My Heroic Beast King
Chapter 16
Hey, notification emails are back, yay.
Enjoy the Tales of Internships. Oh and since some seemed confused about the clones that were able to come from nowhere, they are an upgraded version of the Limbo Clone that Madara used. Existing in Limbo like the others, they are able to pop into the normal world for a bit. Yes, they can still attack from limbo but are not limited to that area.
XXXX
-Tale of Harsh Truths-
"Again."
The order came from an old voice but still held power and authority for there was no other choice. This was none other than the 'hero' Yoroi Musha, the Samurai. However, even he knew he was no real hero. He would often admit he was in it for the fame and glory of being a hero. To get a taste of that age old honor of being a samurai. Something from a bygone era, much like himself.
He had seen the Era of Chaos before All Might, hell, he lived it! That is why he knew this current era would not last. When All Might stepped down, so would he. It was only a matter of time.
As for his current objective, he was fighting his intern. Well, the teen was not much of a fight, to be completely honest. Mina Ashido was a flighty girl with very little attention span, something he had seen time and again. She was still raw, un-tempered material despite having already faced villains, during U.A.'s USJ incident. She also did not place in the tournament and still she chose him of all people to intern with.
Musha saw the worn out look in those eyes, it was a genuine feat to ware down a person as high energy as her. She had just about given up on his initiation. Most give up or snap at him much earlier. Interesting.
"Argh!" Mina in a sudden burst of energy, getting up a bit slower than usual but slow all the same. She would not land a hit on him as instructed. Imagine his surprise when she did not charge at him, instead, finally using the new additions to her costume. A pair of elbow length teal fingerless gloves. And what did she use them for?
BUBBLES!
Of all things, Yoroi Musha did not expect bubbles to be made. Still, it made no more advantage as anything else she had thrown at himself today. With a swing of his sword, he popped the bubbles and then thrust his fist into her stomach, when she got to close. Imagine his further surprise, when she bopped his exposed nose, and then promptly passed out.
It was not much, but he still felt the acid burn on his nose as he cracked a smirk. "Well done, Mina Ashido."
There was hope for her yet.
XXX
Hours pass by and Mina Ashido found herself at a dinner table, sitting across from the person she was interning with and she could not help, but glare at the old man. He had put her through hell and now they he was eating food like it was a typical Monday. Like nothing had happened!
"WHAT THE HELL OLD MAN!" Mina patience had run out.
Musha stopped mid bite before putting his food down. He was out of his samurai armor and in a blue business suit. "Hmm, it took you far longer than most to finally explode on me."
"I am sorry, what? You wanted me to yell at you?"
"It would be the rational reaction to the absolute hell that I forced upon you. When you entered my agency today, I tasked you with one objective; to hit me, in a hopeless combat situation." Musha explained. "Knowing I am a high-ranking hero, you tried, time and again as I put you down. You did not hesitate, something you learned not to do from an attack by villains. However, I did not expect you to succeed in your futility. You burned my nose."
"I was not supposed to succeed?" Mina asked in irritation.
"No, but as one of Aizawa's students, surprised me. Tell me, would it surprise you to find out if your teacher also learned from me? Not as an intern, but a work study…something you will learn about later in your schooling." Musha offered.
This certainly surprised Mina, but the more she actually thought about it, it also did not surprise her. Mr. Aizawa was all about cold logic and efficiency. Mina scowled, "No, not really."
"Good." Musha replied with a nod. "Do you also know why he expels students?"
"Not really, but I heard rumors after I was in his class for a while."
"He expels students he deems to have no potential, because this life of a hero is dangerous. Students that do not take being a hero seriously, die in the field." Yoroi explained. "He expelled a whole class of students last year to teach them a lesson. He re-enroll them later, but the message was still clear. I am also sure he warned you about me."
"Yes sir."
"I am surprised he sent me someone like you. I am not unhappy about it, but it seems he is allowing me to teach you an important lesson before it is too late. The very same lesson he learned before coming to me for instruction."
"What lesson did he learn?" Mina asked with wide eyes. This was all very eye opening for her.
"Death. Death of a loved one." Yoroi Musha replied somberly and Mina shivered. She could not imagine losing anyone. Not yet. "When you get a chance, look up the name Oboro Shirakumo. That is all I will tell you."
"Thank you, sir."
There was quiet for a long time after that and they set about eating their meal. Mina's mind spiraled about the mere thought of losing someone she cared about. Her family and her classmates. They were precious to her. If she lost her family or even someone like Eijiro, she would lose her mind. She knew that. It also brought to the front of her memory something Kyoka relayed to the class during Naruto's tournament 'fight' with that Bakugo boy. He had mentioned war. Had he somehow seen it, truly? If that were the case, it would also imply he had seen death as well. Is that why Naruto was so good at this? Probably. Mina felt her eyes harden. He was also preparing the class. Why he had Izuku helped them so much with their quirks. That was fine. She would not lose any of them! Especially Eijiro. Oh…
"I see the determination in your eyes, Young Ashido. Maybe something else too." Musha replied with a small shrug. "I see you are ready to learn all I have to teach this week and due to my age, I have a lot to teach you."
"An age joke, from you sir?" Mina asked, a bit perplexed. To her further surprise, he chuckled. Ok…what the fuck?
"This next lesson, is very important." Musha replied. "I keep up a persona of an unflinchable warrior hero to the public that is only in it for the fame and glory. I do not hide it and despite that, the public has deemed me a high-ranking hero. So, I keep up that persona, but in private, I am a humble man with a sense of humor. The reason for this is the Commission. Make no mistake, Mina Ashido, they will come for you, just like they did for me and your other teacher Lady Nagant. Your quirk will be useful for them."
"They will come for me? Why sir?"
"Because the current society is built on lies." Yoroi Musha replied and you could hear the resulting silence. "All Might built this era of peace, this is true, but the Commission maintains it. Often with bloodshed and death. This society creates its own villains and it was designed that way. When the rare few attempt to expose these lies, they are often cut down. It does not matter if you are a top hero or a simple writer, they will end you."
"Why are you telling me this!" Mina replied after a moment of being freaked out and on edge.
"1. Unlike so many other interns before; you have impressed me, and very few have ever impressed me." Musha replied, glad that Mina was questioning him. "2. Because, no one would really believe you, even if you ran to tell anyone about it. They would never believe a sweet girl like yourself would know the real truth of this world. 3. Because, I believe you can handle it. You have Lady Nagant and Eraserhead as teachers. They have seen things, and are preparing you to face them, much like I did for Aizawa and how I am doing now for you. The Commission did not sweet talk and seduce me to their side like they did for Lady Nagant. I lied my way in. Funny, how they are the purveyors of lies and yet they cannot see others."
He saw he still had Mina's attention, even if she looked to be losing it.
"This truth of the current world; which is why I was surprised, when Aizawa sent you to me and Principle Nezu even allowed it. I lied my way in to learn of the truth the Commission, but I am a double agent and work with Nezu. I see the skepticism in your eyes, Young Ashido. How can I be in the Commission's good graces? I have killed a few of their self-made villains for them. And I mean real villains, not the writers and reporters trying to expose them, but true and vile killers that have gone off the deep end. It was through these acts I also met Nezu; his war with the Commission has been ongoing for a considerably long time. He even chose Commission agents in my Agency from time to time and allowed Nezu direct access to my facility, so he can gather his dirt and trust me, there is a lot. You see, Nezu is a well-connected man and works for the World Heroes Association, who have been looking into the Commission for a long time."
"This is all…so much! What about All Might? Does he know any of this?"
"Indeed, it is much…and no, he does not." Musha admitted. "Despite the Commission shielding the public from their own creations, dark truths like the Quirk Thief that is still alive, and other dealings, they will not be around forever as they have succumbed to their own darkness. And if All Might knew about this, nothing would have stopped him from razing them to the ground. They know this and have kept him in the dark for that purpose alone. They cannot control him like they do others." He paused as he let all this sink in for the girl. "You now know the truth now of the world, as I suspect others of your class do as well, like that Uzumaki brat. He kept what he could do to a minimum in the tournament after all."
