Happy Friday! Glad to see that "Through the Rough" is still picking up steam after all this time! I'm happy to say that there'll be some news regarding how Season 3 will be produced once we hit the 40-chapter mark. I've got a general idea as to what I'd like to try, but I'll gauge an audience reaction beforehand.
Anyways, we're about to head into the Hero Killer portion of the story! This is probably one of my better sets of chapters, so I hope you all enjoy them. For now, let's get back into it.
Something that Izuku never could've expected was to see a Nomu again, especially on the bullet train. He was left to watch as Gran Torino rocketed away, taking the monster with him towards the city below. The One For All inheritor looked out of the hole in the train, noticing the pillars of smoke billowing into the night sky over Hosu.
As they had been passing by the city, he was trying to text with Tenya. But he hadn't been responding. Something about this whole situation didn't seem like a coincidence. And he wasn't going to just stand by. He leapt out from the train, activating his Full Cowling as green sparks crackled around him.
He felt a lot more ease with activating his Quirk. So much so that he was almost doing it without even needing to think. He hurriedly leapt out, landing onto a roof nearby.
'Iida...' he uttered inwardly, 'I hope you're okay!' he exclaimed through his thoughts. Elsewhere in Hosu, Mirko and Homura were perched atop a nearby building as they looked out at the chaotic scene.
"What forces could have caused this?" the latter of the two wondered aloud as her eyes shook.
"Well, it doesn't seem like the Hero Killer's MO..." her mentor noted as she narrowed her eyes. Her ears then perked up. "Over there!" she yelled, hopping off.
"T-Teacher!" Homura stuttered, hurrying after her.
"It's Mirko, ya little rabbit!" she shouted back, "And you gotta know when something's not right on a dime!" she mentioned aloud, "Whether it's loud or quiet, a hero's always gotta be aware of their surroundings and take action!" she pointed out, "So keep your eyes and ears peeled!" she instructed.
"Y-Yes!" the Soul Blade Quirk user responded with a stammer. Down on the streets, Rebecca and Momo were running after Jaguar, seeing the small fires raging about. Both girls were shocked that they were brought to the city by the I.U.A. hero, especially after their day of training with him.
"Wouldn't it be better to have interns like Husert and Granbell with us?" the Creation Quirk user inquired as they kept going.
'Momo...' Rebecca uttered inwardly out of concern.
"I believe you two are integral to helping us save and reassure the people of this city," Jaguar answered, "Don't doubt yourselves as heroes," he insisted of the two girls, "The moment you do, you'll have lives on your hands," he told them seriously.
"R-Right!" Momo stuttered out in reply, shaking her head to alleviate her doubts. Rebecca took on a determined expression, prepared to keep going. They rounded a corner... and gasped in fright. There were two Nomus roaming about, one who was a light brown with wings and another that was dark-colored and muscular. They were swatting away heroes easily like flies, knocking them back.
"Nomu...?" Rebecca uttered out with a very frightened look upon her face.
"There were more of them...?!" Momo questioned, quite shocked as well. Their mentor put his left hand out in front of them.
"As I said, your goal will be to save lives, including any heroes who've been injured," he said. Lines of yellow energy glowed upon his body, which started to morph. Both girls watched in awe as he transformed himself, gaining a head and claws similar to that of a ferocious feline.
Hero Name: Jaguar! Quirk: Jaguar!
He can transform himself into one of the fiercest animals in the jungle, enhancing his strength and agility! He can get pretty brutal in a fight...
"The Nomu are made from human corpses from what I've learned," he noted aloud, drawing his claws, "Therefore, I don't need to hold back..." he concluded through a growl, "I trust that you'll know what to do next," he told both girls before rushing off. Momo and Rebecca looked to each other. As frightened as they were, they knew that many other people were probably just as scared if not more so. Determined, both of them nodded to each other before running off in search of bystanders to lead to safety. Neither of them took notice of Jamilov lurking in an alley nearby, licking his lips.
"AGH...!" Tenya yelped as he fell down to the ground, having lost his helmet and glasses. He had found the Hero Killer in the midst of the chaos, as he was in the middle of attacking another hero within an alleyway. And immediately, the villain saw that he was looking for vengeance.
"Even if it's a child, I won't hesitate to fight someone who seeks vengeance..." he declared, aiming his roughened sword at his new foe.
"Then... are you saying you don't know why I'm here?" he questioned back.
"Hm?" Stain uttered in confusion.
