster when she beat the creature to death…
Man...poor Yaoyorozu. She might have actually killed that thing. Granted, it attacked us, but that must be scarring to her…I don't blame her.
Midoriya stopped and glanced down at the torn carpet floor with a frown.
...Still, I don't know what made her so...well, wild like that. I know the first time around she was trying to save me, but...she went ballistic when the creature was already down. She kept hammering it like it was still alive...like it was attacking her...
Shaking his head, Midoriya kept going down the hall. He then thought back to his mother...
Mom...just hold on. I'll get you out of here. Midoriya's expression turned committed. I won't let this Villain hurt you.
As he walked, he was also curious about what floor they were on as well. Upon being next to a door, he looked at the room plaque next to the door.
"204?" Midoriya muttered in surprise, "We're on the second floor?"
Then, a creaking sound erupted a little bit to his right.
Jumping at the sound, Midoriya whipped to his right, the flashlight shining at the source.
...It looked like the room door next to the one he was standing in front of opened slightly.
"...Huh?" Midoriya uttered.
He went over to the partly opened door, taking easy steps...
"H-Hello?" Midoriya called out to whomever.
Once he was close to the door, he warily looked at it, wondering who opened it. It also looked like he could squeeze through the opening, which he decided to try to do. Maneuvering to peek inside the room, the flashlight shined into the interior of the room's main living area.
Everything looked...well, empty, save for the cabinet, and the worn and torn couch.
Deciding to enter, Midoriya did so, and investigated the apartment room. It all appeared to be vacant, with the kitchen to his left and the living area he's in being in total dirty disarray. As he walked into the living area, there was also a door to his right, and to his left, a foyer to two other rooms on each side.
"Hello?" Midoriya spoke out inside the room.
Upon not having an answer, he went over to the door to his right to check out where it would lead.
He grabbed the handle of the door and slid it open.
...From what he could tell by the light's glow, it was...a kid's room...
Midoriya blinked, "What?"
Upon seeing the light baby blue walls, the desk next to him to his left of the entrance with a computer on it, along with the bed at the left wall, some cabinets on the right wall with figurines on it, and the posters of All Might and of other Heroes on the walls, the young man could only feel like he's entering a little boy's room.
As he shone the light in the room, he also noted something else...
...It was strangely clean.
"What the...?" Midoriya walked up inside the room and looked around the area. He glanced at the bed, which was made really well. The covers were clean and spread on there, and two pillows were laid on the top of the bed.
Looking around some more, he sees some of the All Might posters and realizes something...
"...Hey...I…have these posters in my room…"
Midoriya wondered if...
He glanced up at the ceiling to see...that there was an All Might poster on it as well.
Confusion written all over his face, Midoriya was wondering if this Villain, or whoever they were, was playing a game with him…
As he redirected his light to the desk, the computer on the desk was also a flat-screen...it looked like the one in his room back at his apartment...
Cautiously heading to the desk, he observed the computer in front of him.
There was an orange light next to the monitor button.
...Hey...this computer is on.
But how could that be?
...Well, there was the lamp and the TV in that one apartment room that was turned on...but still...
He looked at the computer monitor for a moment, the light on the monitor button still on...
...Deciding to push the button on the computer monitor, he turned it on.
...It came on slowly but surely…
...The monitor revealed that the whole screen was red, with white lettered font on it.
...It had a message on it.
Midoriya's eyes widened in alarm.
It said on the screen...
CHECK UNDER THE FIRST PILLOW.
Turning around quickly, Midoriya was expecting a fight on his hands as he prepared his fists up just in case.
...No one was there.
Midoriya lowered his guard just a bit and glanced at the first pillow on the bed. However, he noticed something even more disturbing.
Hey...even the covers on the bed have All Might's image on it!
Shaking the thought and uneasy feeling that this guy who kidnapped his mother may know him more than he thought, he went over to the pillow on the left side of the bed. Looking down at it, the pillow looked harmless enough...reached for the pillow and grabbed it, checking what was underneath it.
...Midoriya's eyes again widened, but this time in shock.
Letting go of the pillow and fully seeing what was under it...
…was a gun.
"A...A gun?" Midoriya muttered in a mixture of fright and confusion. He turned around back to the screen...
The message changed.
USE IT.
…Midoriya is wondering what this person's game is.