Mina blinked rapidly as she thought about that. It was true, on an internationally broadcasted event, Naruto only showed off two things. An immense amount of strength and his fox form, linking the two and making the world think that was it. Genius.
"Now that you know this, can you still handle being a hero?" Musha asked, but he knew the answer. He saw the hardness return to the girl's eyes."
"I will do my best. I will not let my family nor my classmates being taken by the lies and shadows of this world." Mina declared, a certain fire entering her eyes, before look of sadness crept in. "It is a lot to take in, but me impressing you cannot be the only reason you let me in on this huge secret. You…won't be around much longer, will you?"
Yoroi Musha's eyes widened before a sad smile appeared on his face. "No, I will not be. Whether it be my age finally catching up to me, the Commission killing me after deeming me a threat, or a new era of chaos emerges, I cannot be relied upon. If the last one shall come to pass, I will do as my public persona dictates and step down as there will be no more glory or fame then. I have given my life to keeping Japan safe and will want some down time…even if a stray explosion or a villain even would be one of the things to take me out. All so I can keep my wife safe. My children can take of themselves, I have made sure of that."
"Then I will have to be the next inside woman." Mina challenged with a grin.
Yoroi Musha burst out laughing at that. So loud that others in the agency smiled that someone made their boss' true side come out during an internship. "That road will be difficult and the Commission will have their eyes on you. They will not try anything while you are under the care of Lady Nagant and All Might. They fear that team up even if they allowed it to happen." Musha frowned sadly then, "But do not let them make you stain your soul with killing. I have seen that they have almost drove Kaina to the brink. To see you in that same state would be heart breaking."
"Fair enough." Mina replied, it making sense why Lady Nagant looked sad sometimes. Especially during their hero classes. "Then I will do my best to protect my family and friends from them."
"Good." Musha affirmed. "This is enough harsh truths for one night. Rest up, for a week of hard lessons awaits you."
"Thank you, sir." Mina bowed respectfully and left to her quarters.
"I hope we did the right thing in tell her." Musha replied to seemingly no one. His phone buzzed and Nezu appeared in video mode, looking sad as well.
"It had to be done, just as it was with Aizawa." Nezu stated. "The Commission would have come for her with her quirk. It is best we warned her now, if things do not go to plan with the Commission take down."
"Please, you have plans hidden in plans. I have faith your you sir."
XXX - Tale of Hidden Pasts
Hawks smiled as his three interns flew well considering two of them just learned how to fly properly. In the end, he could not help, but actually teach them something while they were his interns. It did not have to be some sort of fighting moves that would bring up bad memories on how he was brought up by the Commission.
Neji was already a great flier and helped in most of their flight teaching, but Hawks was able to give Pony and Fumikage a few pointers from a different perspective. A perspective of having to learn to fly on his own. No, the Commission never bothered actually teaching him.
"Hmm, it would seem this internship was not a total waste of time after all." Neji commented while smirking at the hero, who winced. "And given your unique way of flying, I can see you were never properly taught. It brings up…uncomfortable questions."
"I can guess a few." Hawks replied in a clipped tone, which made Fumikage and Pony looked at each other and back up bit to give them some privacy.
"One of which was why you were poaching potential fliers from the Hyuga Agency. I see now that it was mostly to feel some sort of connection with them." Neji deduced, making Hawks sweat a bit. "If I may be so bold…who were your parents?"
"Honestly." Hawks replied after a beat of silence as he looked at the ground in a shame. "I don't really remember them all that much. Believe it or not, I was raised in the Commission; from the little that I can remember my mom was neglectful and my father was…abusive. Probably because I wasn't his."
"Raised by the Commission?!" Neji asked with a hard look while Hawks paled, having revealed information that was not exactly public. In fact, it probably was illegal, not that the Commission gave a shit about that tidbit of information. As Neji was wrestling with all this new information that the public would freak out about, Hawks noticed out of the corner of his eye a flash of silver and then a gas station exploding. "Wait, not your fa-"
"WATCH OUT!" Hawks screamed, pushing Neji out of the way and bringing out a feather sword, ready to defend them from whatever silver thing was now flying at them. To his further shock, a bang was heard as the silver thing collided with a bullet. There was only one person he knew with that kind of accuracy.
"Get over here!" Yup, the Heroics teacher at U.A. and former Commission Assassin, Lady Nagant. Perfect. He could keep his cool. No, he was not shaking his boots! He and his interns flew over to a nearby building that over looked a busy street and a TV on another building spewing inane commercials.
"Tsutsumi sensei…long time no see." Hawks replied professionally, but even his interns could hear the quiver in his voice. Keep it together man! "Erm, what is the situation?"
"Not good, I feared they would have come after one of my kids when I heard they got out, but those twisted fucks just went after some random civilian at the grocery store. Turns out, they were not random. It was the hero who put them away. Hizashi Hyuga." Lady Nagant stated while giving Neji a sympathetic look.
"WHAT? WHO WOULD GO AFTER MY FATHER!" Neji demanded, having lost nearly all of his composure after learning his father was in danger. He did not notice that hawks had a hard look on his own face.
"The Allomancy Triplets." Lady Nagant replied, causing Hawks to curse. "Yup, it is bad. They were some efficient mercs for the Commission, but they leaned a little too far into their bloodlust and caused many to die. Hizashi Hyuga aka Silver Wings took them down in his heyday. Now they are back and out for blood again." What she neglected to mention was they were Hawks' teachers alongside Nagant back in the day. It had not been…fun growing up.
Before they could drum up a plan to try and deal with this, the TV across the way started to fade to static and then another image appeared. This time with a tall long white-haired man with streaks of black showing off his old hair color. All with a cruel smirk on his middle-aged face. On his forehead, a couple of black horns jut out and bent upward as if they were antennas. He wore a simple black cloak as he had not had much time to get proper attire. His red eyes leered out to all that looked up at him as he held up his hostage, Hizashi. " I was wondering, w ho was it that stopped our attack? The only one I saw here was up in the sky…teaching brats how to fly. That was a cute sight…Hawks, but you are still too slow. Had to be someone else. Oh, there is that camera feed. Ready for a blast from the past?! Too bad! Hawks, Lady Nagant, just like old times before this old shit took away our fun." His cruel smile turned deranged as. " Oh, look Hizashi, you brat is interning with Hawks, would be a shame if we took your son out in front of you…wouldn't it!?"
Hizashi screamed through the gag the man had over his mouth as he saw the image on his side. The older version of Neji screamed even more when the man holding him hostage gathered a silver alloy and shot it away. Only…nothing happened other than another gas station exploded.
"What manner of darkness is this?" Fumikage asked.
"The Allomancy Triplets, Gin, Kin, and Chitan, have a particular way they go about their business." Hawks replied through grit teeth. "The attack will not come at you straight forward. The brothers are in constant motion and attract the alloy one of them has shot."
"So, in theory, we just have to wait for the object to get near us, right?" Pony asked she stood in front of Neji while Fumikage defended his back. Neji was the target after all, he was touched but he felt annoyed as well.
"Yeah, but they are constantly in motion, so that makes our jobs harder." Lady Nagant grumbled. That in until glass shattered and Hawks' right wing exploded. She watched as the glint of silver went in a straight line. "Oh…maybe not. They are old after all. That old tactic might not be viable anymore."
"Yeah, I saw it as well." Hawks replied, his wing reassembling itself back to normal. He had let them all go at the last second to not get hurt.