"My brother... was a fine hero that you wounded..." the Engine Quirk user noted, rising up to his knees, "He can longer be the hero he once was, so he's entrusted this duty to me..." he pointed out with a fierce expression, "I am Ingenium! And I will defeat you!" he declared fiercely.
"Is that so?" his opponent inquired, narrowing his crazed eyes, "Then die..." he said simply.
The blazing explosions in the near distance were seen by Tomura, Kurogiri, and Drakken. The three of them had sent out the trio of Nomu as part of their operation coinciding with the Hero Killer's business in Hosu. That, and...
"The mass murderer Jamilov?" the Warp Gate Quirk user inquired, narrowing his eyes onto the bar owner.
"Yep," he answered, "He's essentially the guinea pig for Müller's experiment," he pointed out, "Though honestly, I doubt it'll match up to what the other guy's doing..." he admitted aloud.
"Who cares?" Tomura muttered out, "So long as he plays his part while the Nomu play theirs, we get everything we need..." he noted, narrowing his eyes beneath the hand upon his face.
"Heh," Drakken chuckled, "Always gotta act like such a bigshot..." he grumbled with a smirk and a shake of his head, "So... who's dyin' first?" he wondered. Back on the streets, Jaguar slashed mightily at the black Nomu over and over, drawing blood and tearing off limbs. However, they were growing back rather quickly, much to his frustration.
"Damn..." Manual cursed out from afar alongside some other heroes, "Even Jaguar can't seem to stop this thing..." he noted while drawing water from a fire hydrant to put out nearby fires.
"That regeneration Quirk it has is gonna be the death of us if we don't find a way to stop it...!" another hero pointed out. Elsewhere, Mirko and Homura were about to arrive onto the scene. The latter was thinking about what her mentor had told her earlier. She closed her eyes for a moment while traversing between buildings, trying to get a better sense of her surroundings.
She heard the flickering flames, the yells of innocent people... and the sound of metal grating against the ground, like a blade against a whet stone. Her eyes jolted open as she landed. She pivoted around and leapt off in the opposite direction. The Rabbit Hero took notice, but didn't say a word. She just smirked, knowing that the lessons she imparted were already benefitting her intern.
"Come on, this way!" Rebecca called out, waving panicked bystanders over through an alleyway that led towards a nearby train station. They hurried by, giving off thankful nods to the young hero hopeful. Momo then approached.
"I think that's everyone," she noted aloud.
"Good..." the Leaper Quirk user responded, breathing somewhat heavily, "We should probably make sure to go and protect them until those Nomu are all dealt with..." she insisted.
"Right..." Momo agreed with a nod, "Let's hurry and-" A buzzing noise interrupted her sentence, causing Rebecca to perk up. She reached down into her pocket and pulled out her phone, seeing the notification light up its screen.
"It's... from Izuku!" she pointed out, quite surprised.
"But it's only his location..." the Creation Quirk user noted as she had taken out her own device upon receiving the notification like her classmate, "And it's nearby!" she mentioned aloud.
"We should hurry and-!"
"Watch out!" a familiar voice exclaimed, catching their attentions as they looked to see the dark monster about to engulf both of them. However, it was swatted away by Homura as she struck it with her red energy blade that she conjured. She landed down in front of her classmates, sliding to a stop.
"Homura!" Rebecca yelped out of surprise.
"Are you two harmed?" the Soul Blade Quirk user inquired, glancing back at them.
"No, we're fine..." Momo assured in reply, "But... what was that?" she inquired, seeing the dark monster retract back toward the alley on the opposite end of the street. Homura readied her blade as she narrowed her eyes. The dark entity reformed into the blade of a large scythe, being held by none other than Jamilov.
"Byahahaha..." he cackled out.
"A villain...!" Rebecca gasped.
"Is he the one behind the Nomu in the city?" Momo guessed, looking over to Homura.
"Perhaps..." she answered, steadying her blade, "In any case, our duty is to protect the people," she stated firmly.
"And that means stopping this guy..." the Leaper Quirk user realized, taking on a ready stance. Momo did the same, creating a staff from her left shoulder to wield. Jamilov licked his lips excitedly.
"Three young hero girls prancing about the streets..." he muttered out, making holographic screens and a keyboard appear in front of himself. Rebecca blinked in surprise. "I'm going to enjoy this..." the villain said, wiggling his fingers with anticipation.
And so it begins with enemies on three separate fronts! Can our heroes match up to what they're up against? I hope you'll be able to discover that soon! Thanks for reading!