Japan's gun laws were pretty strict...so, who had gotten this? Some underground criminal organization? A Villain?
...Wait...Donburousuki has a gun...
When realizing that…
...Could...I mean...could he really have been a...a Villain?
He just now realized this...they were so preoccupied with finding his mother, that he forgot how Donburousuki even had that gun.
...Wait. No. Midoriya thought, Donburousuki may have gotten his gun from...w-wherever he might've found it. Maybe from whoever is behind this whole thing...whatever this thing is. And...the person Donburousuki shot...
It was then that Midoriya was now beginning to believe he did shoot that man.
...Was the person shot...was he a Villain? Or...what…
His mind was doing backflips at this point. He can't believe this revelation just hit him until now...
...Which raised some more questions for him.
Is...Is whoever doing this...giving us guns?
He looked at the screen again...and realized the message changed once again.
USE THE GUN. YOU DON'T WANT TO OVERUSE YOUR QUIRK ANYTIME SOON, DO YOU ?
"...Who are you?" Midoriya asked the screen in a breathless tone.
The message was still on the screen...
Until it changed into a different one.
WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO BE.
...Midoriya wasn't expecting that answer.
It changed again.
NOW GO ON AHEAD, HERO.
And it changed one more time...
SAVE THE DAY.
And it turned off by itself.
...Midoriya felt some unease creep into him.
It was all silent...until-
...Oooo-o-o-o-o-a-a-a-a-a-a-ahhh-h-h-h-h-h-h-a-a-a-a-a-aaaaa!
"H-Huh?" Midoriya stood straight, alarmed. "What? That…no, that can't be-"
A-A-A-A-A-AHAHAHAHA-A-A-A-AHAHAHAHAH-A-A-A-A-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA!
And then, something dashed into the room.
It stopped when it entered the room, its position being a few feet away from Midoriya's position, with its side facing the front of him.
Midoriya's eyes went wide as his fears were realized.
It was the monster that Yaoyorozu beat down to death.
It's…It's alive!?
The thing stood there...until its head started to vibrate and shake.
Or...is this...is this another one?
He couldn't think about it in time, as the monster's head snapped still as it turned and looked at Midoriya.
The young man gasped.
...The creature still looked at the boy with its black empty eyes...until its head started to shake again. It then turned its whole body, which was also twitching and shaking, at Midoriya while his head was still vibrating.
Midoriya had to think fast…
Use it.
Midoriya turned his head towards the gun on the bed.
…Can I?
He turned his head back at the creature-
It charged at him!
"AAAH!" Midoriya dived and ducked to the bed's side and grabbed the gun, the monster basically almost grabbing his head once more with its bare hands. However, when doing that, Midoriya kicked his leg out at the thing's chest, and it staggered a bit while it was still shaking. Landing on his rear, Midoriya, with eyes closed and the gun being in both of his hands, swung it to aim and fired in random directions, hoping it would scare the monster.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
OOO-oaha-ack-ooff-o-o-o-o-oooo-aaaaa…
And then…
PLOP!
...Midoriya opened his eyes.
...His flashlight shined on the thing...
It was lying on its front...and it wasn't moving...and it had two small holes on its back and on the back of its head.
...A puddle of blood was forming underneath the creature.
Midoriya looked at the now-dead thing on the floor.
"...I...I...I killed it," he said in shock.
After that realization sunk in, Midoriya began to shakily get up off the floor, the gun now in his right hand.
He seemed to have shot the monster two times, which made him drop dead instantly. However, Midoriya saw that he also shot the computer monitor and made a gunshot hole on one of the All Might posters.
Seeing the dead body on the floor that was done in by Midoriya...made him feel...
It made him feel sick to his stomach.
"I…killed it," Midoriya whispered to himself, stunned at what he did.
...Midoriya stood there, motionless, as he watched the puddle of blood grow larger out of the monster's deceased body.
[A While Ago]
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Yaoyorozu abruptly stopped her run in the hallway.
"Wh-What was...?" Yaoyorozu's heart stopped as she could only think what that sound was.
Gunshots!
Yaoyorozu then put two and two together.
"Midoriya!" she yelled in a panic. She dashed through the hall.
Once she was at the intersection, she heard something else...
SHIIICK...SHIIICK...SHIIICK!
Once again, she stopped abruptly, this time at the hallway intersection from where they split up.
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu looked to her left in the hallway from which they came at.