" Hmm, aim was off Kin!" The man on the screen grumbled out before smirking back at the elder Hyuga. "Oh? You seem surprised, Silver Wings. I did say your son, I just did not specify which son." At this, even Hizashi had a confused look. "Heh, let me reveal some information to you. While we...heh, taught Hawks to fight back in the day, we decided to look up his family history. Imagine our surprise when his real father…was you. Gotta love those one night stands before you are married, you never know what will come out of them. Now, the reason I am telling you…this, is so that when we kill him and your other son, it will break you two times over! This is our revenge for bringing us down. We lost years of our lives in prison because of you!" Hizashi grunted as he was punched off camera. " Once they are dead and you are begging for death to join them, we will gladly do so, but not before using our shared quirk to riddle you full of holes in the most painful ways possible! Then you have our permission to die!"
"Damn, they are just as sadistic as before." Hawks replied with a deep shiver.
"Focus, I just spotted two points of where they have set up." Lady Nagant informed him.
"I see it…and I see the final point." Neji stated, having followed the trails once another alloy zipped past them. He felt sick that his father was in this predicament but he wished no ill will towards his father for his past. He had a brother and that is all that mattered to him. Maybe this was what Hawks was getting at before. He wanted to ask and confirm his own theories. Well, now that cat was out of the bag.
"Neji, use that trident of yours to attack that point. You have my permission." Hawks ordered. "Nagant and I will take the others. Tsukuyomi, Rocketti, keep a vigilant eye out for that piece of silver."
"I see it!" Dark Shadow screamed and pointed in the direction a glint of silver came from. Lady Nagant nodded as she lined up her shot and with a bang from her bio sniper rifle, her bullet went through the glob of silver and went to sender. At the same time, Neji threw his trident in the exact opposite direction, attaching feathers to make sure the job was done. Meanwhile, Hawks shot a red spear of feathers in the direction he had found the leader of the triplets with his own feathers had had send out as feelers. His throw hit true as the feed on the TV went out.
Crisis averted for now…but Hawks knew a media shitstorm was about to come down. "Alrighty then, let's go check on your dad, Neji."
"Our father. If he knew you were related, he would have stopped at nothing to bring you into our family. Now, it is all but assured." Neji replied with certainty as Kaina, Fumikage, and Pony all smiled at them. This was certainly an eventful internship that started bad. "Though I will grill father for more hidden information. I'd rather ensure that no more secrets befall our family. I have twin sisters that are toddlers that do not need the stress."
Hawks laughed in happiness though, this was potentially his own escape route from the Commission.
XXX - Tale of Reality
This was not how things were supposed to go. He was Katsuki Fucking Bakugo, damnit! He was meant for greater things in life, like going to U.A., learning under a legend, and then automatically becoming the number one here because he was that powerful, right? RIGHT?! Instead, he got his ass beat in record time at the Sport Festival and got sent to a busted D Lister. And Deidara was right, as he was…and partially still is, there would be no way he could ever breach the top 100 heroes much less the freaking number one hero.
As they strolled through the streets of Hiroshima, Katsuki noticed that while they were not getting attacked by anyone, they were all glaring at the both of them. Glares of suspicion. It sadly made sense given that after some research, there were a lot of bomb quirk users that ended up in jail. Deidara and him were the exceptions, they tried to be heroes while others turned into villains.
It was earth shattering to him as a person. Aldera propped him to be the next coming of All Might. He originally went there to honestly feed his own ego and have an interesting back story. Turns out he let their manipulations actually feed his ego even more. Sad thing was, his parents were well off thanks to their fashion business that he could have gone to some high-end school like Somei or something. Yet another thing he messed up on. Damnit.
Katsuki looked to either side of him, seeing the well-dressed employees of the museum were just strolling along while he observed their surroundings. While Deidara and him got glares, Itachi seemed to get a mixture of suspicious glares and sympathetic looks. It was…odd. The heck did this mild mannered and tired as hell looking guy even do?
"Young Bakugo," Deidara interrupted his thoughts as they rounded a corner. "I have told you how people view explosion quirk users, you have seen the looks we get for your own eyes, and have no doubt done a bit of research on the why. Do you have any other questions?"
"Yeah, why was life so easy back in Mustafu for me and why is Itachi getting some confusing looks?" Bakugo asked, noticing Itachi sigh while Deidara nodded.
"You must not read a lot of news." Itachi replied and his tone was light at that. Strange.
"To answer your first question," Deidara answered, "It is simple, you have a strong quirk, unusually strong for even us explosion kin. Must be a generational thing. Point is, there have been rumors that MLA supporters actually running schools nowadays. I suppose it could be true for you. They prop up the strong, filling them with all sorts of delusions and what not, while beating in the faces of the weak."
"Holy shit…" Katsuki replied with wide eyes. "Aldera did that with me. I could do no wrong there and then shit changed when I went to U.A."
"We thought as much, they were manipulating you so that you would see them favorably later down the line. We do not know what their end goal is, but there have been investigations on schools across Japan. Yours is hardly a unique case." Itachi replied. "This cannot end well."
"What the fuck?" Katsuki said lowly. "This pushed me…to bully a former friend back in grade school. Turns out we…were not friends that much, our parents where and I was a total asshole to him. Are you telling me they would have pushed me to kill him? Just because he did not get a quirk in time like everyone else."
Deidara and Itachi gave each other a look before nodding. "The possibility exists." Deidara ventured. "Some districts send strong but volatile youth against weaker or quirkless individuals while other districts drive out the mutant population. Your inside perspective paints a broader picture for us."
"What the fuck, are you investigating this as well?" Katsuki asked.
"We are part of an interconnected investigation. No need to worry about it too much. We brought this up to wake you up to your own manipulations…or rather redirections. Explosion Kin are…hard to control." Deidara explain, typing away new information of his phone before pressing send. "As for Itachi…I am correcting a mistake on my part."
"I am not following." Katsuki admitted.
"You have heard of Gentle Criminal, correct?" Itachi asked.
"That streamer, who broadcasts fake crimes to try and expose businesses? That hack?"
"The very same." Deidara replied with a nod. "You see, he was a hero hopeful who got rejected. He was so desperate, that he used his quirk in the middle of a villain attack, injuring a hero in the process. Itachi interfered with a villain I was dealing with but I did not get injured. In fact, Itachi's illusion quirk was perfect for dealing with that situation! I…just did not see it at the time and much like with what happened to Gentle Criminal, I ruined Itachi's life. We explosion have short fuses, no doubt you know that, and I said somethings that led to him…almost ending his life. I am repaying my debt as best I can and have gained a friend for it." Deidara put a hand on Itachi's shoulder and smiled sadly. "He may never forgive me, but I am trying to make his life far better than what it was before."
"And I am forever grateful that you are helping me be a hero. It is literally all Japan cares about nowadays." Itachi replied before noticing where they ended up. He put a hand Katsuki's shoulder, stopping him. "That grave is his old teacher, Sasori the Crimson Scorpion's. He usually ends his patrols here and begs his old master for forgiveness. I was not the only person whose life he messed up. We brought you here, so you do not end up causing the same issue."
Katsuki watched numbly as Deidara broke down before the grave. He thought about what he learned today. It only brought up uncomfortable questions. If Izuku had not moved away, would he have become so desperate to be a hero that he would have died trying? Would Katsuki allow the boy to even try? Would Katsuki have caused the boy to end his own life like Deidara almost did to Itachi?
He could not answer those questions. All he knew was that he had to change before he became like the wreck before them. Maybe the school counselor, Hound Dog, could help him. Because his own issues could not just destroy himself, but others as well.
XXX - Tale of Air Space
"Goodness girl, you are a handful. Has anyone ever told you that before?" The hero known as Airjet said once they touched down on what seemed like a random rooftop in Hosu. He was playing off his nervousness of being in the city where the Hero Killer was last seen with some humor.
"My parents, my friends, my classmates, Mr. Aizawa, and Power Loader say it all the time." Mei replied nonchalantly as she started tinkering with her left repulsor glove. It has been slightly off during flight and she would rather not die from a random fall or the damn thing exploding midflight. That would not do well for her image.
