Welcome back to "Through the Rough", everyone! I know it hasn't been all that long since the last chapter, but I'm still really stoked for things to keep on moving, especially as we're now sitting 250 reviews for this story! Thank you so much for the support!
Now when we last left our heroes, they had just started their raid to rescue Hermit, only for some groups to end up separated due to Elsie Crimson's crew being part of the villains working under Müller. And now, things have escalated with Elsie and Justice coming face to face. How will their battle go?
Well, let's find out!
People in Shibuya that evening found themselves stopping in concern as they could hear the rumblings coming from the city outskirts. Bright flashes of crimson and royal blue light appeared, clashing against each other in the forest. From within it, Elsie and Justice weaved through trees, as the latter was in hot pursuit of the former.
"You've gotten much better with that Meteor technique since the last time..." the villain noted curiously with a grin. The Interstellar Hero growled, summoning forth a weapon into his left hand in a flash of light. It was a dark-colored polearm, having a cross-shaped spearhead with four diamonds adorning it, also having three energy blades jutting out.
"Antares!" he exclaimed as Elsie blinked in surprise. He then sped over and clashed his polearm against her cutlass, causing its blade to shatter off. Grimacing, the villain quickly veered up into the air and summoned forth her own polearm into her right hand. She clashed it against her foe's, resulting in a shockwave that blew both of them back.
"Huh... Huh..." she exhaled as sweat trickled down her face. However, she cracked a small smile. "Since we have the same Quirk, people used to call us Japan's first hero couple," she noted to her opponent, who narrowed his eyes, "You may have severed that memory, but I haven't," she pointed out, looking down at the ground in thought, "Those were some of the happiest memories of my life..." she confessed.
FLASHBACK
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
"Welcome aboard," a cross-armed Ziggy greeted alongside Witch, Sister, Hermit, and Valkyrie. Standing in front of them were James and Elsie, who adorned grins on their faces while dressed in similar hero costumes. "As of today, you'll be sidekicks at this agency," the Demon King Hero declared.
"Gotta say, I'm really stoked," Sister admitted, putting her hands onto her hips, "Not every day we get two Ether-Types to add to the party..." she pointed out.
"And not only that, they share the same Quirk as well," Witch mentioned.
"We're honored to be a part of your agency," Elsie greeted with a bow.
"Indeed," James agreed as he mimicked her action.
James and I were both sidekicks at Ziggy's agency back in the day after we finished our hero academia. Being able to work under the Number One Hero was such an incredible feeling. And even more incredible was how quickly we became recognized. After the Shining Star Heroes took off on their own paths, it was just me and James following after Ziggy.
When people saw that we shared the same Quirk, the tabloids immediately started to come out with the idea that we were a couple. James didn't much care for publicity, but I did grow curious. He and I were childhood friends that met thanks to our wealthy families. And from there, we never separated. We grew closer and closer to each other... to the point where one night... he finally caved in to his feelings, as did I.
"Good morning..." Elsie greeted with a warm smile. James blushed as he realized that not only were they in the same bed together, but they were both naked. "How are you feeling?" his new lover asked, resting her hand upon her cheek as she kept staring at the man she shared an evening with.
"I'm... uh... feeling fine..." he answered nervously, glancing away as he rubbed the back of his head, "Last night was... incredible..." he admitted, while his blush grew.
"Indeed it was," Elsie agreed, "And you were much more proficient than I thought you'd be..." she added jokingly.
"Elsie..." James said, getting her attention as she blinked in surprise to see the troubled look upon his face, "Do you think this will work... between us?" he wondered aloud. His new lover was shocked by such a question. But she couldn't find it in herself to answer it. So instead, she leaned over and planted a soft kiss onto his lips.
"It will, James," she assured warmly, resting her right hand onto his cheek, "I promise," she said.
We had wonderful times together... But like all good things, it came to an end.
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Elsie screamed in agony as blood spilled out from her right eye.