...SHIIICK…SHIIICK!
...There was a figure coming through the inky blackness of the darkened hallway.
As her flashlight shone on the figure...her eyes widened in absolute fright.
"What...What...?" Yaoyorozu spoke out softly in terror.
After quickly maneuvering over the dead body and trying not to be sick from the fact he killed something, Midoriya exited the room, breathing heavily as he took a moment to catch his breath in the living area.
"Just…Just stay calm," Midoriya breathed out a mutter, calming his beating heart, "I-I may have...k-killed something or...or someone, but...it...it-it wasn't...I-I mean, was it?"
"Midoriya!?" shouted the voice of...Yaoyorozu?
A figure then charged inside the room. Midoriya was glad he recognized the voice, or else he would have aimed and shot Yaoyorozu.
When she came into the living room area with her mallet, she stopped in front of the boy. Upon quickly observing his state, her eyes widened as she noticed something in Midoriya's right hand.
"Wh-What? Mi-Midoriya? Why do you have a…?" Yaoyorozu spoke in a shocked tone.
Seeing where her gaze was at Midoriya instantly defended himself, "I-I-I found it in the room behind me! I had to use it! That monster came back, I think!"
"What?" Yaoyorozu repeated again, this time in surprise.
"Yeah, but I...I…" Midoriya gulped, "...I shot it."
...SHIIICK...SHIIICK...SHIIICK!
Upon hearing the noise, Midoriya blinked in confusion.
"What…What is that?"
Yaoyorozu shot straight up as she remembered. "Midoriya! There's someone else here!"
"Huh? T-There is?" Midoriya asked in alarm.
"Yes! And this person, a man, I-I think, has a weapon!"
"A weapon? What-What is it?"
"A…A sword? It was big, but-"
SHIIIICK!
Midoriya's expression then turned serious. He couldn't stand here and do nothing. He has to keep his classmate safe.
"Hold on!" He then dashed out of the room.
"Midoriya! Wait!" Yaoyorozu tried to reach out to him, but he was already out. When she was about to run after him, she noticed something on the floor next to the room that Midoriya went out of.
...A bloody shoeprint.
The room's floor across from her seemed to be also stained with a red substance...
Blood.
Seeing the sight sent shivers down her spine. She quickly made her way out of the apartment to follow Midoriya.
Once she exited the apartment, she found her classmate in a ready stance as he carried the gun in both of his hands, to fire it at whatever was coming their way.
"Come on out! Show yourself!" Midoriya yelled out.
...SHIIICK...
...It turned quiet.
Yaoyorozu's heart was beating furiously, and Midoriya looked out in the darkness from his flashlight, ready to take fire when necessary.
...SHIIICK...SHIIICK...
And then…the flashlight illuminated a figure.
Midoriya's eyes went slightly wide.
The person looked...like something out of a horror movie.
The man(it was a man from what Midoriya could tell) from toe to head, was barefoot and is wearing gray sweatpants, stained with...red blood. The man was also bare-chested, having a strong physique. His skin, though, looked brown...which also looked like it was carved up by a knife. Scars and cut skin were all over his chest and strong arms.
But that wasn't the most disturbing part of the man.
The head…was basically a mascot's head placed on his head.
The head was green, for one thing, and it looked like a cartoon...rabbit. With long ears, big wide blue eyes, and a cartoonish smile with two buck teeth coming out of its top mouth.
It looked like a cartoon rabbit head that you see in carnivals and theme parks…
But this person didn't radiate any fun times at all.
In fact, what he was dragging in his right hand...was what looked like a large knife…maybe a sword?
What was also in his left hand, was him dragging the dead monster that Yaoyorozu had done in by its ankle.
"What...Who are you?" Midoriya asked the man as he put on a brave face.
The man just stood there...and advanced towards Midoriya and Yaoyorozu.
SHIIICK!
The sound of the large knife-sword being dragged on the floor made itself known.
"H-Hey...stay back," Midoriya told this individual, "D-Don't make me use this!"
Yaoyorozu stood behind Midoriya as she watched, unsure as to what she could do at this point.
The man still trudged on.
"Stay back!" Midoriya yelled out at the figure.
The green mascot-head-wearing person still kept coming, barely closing the gap between them as he was almost about thirteen feet away from them…
"I'm warning you!"
SHIIICK!
"Don't make me shoot!"