"Right…cannot say I am surprised." Airjet muttered. He was not regretting sending her an invite to his agency. In fact, she fit in quite well with the all the sidekicks. You see, he was an inventor himself and founded his agency on cooperating with other scientists and inventors. They all had to start somewhere and he had seen his fair share of eccentrics. Mei might be over the top, but he was well equipped to handle that. "Tell me, why did you want to do a test flight here of all places? You are not going to test something on the Hero Killer, are you?"
"I do not care about the Hero Killer." Mei replied bluntly as her hand sparked before something clicked and she smiled. "I know I can lose myself in my work, but I still have friends and I need to make sure they are ok. Tenya Iida is good friend and I wanted to check and see how he was doing."
"Ah, checking on a classmate." Airjet replied with a smile. Some of his sidekicks had those and even fewer stayed connected, always using the excuse of potential customers or what not. Humans craved interaction, no matter how introverted or smart you were. Seems Mei was no different, she often spoke of her customers or friends. She claimed to have her own network for future business. It was cute. Wait…Iida? Oh…Tensei's family. "Helping your boyfriend through some time tough times?"
"He is not my boyfriend…pretty sure Mr. Roboto is ace. Nothing wrong with that, just as there is nothing wrong with me dating Melissa Shield." Mei replied in a bored tone, having gone to the end of the roof to see if she could see Tenya from their height. That certainly threw Airjet through a loop. Shield meant they were on I-Island…which meant long distance. Interesting. "Ah, there they are. Hmm, vaccum tunnels? I'll have to ask them about that later, I am sure I can make some support gear to help with their speed."
"Huh? Oh yeah, their mentor is known for that. I tried making something for Jetstream a long while ago since he is getting up there in age. I am excited to see a new perspective try something in that area." Airjet replied.
"Challenge Accepted!" Mei shot back before turning back to the boys before and jumping of the building. "Tenya! Inasa! Look out below!"
"What in the world?!" Tenya screamed while Inasa roared with laughter, having sensed through the air that she was in no danger. Airjet just shook his head while Jetstream smirked to the side.
"Hey you two, how's training going?" Mei asked with a bright smile.
Tenya smiled gently at the girl, knowing conversations like this were not her strong suit. "You do not have to push yourself so much Mei…but I am handling it."
Mei's smile became strained. "Look, I know I am not the social type and I kind of have to eventually navigate that if I ever want to get my company to pop off. However, if someone ever threatened the life of my family or friends, I do not think I would be taking it as well as you, Tenya."
Tenya chuckled sadly, making the Pro Heroes and Inasa wince slightly and they knew Tensai was a good man and loved his brother dearly. The feeling was mutual it seemed and it was never easy seeing your world shatter. "Truth be told, I was and still am barely hanging by a thread, however, Naruto promised he would help with Tensai somehow." Ah, code for none of their business. "But the anger of what happened is still bubbling under the surface."
"Then there is nothing to worry about." Came the modulated voice of Shinso as he and Mr. Aizawa walked out from a nearby alleyway. "Use that anger as fuel to power yourself in this internship to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."
"Any word from your stab happy cat suited girlfriend?" Inasa asked, wanting to change the subject from depressing things like Stain's attack on family.
Shinso chuckled tiredly as he took off his helmet and brought out his phone to show them a video. "She already has one commercial under her belt with Uwabami…she is somehow a natural. I hate to say it, but I might have to learn to be her manager someday. The public seems to like her."
As the three friends continued to chat and let Inasa in about a few things, Shota lazily made his way to the two Pro Heroes that had much more energy than he did…and one was nearing retirement! "No issues, I hope."
"None at all. We are just surprised to see you here with your intern, Eraserhead." Jetstream replied, looking a little perplexed.
"Well, my intern wanted to check on Tenya, so we came to visit. We won't be staying too long. Also…I checked around the back alleys and underground…it seems as if Stain has literally disappeared from the area. Keep your guard up, I have a bad feeling about this." Airjet and Jetstream looked at each other as a chill went up their spines and nodded.
Stain was not done with Hosu. It was not in his M.O to leave the job so suddenly and unfinished.
XXX – Tale of the Hero Killer
"Hold on, you want how many Nomu?!" Dr. Garaki asked All for One incredulously. "I thought Eldritch Horror was going to be more than enough for Stain and Hosu."
"Four, Doctor. Stain is just an experiment after all. I do not believe he will survive the night. To achieve his simple goal for the night, I wish to break the heroes of Hosu just a little bit more." All for One replied with a chuckle.
"Might I suggest the…Worm?" Orochimaru offered with a stretched grin.
"You cannot be serious! That one will most like take out Hosu…especially since the heroes that were mentioned to be there will be destructive." Kyudai asked nervously.
"What is one city when breaking the heroic spirit. Destruction on that level is perfect. Good suggestion, Orochimaru."
"I merely thought it would be a great tool for entertainment."
"This could work, especially the quirks we gave it." Kyudai replied after a moment of thought. In his old age, he momentarily thought that the Worm was incomplete…then he remembered they finished that right before they put Tomura in the machine. So be it. Let the world tremble at their power.
XXX
"Shit, I expected Stain, not the mass mayhem I am seeing." Mirko replied as she took in the situation. It was night time in Hosu, but the activity was like it was day time. From a large building Mirko and her interns saw that large parts of Hosu had been set ablaze and people were screaming. Something about monsters attacking. Par for the course villain activity nowadays but this was not what she prepared her interns for. Then again, they did survive the USJ incident at U.A. "Ok, new plan. Get down there and protect the civilians. I'd rather you not fight whatever is causing this, but defend yourself when needed. Do not be a pair of idiots!"
"Right-o"
"Understood, ribbit." Her interns sounded of before Mirko herself jumped towards the fires, somewhat missing the ground shake violently for a moment before going still. "What do you think that was? Cannot be good."
Naruto had a confused look on his face as he tried to feel the disturbance out. "That's…odd. Whatever it was, it was huge and then…just disappeared."
"I see." Tsuyu replied with a shiver. That was never a good sign in her books. "Let's get to Tenya…since I have a feeling, he would go off on his own during a crisis like this to hunt Stain." Naruto just nodded grimly before the two parkoured across Hosu.
XXX
"Are you serious?" Naruto deadpanned.
"What? Ribbit."
"How did he position himself him into the exact center of all this bullshit?" Naruto replied as he moved his head to the side and some debris from a building almost hit him. They had stopped at seemingly a random gap between buildings amid the chaos. Not that they ran into a lot of said chaos because Naruto and made sure they did not run into it. "I am also sensing…others in hiding. Tsu, I know you are pretty capable already, but we need to prioritize Tenya…or any other downed hero. Do you think you can pull off a human heist from at top a building while I distract them?"
"I am pretty sure, I have lifted humans before with my tongue." Tsuyu replied.
"Alright then, let's put on a show." Naruto replied with a grin as Tsuyu stealthily jumped to the top of the building.
Right as Stain was about to drive his katana into Tenya's head, they both froze; or in Tenya's case stopped struggling as he was already frozen from Stain's quirk, and looked in the direction of someone whistling as they strolled down the alleyway. The whistle reminded Stain of Death's whistle from Puss in Boots, a movie he watched as a kid when they remastered it. It almost made Stain chuckle at the absurdity.
"Stendhal, it has been too long." Naruto called out with a cheesy grin. "How's the nose?"
"Akatsuki…" Stain replied after a moment of remembrance and then growled in anger at the boy. "After Knuckleduster punched it in, I had to cut it off."
"Seriously? That is fucking metal."
"Indeed. Tell me boy." Stain stated as he walked past Tenya and pointed his blade in Naruto's direction. "Have you come to die in his place. I highly doubt that deceitful man could have made a suitable hero out of you."
"Nah, I am here to help my classmate you were about to kill. Oh, and the other dude on the wall." Naruto replied with a casual grin.
"And what makes you think I will let you?" Stain asked cruelly.
