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It's been a while, but it's finally time for the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the series used in this. All series are owned by their own respective owners, such as Eiichiro Oda, Kohei Horikoshi, and etc.
"Deku, you're the one who suggested we act like Robin Hood. So why are we not acting like Robin Hood?" Ryuko deadpanned as she and Deku walked through the nearly empty street of the town, Deku dressed in a regular white shirt and blue shorts.
"I know I said we should act like Robin Hood, but not only is that story very, very old in my world, I don't know how to act as a thief. Plus, we have little to no information. Every mission, no matter what kind, needs at least some basic information," Izuku said as he looked for someone to question. "Unfortunately, it seems like not only are there heavy taxes at play, there's also a strict curfew."
"Tch, this town stinks. First you got Sunday Service, then a bunch of greedy bastards in charge, and now there's a curfew," Ryuko complained as she stomped down the street in a way that reminded Izuku a lot of Bakugou. The hero scratched his cheek as he thought before hurrying to catch up to Ryuko.
"Being a hero is your job, right? You got any ideas for what we should do?"
"I haven't gone on infiltration missions as much I had raid missions-"
"Sweet."
"But I do have a general idea. If we can't simply obtain information by asking around town, we can instead obtain it directly by scouting and observing, or by getting information from a Marine. Something like that."
"Alright then. So what kind of information are we looking for?"
"We want to know what kind of officers that the Marines have at their disposal, the overall layout and location of their base, and what we could expect should we try to pull off this heist. Also, we have to think about how to minimize the consequences for the people. Let's try not to reclaim more than we need."
"... And how much is that?"
"I… don't know."
"You're not very good at this."
"I'm plenty good at hero work! I just, need more information."
"Well, there's no one around, and it is night time. Where exactly are we getting that information, Mr. Hero?"
"Hm. Well, there is one person that we could go to."
"Like who?"
A loud knocking on the doors woke the raven-haired teen. Shiro sat up and yawned before he slipped on a white shirt. Blue light seemed to illuminate the dark halls, before dispersing as he approached the door. He opened it cautiously, and blinked before grinning at the sight of Izuku and Ryuko.
"Yo, Fujimoto! We got some questions."
"Well I got some time, since it's night. Come on in, I'll fix up some snacks."
"Oh, you don't-"
"Thank you~!" Ryuko said. Izuku deadpanned before following her in.
'It's night time, so I'd better grab something relatively small for them to eat. I'll make… crab cakes!' Shiro thought. He opened the small fridge as the two sat down.
'Alright, toss in the egg, mustard, mayo, Worcestershire, salt, black pepper, hot sauce, bread crumbs, parsley, and crab meat,' Shiro thought as he threw in the ingredients one after the other.
"So, what exactly did you guys want?" he asked as he began mixing the bowl's contents with a large wooden spoon.
"Well, you know how earlier I told you that Deku here is a hero guy, right? Well, we decided that we wanted to change that. Whatcha got for us?"
"Uh… what exactly did you guys want?" Shiro said awkwardly as he began pressing the mix into patties with gloves.
"Well, I have a few questions. For starters, how often do the Marines collect taxes? And how much do they collect?" Izuku asked.
"Uh, like every two weeks. They take like, 75 thousand beris per person. Man, woman, and child," Shiro said. "If it's not direct beris, they take resources that equal up to 75 thousand."
"75 thousand?" Izuku repeated.
'Shiota-sensei said that beris is around the same as the yen in this world. That's a month's rent for a one-room apartment in Japan.'
"Considering the size of the crowd for the sermon earlier in the day, I'm guessing around forty, fifty people, average that out at 45 people, and 75 thousand per person… That's 3.375 million beris every two weeks! And they've been doing this for a year?!" Izuku said in shock.
"So like, almost two Shiotas, and one point five Dekus," Ryuko said.
"Don't use us to measure money," Izuku deadpanned. "Also, 5 times 1.5 is 7.5. The number you're looking for is 0.675."
"Nerd."
"If we want to pull a Robin Hood without causing massive backlash, we need to return-just-enough-money-to-go-unnoticed-Considering-that-they've-been-taking-for-at-least-a-year-and-assuming-that-they-have-a-reasonable-budget-where-they-keep-at-least-ten-percent-of-the-money-taken…" Izuku's mumblestorm caused the two others to stare at him.
"He does that a lot?"
"Yeah, and apparently Shiota and Naegi can keep up with it? I have no idea how," Ryuko sweatdropped. Shiro turned back to the golden brown crab cakes and plated them before grabbing a bowl.
'For the tartar sauce, mayonnaise, chopped pickles and dill, lemon juice, and freshly ground black pepper,' he thought as he mixed the ingredients, making a fresh sauce that he served up. The smell of the food and sauce snapped Izuku out of his mumble session.