SHIIICK!
"M-Midoriya? I-I don't think he's gonna stop," Yaoyorozu told him in dread.
Midoriya gritted his teeth, unsure if he could pull the trigger on this guy.
SHIIICK!
"...Please don't make me shoot," Midoriya begged the person.
SHIIICK!
He stopped about six feet in front of him. With his right arm, he looked like he was lifting the knife-sword with only one hand, or at least he looked like he was trying to...and it looked like he could actually pull it off as he really did lift the heavy weapon up a bit.
"MIDORIYA!" Yaoyorozu screamed, her eyes wide with panic.
He has no choice.
"Shit!" Midoriya then pulled the trigger.
BANG!
[Bakugou]
Bakugou's eyes snapped open.
"What the…?" he muttered in confusion.
He was sitting on the floor...back against the wall.
"...What the fuck?"
Bakugou grabbed his forehead and grunted at the dizzy feeling he had in his mind. Getting up from his spot, he struggled to regain his balance, until he could fully stand.
"How did I...?" Bakugou didn't finish the question as he looked around the area where he was at.
It was a hallway...but it looked different.
For one, the overhead lamps in the hall were on.
"...What the hell is this?" Bakugou asked himself, "The fuckin' lights are on?"
As he mulled about this he spotted a room plaque on the other side of an apartment door.
Getting closer to it, he read the plaque.
"...418?" he muttered with a squint. "What in the...I'm on the fuckin' fourth floor?"
If that's true, then...
"Auntie Inko is on the third floor below me?" Bakugou stated out loud. "Wait...what the hell am I doing on the fourth floor?"
Bakugou looked around the hallway, wondering how it was possible to even be on the fourth floor when he was on the second floor just a while ago.
"...Tch! What kind of bullshit is this?" Bakugou sneered, "What was even the point of putting me on the fourth floor when I'm gonna go down it?"
He went to his left and ran down through the hall. "Doesn't fuckin' matter! I got to save Auntie Inko!"
So he ran...
...and ran...
...and ran…
...and ran…
...and ran.
Passing a multitude of apartment room doors, Bakugou started to get annoyed.
"Shit! Where the fuck is the stairway to this place!?" Bakugou growled.
Apparently, Bakugou was running in a straight line...which would make this apartment complex very long.
After a while of running, the blonde teen decided to stop, as it was getting him nowhere.
"Son of a-come on! I need a fuckin' door to the fuckin' stairway!" Bakugou yelled out.
...Not a single sound.
Bakugou growled, "...Shit. I just have to keep going. But if I don't get any progress in the next fuckin' minute, then I'm just gonna blast some doors down."
Nodding to that, Bakugou just kept going forward, but this time he power-walked down the hall.
...After a while of rushing through the corridor, he heard a voice.
"Kacchan!"
Bakugou stopped in his tracks.
"What the…Deku?" Bakugou murmured.
It was quiet all of a sudden…
"Kacchan? Where are you?"
The blonde sneered, "What the fuck is that idiot doing? And what's he doing here on the fourth floor?" he muttered.
"Kacchan, I think I found something!"
Raising a brow, Bakugou continued forward, this time now back to running.
"Where the fuck are you, ya damn Deku!?" Bakugou called out.
...No reply from Midoriya.
Bakugou gritted his teeth and growled, "Hey! I asked where are you, you piece of-"
...And then, Bakugou saw a red light in the distance.
Once again, Bakugou stopped as he looked on at the red light in puzzlement.
"What?" he murmured.
"...Kacchan! Come here!"
Curling his lip up, Bakugou muttered to himself, "What the fuck is Deku pulling here?"
And so he went forward down the hall, this time at an even and cautious pace.
The red light's glow grew larger as he came a little closer.
"I swear, if Deku is fucking with me, then I'll blow his ass to the curb," Bakugou grumbled.
But once he was close to the red light's glow…
What seemed to be the fourth time, Bakugou halted in his tracks.
"...What the fuck?" Bakugou blinked and raised an eyebrow.
The red glow...somehow radiated off a person, behind some metal barred gate.
It looked like...a samurai.
The armor looked metallic, the color of it black as night. However, the armor…didn't look like it was armor to begin with.
It looked like it was a part of its skin.
But the only part of the samurai that was clearly noticeable, was its head...
Two red horns were sticking out of each side of the head's temples, and the samurai's helmet and headgear were also looking like it was part of its body as well.