"Because, Stendhal, you really haven't changed all that much." Naruto replied, using Stain's old vigilante name, sending the older man into a rage that grew with each word. "You were a violent psychopath with malleable convictions in the past. I was what, 9 when you attacked me out of the blue to test my convictions or whatever as a vigilante. You are also easy to control, proof being that Bee Villain who gave you a few pretty words and attacked me again with The Crawler. It took a tough as nails old man to beat you back then with a single punch to change your views and your conviction. Now instead of petty villains, you attack heroes and deem it a noble act. Truth is, you have tasted blood and death. You want that rush like a common serial killer."
"I will admit that I have become a serial killer; but don't you dare mock my conviction to have true heroes in the world. Even if I have to also cull children, then so be it!" With that, Stain reverse gripped his katana and stabbed into Tenya, intent on killing him in front of Naruto, a friend. Only…the clang of metal on concrete confused him as it seemed that Tenya was gone…along with Native! Froppy was really good at stealth rescue, there was no doubt there. "How?! Those summons?! Another toad?! You would dare stop me?!"
"Damn right I would and it was more of a frog. Tenya was only here to avenge his brother, who you put in mortal danger. A common response when that happens. The Cycle of Hatred and all that." Naruto replied with a shrug. "You want real heroes? Well, there are amongst the mass amount of them, but it is a job nonetheless, much like a soldier or a ninja back home. People gotta eat whether someone like you wants it or not."
"That is not how it should be damnit!" Stain screamed as he eyes bleed red. "I will purge this world of the false heroes! One bloodbath after another if I have to."
"I can see there is not much to convince you other than some truth. The Commission wants it that way and I doubt your methods will work on them." Naruto explained as he took a battle stance, slightly unnerved by Stain's berserker red eyes growing more manic by the second.
"I will deal with them…with help from my new disciples. But first, we will kill you." Stain declared with his sword pointed at Naruto. A moment later, a golden chain shot from the darkness of the alley in an attempt to ensnare him.
"Huh, I wondered who the others were. Guess I was right to be cautious. Ah well, four against one though? Seems a little unfair." Naruto replied with a grin. "For you."
"Take this seriously, Akatsuki, your life is on the line." Stain replied grimly. "I did not appreciate your showboating in the Sports Festival." Stain proceeded to rush Naruto and stab him through the chest before he could react.
"Oh, you did not hear? It is Kurama, the Beast Hero now! Akatsuki is old school kid games." Naruto replied before exploding, sending Stain into the waiting arms of Jugo. Naruto walked out of the flames and smoke with a shit eat grin, making him look a little ominous with the lighting. "And the show has only begun!"
Suddenly, the golden chain appeared again and wrapped around Naruto, binding him in place. Three figures appeared above Naruto, ready to strike. One with a mutated fist, one with a simple katana, and the last with a buster sword that looked like it came out of a video game. They crashed into him, only for a poof of smoke to blind them.
"Come on, you all gotta try harder than that!" Naruto laughed from the end of the alley; he was leading them out into the open. Where the chaos of the night was. They took it hook, line, and sinker as they ran after him. He did wonder, why Sasuke's old rogue team reincarnated here; but that was a question for another time. It was time to get wild.
Above them on the roof, Tsuyu, Tenya, and Native looked on in disbelief. "That kid is going to get himself killed." Native replied weakly, still unable to move.
"I doubt that, I have seen him go toe-to- toe with Mirko in our internship with her. Naruto may be a showboat, but he can handle this situation." Tsuyu defended her intern buddy. It was weird, when it was just the three of them, Naruto acted like an older brother to her, allowing her to have fun in their internship. Something she lacked at home due to her always having to take care of her younger siblings. So she believed in Naruto.
"He was right, I stood no chance against Stain." Tenya replied softly before kept his eyes zeroed in on Naruto, hoping the boy could take care of himself against Stain and now these others. He really messed up, hadn't he?
(Please play 'I'm Still Standing' by Elton John)
"You gotta be quicker than that! I am still standing!" Naruto laughed as he dodged yet another coordinated strike from them and a few chain attacks sent by a red-haired woman…who used them like whips. Dodging them with his speed was like child's play, but he wanted to make them really work for it. But then an idea came to mind as he pressed the hacking tool on his staff. He was going to deal with Hosu's problem all in one go!
An electronic pulse was sent out of the city causing radios, TVs, and other electronics to home in on him and this fight. Naturally, it caused a massive amount of confusion from the heroes defending Hosu, but it made his classmates that were helping in this mess have a good chuckle, especially when it attracted the Nomus as if in a hypnotic state.
" You can never know what it is like, your blood like winter freezes just like ice! And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you. You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use!" Naruto sang while dodging every single thing the team of four sent his way. He even mocked Stain by tapping on his red mask…in a nonexistent nose bop.
XXX
"How is thing this so slippery!" Endeavor growled to himself as he threw a fiery fist as a grey skinned slim Nomu that was tearing up the street with a much bigger black skinned Nomu was fighting a few straggling heroes in the middle of the blaze. The reason Endeavor of all people was struggling was because he was off his game. Naruto words back at the Sports Festival had gotten to him. The boy was right, he had been treating his personal vendetta against All Might as if he was going to fight the Legendary Hero. He had been going about this all wrong from the get go and he let his pride blind him.
That was showing more than ever during his son's internship with him. He merely gave Shoto a few pointers here and there, not train him into the dirt like he usually did. Shoto…had to find his own way to surpass All Might and be the number one hero. He had to find his own way to have the public trust him enough to even get that far. The sad thing is…so did Endeavor, now more than ever. The Hero Rankings were a popularity contest and it irked him. It was so distracting that it nearly cost his and Shoto's lives during this attack.
Endeavor needed to focus! He could worry about his career and barely existent family life later when this mess was over!
"It probably has some sort of oil quirk to make it that way. It would make sense for a creature like the Nomu to have that and others. It would be best to freeze it instead of using fire to make it sweat more." Freezerburn aka Shoto replied with a small smirk, the message implying to use the ice side of his quirk instead of the fire side like Enji wanted to him to do for so long.
"Cheeky…fine. Freeze it in place. We still have the flying one and the muscled one to deal with. Not to mention that anaconda sized one that has somehow disappeared…again!" Endeavor growl in annoyance that the fact one keeps slipping away. It ate a whole person, how does something of that size just disappear after doing that?!
Just then, a pulse was felt as all the electronics started going haywire. As soon as an over turned car radio started playing a song someone young was singing, the Nomu all stopped what they were doing and then as if in a trance, all went in the same direction. The slippery one ever breaking free of the ice Shoto had trapped it in. Endeavor looked on numbly as a TV went on showing Naruto singing and dancing while dodging everything Stain the freaking Hero Killer and a few others were throwing at him.
"Father, I know where that is! I will help Kurama as best I can!" Freezerburn shouted before running off.
"Damnit, just be careful." Endeavor replied after a moment and then went off to help quell the fires now that they had a free moment of none Nomu attacks …only for the ground underneath him to open up and swallow him.
XXX
" And did you think this fool could never win?" Naruto sang, basically shit talking Suigetsu's reincarnation from a top his buster blade before sliding down it and then jump off his head, parts of it turning to water to soften the weight. " Well, look at me, I'm a-comin' back again. I got a taste of love in a simple way and if you need to know while I'm still standin', you just fade away!" This time he danced around Karin's reincarnation's chains…which he grabbed only to whip them back at her, forcing her to fall back into an alleyway.
" Don't you know I'm still standin' better than I ever did? Lookin' like a true survivor," Naruto belted out in to his microphone, leaning back to dodge a sword swipe from Stain that would have taken off his head had he not dodged. Stain was further put off by the appearance of Naruto old vigilante self as a kid, " Feelin' like a little kid!" Stain naturally tried to take the illusion out, only for it to explode in his face….quite literally as he was sent flying back from an explosion clone hidden in the illusion. " And I'm still standin' after all this time. Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind!"
"RAGH!" Jugo screamed, his skin having turn grey from his quirk of taken in the natural energy of the world, which made him unstable and violent. The point was further proven when he ripped out his own spine with one hand to try and capture Naruto while the other hand had turned into a spear made out of a conglomerate of bones, all misshapen and twisted.