"ELSIE!" James cried out, quickly going over to his beloved as she trembled with pain, having her right hand over her bleeding eye.
During a raid, I was caught off guard and injured badly by a villain whose teeth could become sharp blades. I lost my right eye and was put onto the sidelines for over two weeks. During that time, James changed. At once, we both never considered hero names, thinking instead to be more personal with the people of Japan.
But then he started to go by Justice, the Interstellar Hero. And by the time I was discharged and allowed back into the field, he had already started his own agency.
"You've recruited other heroes as well as sidekicks...?" Elsie inquired to her beloved, who stared out the window of his office down towards the city streets below.
"I wanted an agency that brings together the strongest possible force capable of taking on the Oracion Seis Villains, wherever they may be," he told her, "It's started up well, but I need to go bigger..." he insisted, closing his hands into clenched fists. His beloved stared at him in disbelief. This wasn't the man she made love with. He had become someone else entirely.
"What about Ziggy? Or...?" she tried to ask.
"He'd want me to move on and become stronger," James answered, "I assume he'd also want the same for you," he mentioned firmly. Lowering her head sadly, Elsie turned away.
"Then I wish you the best, James..." she said, walking off without another word.
That was the last time we would meet before he discovered that I too had changed. I was a strong believer in being a valiant hero similar to All Might, focusing solely on saving lives and stopping evil. Yet I also wondered... what if evil lurked within us?
I had discovered that my family as well as James' had been trafficking illegal Quirk boosters through the black market. When I confronted them over the matter alone, I found myself surrounded by villains they had hired for protection. In all honesty, I should've told James everything...
But it was already too late. I killed my parents as well as his for the sins they committed. Yet he'll never believe I was trying to do the right thing. With all of the blood, sweat, and tears I've shed for us to have a brighter future... I'll become as much of a villain as I need to be.
END FLASHBACK
"Why did you choose to follow Stain's will?" Justice asked as he and foe stared each other down.
"I followed by own will, James!" Elsie shouted back in reply, "I saw the evil that our families were committing, yet we turned a blind eye to it!" she pointed out emphatically.
"You can say what you like..." the Interstellar Hero began, "but the fact is, you're still a murderer," he noted with a sharp glare. His former beloved summoned forth a katana with a crisscrossed-patterned hilt, having a blade of red energy come off from it.
"I only killed them because they gave me no choice..." she told her opponent.
"So you admit to it..." he muttered out angrily, making his Antares disappear in a flash of bright light.
"I've admitted to it from the beginning, along with my reasons," Elsie retorted, "And as such, I'll keep fighting to make this world a brighter place for all of us together," she vowed, aiming her new blade at him.
"That so, hm?" Justice guessed, placing both of his hands on top of each other, with the top hand having only the index and middle fingers spread out, much to his foe's surprise "Then you leave me no choice..." he concluded, "In the name of justice, I shall kill you..." he vowed firmly. All of a sudden, bright royal blue lights shot out from the ground. There were seven in total. The villain grimaced.
"James...!" she yelled out.
"GRAND CHARIOT!" he roared as the ground erupted in a brilliant flash of royal blue light, engulfing his foe.
"Hey, she's coming to!" Sister exclaimed as a certain person slowly blinked, trying to focus their vision. It was none other than Hermit, who was dressed in rags and bloodied all over as she was sitting against the wall. She blinked again, finding not only the nurse there, but also Witch and Katsuki.
"Witch... Sister..." she uttered out, smiling a little.
"It is good to see you again, Hermit," the Sorcery Hero greeted, tearing up a little as she smiled. The Mind of Edens giggled a little. She then took notice of Katsuki.
"Um... who's that...?" she weakly asked.
"A prick of a student at UA High," Sister remarked in reply, causing the Explosion Quirk user to growl through clenched teeth, knowing that he couldn't do a thing to retaliate.
"Ivry, please don't antagonize Sir Katsuki..." Witch insisted.