The face, however...was just a mask.
It was a red porcelain face mask that had horizontal slit eyes, with orange orbs in the middle of the slits as eyes. The mouth...had two long front-tusked teeth, while the bottom of the mouth had equal long-tusked jaws. The whole face mask looked like something an ancient samurai would wear...
The last thing Bakugou noted was that its left hand was holding onto the handle of its...rather broad, curved, and long katana.
Bakugou stared at the samurai...and scoffed. "And who the fuck are you supposed to be?"
...It remained silent.
"...Well? Ain't you gonna say anything?" he taunted.
...The samurai looked like it was staring him down with its beady orange eyes.
Bakugou kept staring at the person until it transformed into a glare.
"Tch! Whatever. If you're working for the guy who kidnapped Auntie Inko, then your ass is burnt toast, you hear me!?" Bakugou threatened him.
The samurai just...stared at him.
Growling at the samurai for not responding, Bakugou grumbled out curses as he mumbled, "Yeah, you better not say nothin'."
...Then, the samurai lifted his right leg and slightly kicked something metal.
Ping!
"Huh?" Bakugou looked down.
Going through the bottom openings of the barred gate, there was...a key.
"...The fuck?" Bakugou looked at the key for a second. "...What's this?"
The samurai still kept its eyes on Bakugou...until he turned around to walk away into the other side of the darkened hallway.
"Huh?" Bakugou looked up at the samurai, who was leaving. "Hey! Where are the fuck are you going!?"
The samurai didn't respond at all as it kept walking away, further into the darkness...until it was seen no more.
"...Tch! Bitch," Bakugou sneered. He looked down at the key.
After a couple of seconds of staring at it, he decided to pick it up. Once he did, he examined it.
The key looked old and worn and had one number on the end of it.
004
"...Four?" Bakugou mumbled, "The hell does this mean?"
He glanced at each of his sides from left and right to see if there was any door that was labeled this number...
Upon looking to his left, however, he sees a door with the number 004 on it.
Blinking at that and glancing at the key again, Bakugou looked back at the door. "...Hmph. Well, that's fuckin' convenient."
He went to the door and used the key on the doorknob.
"This better get me where Auntie Inko is..." Bakugou grumbled.
He unlocked it, which made him open the door.
He entered the room, which was lit up by a single lightbulb in the middle of the room.
"Hm?" Bakugou went further in…
...and the door slammed behind him.
SLAM!
Bakugou turned around fiercely, getting his hands ready to blow up anything that stood in his way.
"Hey! What's your-"
"Kacchan?"
Bakugou quickly turned around again, "Huh? Deku?"
The lightbulb then began to flicker...until it went out.
"...Hey! What the fuck is this? You trying to freak me out, ya stupid Deku!?" Bakugou warned him in the dark.
...Then, the lights flickered back on...
...But Midoriya was there...hanging by the neck...with a rope.
Bakugou's eyes went wide with shock. "What the fuck!?"
Then the light went dark again.
...And the light went on once more, but a chair was placed under the lightbulb.
And there was something on it.
Not knowing what he had just seen, Bakugou stood there stunned. Once he regained his senses, he looked at what was on the chair.
It was a burnt notebook.
"...Wait. Is that...?" Bakugou went up to the object on the chair.
It can't be...that thing is wrecked beyond recognition!
But as he went closer to the chair, it turned out...it was what he thought it was.
...That...That IS Deku's stupid Hero Notebook! The one I blew up!
Feeling a little peeved that whoever is behind this is showing something that he did to Midoriya, he exclaimed, "What the fuck is your game!?"
Whenever there wasn't an answer, Bakugou could only growl in anger.
"Feh!" He went over to the notebook and grabbed it, "How the fuckin' hell did this shithead even get this?" He opened the ruined notebook and looked in its contents. From what he could tell, there were different handwritten entries and drawings by Deku on specific kinds of Quirks that he encountered...
"...Tch! Dumbass Deku. Thinks he's got the balls to hide his Quirk from me? That little piece of shit." Bakugou mumbled bitterly.
He turned another torn and burnt page...and another...and then another…
"Tch...that worthless bastard. He thinks he can compare himself to me?" Bakugou said in distaste.
He turned another page…
...Bakugou paused in his observation, his expression looking a little surprised.