" I'm still standin'!" Naruto cheerfully sang as they made their way down the street, a chorus of clones popping out from behind car to sing 'Yeah, yeah, yeah' only for Stain to tear into them madly, his bloodrage kicking in and having splattered Suigetsu against a wall with a kick. Good thing he reformed from water to reenter the fight. " I'm still standin'!"
"Once, I never coulda hoped to win." Naruto continued, the street being covered in more illusions, this time a training ground surrounded by forest. A young Naruto was dead tired from training as silhouettes of his old team walk away, not caring. By this this time, Tenya and Native had regained their motor functions and there following along the rooftops. Soon, Freezerburn, Gale Force, Mother of Invention, Sound Byte, Maximum Overdrive, Froppy and a few of their teachers had arrived to the scene. The fire and chaos in their areas quelled by the song. Jetstream naturally went over to support his injured son through all this. " You're startin' down the road, leavin' me again. The threats you made were meant to cut me down and if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now."
" You know I'm still standin' better than I ever did. Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid." Naruto laughed when three out of the four Nomu appeared after a couple cars exploded. He danced around them to the point that they rammed into Stain's lackeys. The Black muscled Nomu getting skewered by Jugo's bone spear, Suigetsu and the lanky grey Nomu seemed to slid around each other, and Karin got taken to the skies by the winged Nomu. Karin promptly grabbed some C4 from her purse and sruck it in the things mouth, took out a long knife to slash off its legs holding her, and pressed a button fro her purse to explode the Nomu. Naruto simply caught her with ease only to fling her into another alley he passed when she tried to stab him. " And I'm still standin' after all this time, pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind."
" I'm still standin'!" Naruto sang as the ground shook violently and out popped the Snake Nomu that had grown to a gigantic size, with Endeavor barely hanging on.
"BOY! DEFEND YOURSELF! QUIT DODGING EVERYTHING!" Endeavor roared, having seen his show from the various TVs he was able to glimpse from his wide ride.
"HELL YEAH! YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO GO HAM, KURAMA!" Mirko cheered as she kicked the remains of the black muscled Nomu at the snake Nomu…that had gained metal scales.
" I'm still standin'!" Naruto sang with glee as he dodged another downward strike from Suigetsu's buster blade and then landed on the end of the blade do he could not lift it. Naruto merely smirked before taking a page from Tsunade and finger flicking Suigetsu's forehead with super strength, sending his watery remains everywhere that then tried to converge and regain his form. "Don't you know that I'm still standin' better than I ever did?" He then kicked the buster blade through the Nomu, bisecting it down the middle. " Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid." Stain somehow fell for the same illusion/exploding clone trick and it sent him spiraling into an already damaged car. This time Karin went to see if he was ok, but as soon as she touched him, she screamed bloodly murder and then was gone. Stain's hidden quirk had activated. "And I'm still standin' after all this time. Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind."
It freaked Naruto out when he saw it, but he did not let it show on his face because people were still watching him. Suigetsu and Jugo both ran at Naruto full speed and didn't see the blood form of Stain until it was too later. Stain grabbed them by the feet and the blood on his form travelled the length of their bodies. With a yank, the two were sucked into his own body with a liquid plopping sound. Naruto watched in awe as Stain transformed into a larger nightmarish version of himself, made from blood and bone. The carcass of the winged Nomu fell between them and Stain absorbed that too, growing nightmarish wings. He then proceeded to back hand Naruto onto the towering snake Nomu that looked ready to strike down on them, knocking away Endeavor's body, who used his own fire to stabilize himself in midair, but felt he could not do much again the Nomu or Stain at this point, especially when Stain absorbed the remains of the other two Nomu. It did not mean he won't try and defend Naruto from the two and threw jets of fire. Stain merely dodged with great speed despite his new massive size and send hid massive claw into the spot Naruto jumped from. " I'm still standin'!"
" Not for long, false hero! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME! THE ONLY MAN I WILL ALLOW TO TAKE ME IN IS ALL MIGHT!" Stain chuckled darkly as the snake Nomu roared before it too was absorbed into the ever-growing form of Stain. As Naruto fell from the former Nomu, he saw each face that had fought him tonight, screaming out from the blood in terror and agony, reminding him of the Envious Homunculus from Fullmetal Alchemist. Still, Naruto was not as worried as the other that rushed to try and catch him. " NOW DIE, YOU INSUFFERABLE BRAT!"
Naruto smiled as he pointed his finger at Stendhal, no, Stain in the familiar gun pose. A small but high condensed ball of energy formed at the tip. He moved easily despite the intense killing intent in the air that froze everyone else. "You first, you old hypocrite. Bang!" The highly condensed Rasengan shot away from his finger, but seemed to fade and fissile out. The world seemed to scream for Naruto's safety as it seemed his attack was not going to work and either the falling Monster Stain was going to get him or gravity.
The next moment, a flash of light lit up the area as the chakra attack went off, creating a violent hurricane of blood, bone, and screams as the Monstrous Stain's form was violently ripped apart and the people inside of him were forced away, shooting them all over the place. Jugo crashed into a truck, causing it to explode, Karin landed on a rooftop and Suigetsu landed in a water tower. The Nomu, who were back to full health, fell onto the street. However, not one of them moved to get up and there were either too tired, knocked out, or traumatized. Stain was barely alive when he landed on a car and looked like he would need intensive care if he wanted to survive.
The explosion of actively meant that people were just distracted enough that they missed what Naruto did to survive the fall. He smiled brightly from a top a building next to his shell-shocked classmates and mentors. His version of the Vanishing Rasengan, inspired various pistols, had worked. Planting a foot on the ledge of the roof he finished his song. "I'm still standin'!" Like before, he clones popped out only this time on the rooftops. " YEAH YEAH YEAH!"
As Endeavor watched Naruto interact and be doted on by his friends, he looked around the area and sighed. He dropped down next to whimpering Stain and muttered, "What even was this shit? That Kurama brat may have done a good thing, but now he had everyone's attention on him."
XXX – Tale of a Show
With Stain and various other villains that tried something in Hosu and other cities locked up…or dead, people needed a pick me up to raise their spirits even more after hearing that news. Better than being exhausted from the constant fear from those villains. Sure Naruto, a hero intern, got credit for taking down Stain, but that brought more scrutiny on to heroes who could not do much against him. It made people talk. The Police chief personally thanked Naruto, who only got slapped on the wrist for stepping out of his bounds as a hero intern, something that made his friends angry that he even got in trouble for doing the job of Pro Heroes for them.
What better way to distract people from the problems than to have a musical concert. That is what The Feather Hats, Angel, Shemage and Heart Beat had been preparing for. Now, in Hosu Park, the idea was coming to life!
It was Friday night and most of the interns from Class 1-A and even some from Class 1-B were there. As well as their hero mentors. Izuku wasn't there, mainly because he was still in America, but Mei volunteered to record the even for him. Mei did not really want to be here, but she needed human interaction. So here she was…already getting more support item ideas for Kyoka if she wanted them. Surprisingly, Neji from 1-B requested Hover Boots….for just-in-case he needed to use all his feathers for a super spear attack. It made sense.
"Welcome one and all! Crazy week, right?" Pop Step announced with a nervous chuckle, getting the audience to laugh a little. She and the rest of the cast were on a specially made stage made from wood of someone's nifty quirk. "In celebration of Stain being taken down by the Hero Intern Kurama and all the other heroes and interns doing amazing jobs, I present to you soothing songs after a long week. We even have our own interns, Heart Beat and Shemage! Now, put your hands together for our first act, Angel!
The devilish angel costumed singer walked out onto the stage with a self-assured strut, a little wave, and a big grin. "Thank you, Pop Step. However, my performance will be so good, they won't need to hear anyone else's material for the night"
"Oh? That confident, are we? Good luck!" Kazuha replied with a happy face, but you could tell, after dealing with Angel for a week, it was grating on her nerves. Shemage quickly running over to her mentor to help calm her down.