"Aw, but it's fun!" the nurse retorted with a big grin.
"So you're both working at UA now..." Hermit realized, "I was gonna come and join you..." she admitted, wincing as she tried to stand up.
"Easy," Sister insisted, expelling a golden, soothing aura from her hands that washed over her companion.
"You were planning on taking on a position at UA, but you wound up here..." Witch realized.
"Some kind of mission?" Katsuki guessed.
"More of a... project for... research..." Hermit winced out, gritting her teeth, "I should've been smarter..." she confessed in frustration.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Sister insisted, "It's gonna make healing you a lot tougher..." she grumbled out.
"What do you mean when you say that you should've been smarter?" Witch inquired of her fellow Shining Star Hero.
"The only reason I wound up captured by Müller was because I'd been investigating his laboratory for the technology he'd been creating for amputees," she explained in response, "It was rumored that he also was working on something that copied Quirk factors," she mentioned on.
"Hold on, you didn't go in alone, did you?!" Sister inquired in shock.
"There were a few pros with me..." Hermit answered, "but they were killed as I got caught by Müller," she said, "And I'm pretty sure..." she continued, wincing in pain again.
"He's copied your Master Code Quirk for himself..." Witch finished for her.
"What the hell can he do with it?" Katsuki inquired, raising an eyebrow under his mask.
"Language, Sir Bakugo," Witch advised seriously, making him grimace in frustration a little.
"If he's able to use it at full potential, he could turn Shibuya into his playground..." Hermit said as she slowly managed to stand up. All of a sudden, there was a rumbling throughout the room.
"The hell was that?!" Sister exclaimed, causing Witch to give off an annoyed looked toward her for her crassness. Katsuki looked around.
"Sounds like a fight went outside..." he inferred.
"In any case, we should leave immediately," Witch insisted of the group.
"No, wait..." Hermit said, much to her surprise, "There's something I need to take care of first..." she stated.
"Hermit, there's no way you can-!"
"What do you need to do?" Katsuki asked, interrupting Sister.
"I need to access the mainframe and find a way to shut down Müller's experiments for good," the Mind of Edens answered, pulling up a holographic screen and keyboard in front of herself, "My radius is pretty low right now, so I need someone to get me closer to where I'd need to be," she told the group.
"...I'll get you there," the Explosion Quirk user decided, much to the surprise of both Witch and Sister.
"Like hell you are!" the latter shouted angrily.
"Sir Katsuki, you-!"
"I'll only get her to where she needs to go," the U.A. student interjected, lowering his head and shutting his eyes, "I won't fight unless I'm told to by her," he assured to their surprise. Sister still seemed angry about the idea, but Witch sighed.
"I trust that you'll be a proper guide, Hermit," she said to the Mind of Edens, who nodded.
"Let's hurry," she insisted, hopping onto Katsuki's back. He scoffed with embarrassment, jogging off with her. The other two Shining Star Heroes stayed behind for a moment, wondering if their decision was for the best. But they didn't have time to really think about it as another rumble snapped them back to reality.
"Shit, that really doesn't sound good..." Sister muttered out.
"Then we'll make our way outside," Witch decided, heading off alongside her companion. Some things were starting to look up. But other things were starting to look down...
"Ergh... dammit...!" Shiki growled out, having his hands tied behind his back thanks to Müller's tendrils as he was hoisted into the air off of the floor.
"Brother..." Kleene whimpered, seeing Kris bleeding out onto the floor as his left arm had been severed from his body.
"In the end..." Müller began with a crazed smile upon his face, "heroes will never be able to stop my true genius..." he declared.
Oh boy... Things are really heating up! Even though Hermit's been rescued, our heroes are having tough battles all around! We'll find out how some of the others are doing next chapter, along with what happened with Shiki's group!
Thanks for reading! I'll see you all later!
Oh, and don't forget that short requests for this weekend are open on the forum! Remember, they have to be IzuBecca-related! Thanks again!