There was a message on it...a single message on one white and untouched page.
You should die.
"...The hell?" Bakugou muttered.
He then turned to another fresh white page.
A new line came up.
You should just die.
"...Did Deku write this?"
It looks like his shitty handwriting…
He turned to another page…
Die.
Bakugou, not knowing if this is some sort of twisted weird joke, just went to another page.
Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE.
DIE. DIE. DIE.
"...What the fuck?" Weirded out by this 'entry', Bakugou wrinkled his nose up at these writings.
Did Deku...really write this shit?
Morbid curiosity overcame the blonde teen male, and he turned one last page…
I.
SHOULD.
DIE.
"The fucking..." Bakugou has to admit, he's a little disturbed.
No...Deku wouldn't kill himself. That idiot is too full of whatever crap he got built up in him. Why would he even do so now? He's in fuckin' UA, the bastard!
Bakugou harrumphed and tossed the notebook aside in the room.
"What was the damn point of that, huh!?" Bakugou exclaimed at whoever could be listening, "You trying to make me feel bad and shit? Feh! That Deku wouldn't do anything that drastic. He's too Hero-obsessed to do anything that stupid..."
...The light flickered.
"...Hmph! Well, congratulations, you wasted my motherfucking time! I'm finding Auntie Inko one way or another, so don't get in my way with this sympathy crap, you pieces of shit!"
...The light flickered again and went off.
"For fuck's sake, I'm outta here," Bakugou mumbled as he turned around in the dark, trying to find the door.
Then...footsteps.
"Wha?" Bakugou turned around to wherever the footsteps were.
...The light flickered back on...and standing there was the black-armored and red-demon-faced samurai.
"...Heh," Bakugou smirked, "So you decided to man up and face me now?"
The samurai said nothing...until it let its hand gradually go to the handle of its katana, looking like the warrior was ready to strike.
Bakugou kept his cocky smirk. "Tch! Too slow!" And then he rushed at him and threw his hand at the samurai, letting little sweat explosions engulf the figure.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
The light went out because of the explosions.
Now in total darkness, Bakugou backed away from the samurai.
"Agh! Shit!" He cursed as he got in a stance. Not moving in order to not be detected, Bakugou listened in where the samurai was.
…He can hear footsteps coming towards him. Bakugou didn't waste any time as he was about to throw an explosive punch at this black-armored samurai.
But then, a mighty hand grabbed Bakugou by the head, its fingers wrapped around Bakugou's skull as its palm slammed into his face.
"MMPH!" muffled Bakugou.
Then, his whole body jerked forward and he was thrust forward back, practically thrown through the wall.
CRAAASH!
Bakugou's whole body basically went through the wall and crashed through the other wall of the hallway into another vacant room.
CRAAAASHH!
The other hallway wall crumbled as Bakugo lay on the debris he crashed into.
"Uuugh…" Bakugou got up sluggishly, "Shit...that fucker threw me like how All Might does."
As he sat up, he could see the black samurai step over and go through the hole he made, as if nothing ever happened.
Bakugou growled, "Piece of shit! I guess I have to turn up the heat!" He got up on his feet and threw his arms back to launch towards his attacker. "Get ready to DIE, you bastar-"
WHAAM!
Then, the samurai back-fisted Bakugou and sent him flying. He landed painfully on the ground and skidded on the carpet floor, sending him bouncing further into the hall, until he rolled into a stop.
Bakugou, once again, sluggishly got up on his feet again and felt a bit of pain in his right rib where he was struck.
"Augh!" Bakugou held on to his side, "Motherfuc-..." He winced at the pain. "Shit...okay, this Villain is super strong like All Might, and has great reflexes...damn."
Meanwhile, in the distance, the samurai came up the hall rather gradually.
Bakuogu scowled at his enemy, "Well fuck. I guess I have to keep throwing explosions at him."
The black samurai still was walking like it didn't have a care in the world.
"...Should be simple enough," Bakuogu muttered to himself.
Yeah...this fucker has to fall down sometime, right?
...Right?
Don't touch that dial, we're just getting started.
And there you go! :D I hope this chapter was worth the wait! :) And hey, you all got a nice long one out of this! ;)
Tell me what you all think as per usual! I love the reviews! They make me feel so happy! And give me a follow and fave while you're at it! ;)
Thank you all for reading and keep on rocking everybody! :)
-TSP