(Please play the fan cover of 'All Eyes on Me' by Victor McKnight and SquigglyDigg. It is a Bendy and the Ink Machine Song)
Angel merely smiled as she readied herself with closed eyes, opened them, and activated her quirk. " Long long time ago, I had my show. T'was beautiful, lovable, angel. But he took the spotlight shining so bright, left me to fade away. But honey now the turn is mine!" Out in the audience, Naruto felt the touch of her quirk; it was a curious one, not something innately evil, but used nudging the emotions to match the ones she felt. Curious, he let it lead him away from his friends, who were distracted by her haunting melody. " 3, 2, 1. A devil made from heaven sent from above. Look's like Henry's got a little date, let's have some fun!" The audience became surprised when ink rose from the stage and formed both gothic furniture and floating music notes. The unnerving thing was that is flowed off her face a bit. Still, Angel smiled and lounge on the chair she made. " You've got lots to do little errand boy come to me at cloud nine. To be the perfect angel some sing must be done."
Taking a page from Naruto's illusion songs, Angel trained herself to tell a story via her own ink! Caricatures of a younger version of herself formed along with what people assumed was her old manager. " You told me what to do and what to say. I couldn't escape! You got to choose the ending of my fate! You put me astray!" The old manager was depicted as leading her down a path that led her to no longer be the singer she once was and it set off a fire in her. Fueling a hatred in her and it made people worried. Then the caricatures both turned into her to do a little bop of background singers. It was cute.
" But not anymore! I'm in control! I have the stage, you can't turn the page now all eyes on me!" And like that, the villainous aspect of her song came to life as all the music noted turned into black and white hypnotic wheels that captured the attention of everyone in the audience. Pop Step was about to hop in a break it up but stopped when she saw someone she knew behind the chair Angel used to lounge in. Also, that was a lot of ink dripping from Angel's face, was she ok? " All eyes on me! Ooooh~ So many experiments, so many mistakes, but I'll go all the way the way till I'm in PERFECT SHAPE!"
By this time, ink was flowing off Angel's form, giving her an unhinged look. But the smile creeped out everyone behind stage and worried them even more when the person behind the chair became strapped to it and set in center stage. This person was a bound Naruto…who looked bored. Especially when the that ink pooled to show off broken looking people. " First's the worst, maybe Third's the charm? So close! Oh, I cannot wait~ The demon won't take me now cause there's a sacrifice he'll slay!" An actual devil reformed out of the broken ink people and rested a hand on both Angel and Naruto, a smile stretching its face. At this point, the members of backstage tried to stop this performance but were stopped by ink imps giggling madly.
" You said I wasn't good enough to stay, you put me away! You took away my future and my fame, but now it will change!" Angel sang, reforming the visage of her old manager before squeezing his neck so hard his head popped off. She once more turned to her captive audience with a manic ink dripping smile. " FOCUS ON ME! I'll be all that they see! I'll make them sway, no can't ran away, now all eyes on me~!"
"I heard the stories, but I didn't think they screwed her over this badly to make her this mad!" Pop Step said in a panic as Kyoka readied her guitar for a sonic wave to disrupt this performance. Only issue was the ink covering her equipment making that difficult, making bother her and Kinoko panic as they tried to get the ink off. Angel made the instrument work for her for this song.
Angel gained a sad look on her face as she looked to Kyoka, Kinoko, Kazuha, Naruto, and then the audience. Then an angry look overcame her face as she starred at the hypnotized masses. " You don't know what it's like to drown away, in a puddle of shame. And you, yes, you…MAKE ME INSANE!" That anger rose as she spun Naruto's chair to sing/scream in his face. With her ever growing madness. The ink devil himself even seemed to back away from her. " But not anymore! I'm in control! I have the stage, you can't turn the page. Now do any you're told!" Her small angel wings on her costume grew into huge flapping black angel wings that dripped with her own ink. She still thought she was an angel and in control of her own actions. But she had lost control along time ago. " Focus on me! I'll be all that they see! I'll make them saw. No, can't run away! Now, all eyes on me! Now all eye on, all eyes ON ME!"
As the song died down, Angel started laughing hysterically until she was sobbing ink out her eyes. Her last push for fame had broken her. There were heroes in the audience who would take her away after this, she knew it. Her old manager even left her to be a hero, claiming her musical talent wasn't good enough for him to come back.
She barely noticed Naruto's comforting hand on her shoulder. She hated heroes, all because of her old manager. But this one…he had stage presence and was a hero. She would let him talk to her to see where this went.
"Look, I can sense you have been in a bad way for a long time. I don't think I have a right to ask why." Naruto began softly, letting the audience slowly wake up and piece together what happened. The evidence was all there, dripping off her and the stage. "Before you feel like you have to fully go down a villainous route just to be famous again and to spite someone that was close to you, I want you think remember why you wanted to start singing in the first place." While Angel looked contemplative on the why she started singing in the first place, Naruto walked over to Kyoka to help Kinoko help her up after she slipped and fell in the ink. "May I borrow that guitar?"
"Sure, but it is full of ink and can't be used." Kyoka muttered in annoyance as she handed Naruto the guitar.
"It won't be a problem." Naruto replied with a goofy grin, making Kyoka blush a bit. He then walked back over to Angel and said, "Let's do a do over. Wanna give me a hand?" Angel got the message and pulled the ink from the guitar, but she was highly confused why this hero…even if he was just an intern…was not immediately try to put her in jail. Her old manager sure what have! "Come on, you can even lead us off with a high-pitched tone."
(Please play 'A Good Song Never Dies' by Saint Motel)
Angel shrugged, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth for now, started making her voice go a bit high and she noticed it was affecting her ink in a positive way somehow. It was not wriggling in rage like it usually did for her singing. And combined with Naruto's playing of the guitar, it made things get…weird. One moment the area around them was normal…if covered in ink, the next everything was black and white like her ink, but in the style of very early cartoons.
" Stop! Now let's begin! You're in too deep to go back again. Cash, it's pay to play, you want more hits that lemonade." Naruto sang jubilantly as they begun to dance on a giant keyboard, even Kyoka and Kazuha joining in, having recognized this set up from the Sports Festival. Even the audience was affected the old timey atmosphere and the goofy dances. Rumi, in casual wear, even decided to bust a few moves. " No, you don't own me. You don't even know me!"
" Who, this vagabond with a two-part path to the great beyond." Naruto continued, his clothes shifting into a 1920s three-piece suit, complete an orange tie, a fedora, and even a walking cane. The guitar had disappeared with a clone as the illusion brought bit of color here and there. " How? Stay genuine a ground floor opp', I can help you find. Oh, you're a dreamer, call me when you're Bieber!"
" And when they play it, you can't help but sing along. That's nothin' odd, that's nothin' wrong." The illusion then shifted to that of a small musical venue similar to what was already going on, however, Angel noticed a younger version of herself with her family, all singing along to the songs that were being played for them. It was here, she remembered, that her younger self noticed that singing made her family happy and that she wanted to do the same. " 'Cause a good song never dies. It just reminds you of where you were. The first time it made you cry, the first time you felt alive!"
" No, a good song never. No, a good song never. The first time it made you cry, the first time you felt alive. No, a good song never…" The illusion dug deeper into her memories, showing her how she learned to be a better singer and even the times when she was somewhat famous where she was happy and still singing for her family, ignoring the time where her manager would interrupt and make things a hassle. " Dies."
" Hope, the wonder drug!" Naruto sang as he fell on his back and the scene changed again, this time to one of his memories. He was lying in a grassy field in the Land of Snow, staring up the rainbow generator heating up the place, a grateful Princess Koyuki looking around in awe with the audience.
" Sweat, your equity. Make the caffeine be your weaponry. What, is the reason? There never was one needed! Fear, it's all around. But it weighs too much to slow you down!" Two scenes played out, a younger Angel being yelled at by her manager while riding a train. At the same time, Naruto was running from said train with Koyuki on his back. " Now, is the time to act. 'Cause the best defense is a timeless track. No, you don't own me you don't even know me!"
" But when they play it, you can't help but sing along. That's nothin' odd, that's nothin' wrong. 'Cause a good song never dies." Naruto sang, the scene shifting to Kaina, Himiko, and him eating ice scream together, music playing the background that Naruto liked so much that he decided to try it out and sing on his own for a bit. He even sang for Himiko, Shinso, and Izuku while they trained as motivation. "It just reminds you of where you were. The first time it made you cry. The first time you felt alive! No, a good song never. No, a good song never. The first time it made you cry. The first time you felt alive. No, a good song never."
" There was a moment, a hole opened in the sky. A chance to join that pantheon." The scene changed once again to Angel walking up the stage of her first concert and that feeling of exhilarating filling her. The same feeling fill Naruto, like when he stood before a crowd in the Chunin Exam Finals. " For all the times they never heard your battle cry. Now even angels sing along!"
The old stage returned as five people stood there, singing their hearts out as they finished the song. Naruto, Kazuha, Kyoka, Kinoko and Angel all sang while the images behind them all showed off moments they were proud of. " Cause a good song never dies. It just reminds you of where you were the first time it made you cry, the first time you felt alive. No, a good song never dies! Like a lover who won't back down, they'll pull you over to the side. Looks you straight into the eyes! No, a good song never. No, a good song never. The first time it made you cry. The first time you felt alive. No, a good song never!"
Once the song was done, Angel smiling with tears in her eyes, reminded of why she wanted to do all this in the first place. She would admit she lost her way as she hugged Naruto in thanks for helping her; instead of immediately locking her away.
"Hey, that's what heroes do. They make everyone feel better, so they can smile."
"Gosh, I am jealous of Kyoka, she spoke so highly of you while she was here." Angel replied, winking at the girl, who blushed but took hold of Naruto's hand.
In the end, the concert continued on, much to the enjoyment of everyone. What made it even better was that Naruto was requested to lend his illusion talents to the other songs.
XXX
This place was loud and full of people, she father hated busy places like this, too many quirks and their germs. The man was weird and abusive, but her father… no, not her father; her captor. Her memory was photographic and she wished she did not have that. Her real father was gone thanks to her curse, as her captor called it. Her mother had left her in the care of her grandfather, who had taken in her captor. However, even he left, thanks to her captor. She knew she was alone in this world. It was thanks to her curse and her captor, who locked her up in a labyrinth most days.
Today was different. The bird people spoke about a stain who was a hero killer…whatever that was. They wanted to recruit him, another cruel man in her life, no doubt. Her captor, deciding she needed fresh air, which was a rare occurrence, took her with him to meet the stain. Only, he had been defeated in the monster attack.
A giant monster snake, one that looked similar in her picture books to scare her, had moved over to their area and she was separated from her captor. Maybe the giant snake was not so bad? She took her opportunity and ran for it. Away from the fight, the fire, the monsters, and most importantly, her captor. He'd come for her like the last few times he let her out, but she hoped she lost him in the chaos. She did not know what she would do if he found her.
So that was why she was here, in this busy place full of people, listening to sounds from a stage…at least she thought it was a stage. Her picture books said so. And those sounds, they had to be music!
However, no one was paying attention to her, so it was easy to slip around the crowd of people, getting further lost from her captor. That was when she smelled it. Food. Food that smelled so much better than the slop the bird people gave her! She followed her nose to a sit-in food vendor and saw a blond boy talking animatedly to a purple haired girl with weird ears. They seemed nice.
That was when the blond boy startled her by immediately looking in her direction. The girl seemed confused for a moment before she took looked at her, who looked at her with shock. The boy knelt by her and asked, "Hey there, are you lost?"
"Yes, but it is good." She replied lowly and despite all the noise, he heard her. She noticed both of them tense up.
"I see. I am Naruto and this is Kyoka. What is your name?"
"Eri." She responded again, eyes flickering from them and then to the food a few times.
"It is nice to met you, Eri. Say, are you hungry?" Naruto asked.
"Yes…do you have any apples?" She had not eaten in so long, not since the monster attack.
"I think I saw that this place has candy apples." Kyoka, the purple haired girl replied, her weird ears pointed in the direction of a board with pictures of food on it…along with words and numbers. She did not know how to read, so she did not know what any of it meant. "Do you want one?"
"Candy…apples? Um…yes." Eri replied. Kyoka nodded, gave the boy a look she did not understand, and then went to go get the food. Weird name for an apple.
"While Kyoka goes and gets that for you, why don't you sit up here with us?" Naruto asked and she complied. How could she not? They were so nice and her captor was not. He wasn't even here! Still, she could not help the thought he was near and would take her away soon. Once in the seat, she noticed other people were sitting nearby, all looking at her with that same strange look. A girl that almost resembled a frog from her picture books, two very tall boys that looked a little scary in her opinion, a strange purple haired boy that looked like he need sleep…much like the low-level grunts that worked for the bird people, and few other people. There was even a lady that looked like bunny! So cute! "Usually, kids are a sleep at this hour. What are you doing out here at the concert, Eri?"
"The big snake separated me from the bad bird people who hurt me. So, I ran." Eri replied truthfully. The more she stayed here, the more she felt welcome, but that nagging feeling would not go away. She was further distracted when Kyoka came back and handed her an apple on a stick…with gooey red stuff on it. Deciding to be brave once more, she took a bite. That…was the most wonderful thing she had ever had!
"Good, right?!" Naruto asked with a big smile and Eri felt herself lift a little at that smile; she began one herself.
"Ah, so this is where you ran off to, daughter." A voice replied menacingly and just like that, her smile failed and was replaced by a look of absolute fear! She knew it was too good to be true. "It is time to go home. This city is noisy and I hate it."
Eri was frozen in fear, but both Naruto and Kyoka got up to stand in front of her. She also heard everyone else get from their chairs. Oh no. Her captor would certainly kill them all to get her to come home.
"Who do you think you are?!" Kyoka growled protectively while Naruto put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Are you Eri's…father? You seem a bit young to be a dad." Naruto asked with a disarming smile and a bit of false confusion.
"I merely adopted her when her father took ill." The man replied, just as casually. However, Eri noticed the man's eyes darting to the people at the table and he looked…nervous. That was not good! He would hurt her new friends! "It is past her bed time. Eri, please do not throw a tantrum, it is time to go…now. Please do not make this a mess."
A mess. If she did not comply, her new friends would die a bloody end like the people who failed her captor. All these people that looked happy would die too. She knew it! He had done it before!
"And what if Eri does not want to go with you?" Naruto asked and Eri noticed her captor play with his glove.
"I'll go." Eri replied, defeated. She could not let these people die for he. The man was right, she was a curse that brought misery to others. She turned to Naruto and bowed quickly. "I need to go with him. Thank you for the Candy Apple!"
Once more, Naruto crouched down to her level and gave her a hug and it confused her. Her old parents were the only ones to ever do that so why was Naruto? What did it mean? She only knew the coldness her captor and his other bird people showed her. Then he spoke in her ear lowly and giving her a…shiny round rock? "Don't react. Just throw that at a wall when you feel safe back home. I will come get you. Just be brave for me."
She wanted to hand him back the shiny round rock for his safety. She did not want to be given hope, but she kept it in her small hand all the same. She wanted freedom!
"Hope you don't mind; but I gave her a marble to play with." Naruto said looking to her captor. "Maybe you should buy her more? They are fun if you know the games."
"My my, you spoil Eri!" Her captor replied with false levity in his voice as he secured his glove on his hand. "First a Candy Apple and now Marbles? I suppose I should get her some jacks to play that game every now and then. Very well, now come along Eri."
"Yes…father." And Eri left with the man but she did give one more glance back to her new friends. They all looked worried for her. All except for Naruto, who was giving her a reassuring smile. It gave her hope that she could hold on to. Maybe she could be brave…for just a little bit longer.
XXXX