"Wow, these are great!" he said after trying one. "It's nice and crispy, but not completely dry, and the tartar sauce adds a nice flair to the taste."
"Don't overanalyze the food, you'll make it taste worse with nerdiness," Ryuko teased as she had a crab cake for herself.
'She really does remind me of Kacchan,' Izuku thought. He put down his crab cake and continued.
"Anyways, additional information we were hoping you could provide is the location of the Marine base, and any details about it," he said. Shiro looked up at the ceiling as he thought carefully.
"Hm… Nah, I got nothing."
"… Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
"I see…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Well since the author can't think of how to continue this conversation, let's move on!" Ryuko said.
"What?"
"I said if we have nothing to talk about then let's just go."
"That's not even close to-"
SMASH!
"So," Ryuko began after slamming and burying Izuku's head into the table. "You wanna come with?"
"Nah, I got something to do later tonight," Shiro waved off.
"Sure. Come on Deku, let's find some ass and beat that ass!" Ryuko paused when she realized what she said before shrugging it off and dragging the half-conscious Izuku out of the room. Shiro stared after them before shrugging.
"Nice people," he said as he walked out while snacking on the remaining crab cakes. He opened a section of the floor and pulled out a long thin package that he slung over his shoulder. "Well, since I'm awake, might as well get started early!"
A pair of Marines walked through the streets of the town on their nightly patrol, rifles in their arms.
"Man, this place is a dump."
"I know. You think these folks would fix their damn houses every now and then. Just because they're being taxed doesn't mean they should be neglecting their daily needs."
"Speaking of the taxes, you hear about the big purchases the Captain's been making? Some fancy guys came over yesterday to deliver it."
"Are they still staying at the base?"
"Yeah, it took them all day to unload. Then they spent all of today talking to the Captain after he finished collecting taxes."
"How come we never get to see that money?"
"The Captain decides when we get the money. By the way, you heard about what the captain's guards have been saying at the base?"
"About how there are invisible beasts following them? You really believe that?"
"Well it is the guards who say that. They're usually the ones who are the closest to the captain."
"Ridiculous. Who's ever heard of an invisible beast?" the second guard scoffed.
"You'd be surprised. The world is quite big after all," Nagisa said.
"It's not that big dumbass," the second guard retorted. He paused, and slowly turned. Nagisa smiled politely, having replaced the first guard. He immediately moved, only for a rifle to drop in front of his face and press on his neck, choking him out until he passed out, unconscious.
"Not a bad takedown, Naegi-kun."
"Yeah, I think I am getting a little stronger," Makoto said. He looked over the Marine's rifle he stole.
'This is a nice gun. Maybe I should use it?'
"Damn you!" the first Marine yelled.
"Oh, he woke up already," Nagisa said.
"Should we do nice cop bad cop?" Makoto asked.
"I think it's good cop bad cop."
"I can hear you! Fuck you two!"
"Rude," Nagisa frowned. "Perhaps we should both be bad cops."
"Uh… I know I suggested this, but I don't know how to be a bad cop."
"I do."
"BRABKSJTHGATEITGETUETHUEGUGBETEUA!" the Marine gurgled as he hung upside down from a tree branch with a long rope, with a large bucket of water under him for his head to be dunked into. Nagisa held the other end of the rope and, after counting down for a bit, pulled him out of the bucket.
"Ready to talk young man?" he asked. The Marine sputtered as water splashed from his head and glared at Nagisa.
"Fuck-!"
SPLASH!
"I can do this all night," Nagisa said. Makoto watched from the side and looked down at the now conscious and very pale partner of the Marine.
"You want to go through that?"
"Uh… I… can take it!"
"No you can't."
"Yeah, I probably can't. But still, fuck you!"
"We're gonna be here for a while then," Makoto sighed.
While Nagisa and Makoto were busy torturing the Marine Officers, with a side of Makoto questioning his purpose in life, Izuku and Ryuko were taking a more direct approach. Ryuko stood at the bottom of a statue of Captain Thorne as Izuku stood at the top of it, scanning the area with his hand over his eyes.
"You ever wonder why people hold their hand over their eyes when they're trying to see far? It's not like it makes binoculars," Daigoro said.
"It's actually because it's easier to see far without light in your eye. Holding your hand over your eyes blocks more light, so you don't have as much light shining in your eyes," En said.
"... Wait, but it's night!"
"There's still light!"
Izuku ignored the banter when he spotted what he was looking for. To be sure, he leapt higher into the air with Float, and confirmed his discovery. He dropped down, landing near Ryuko who straightened when she saw him.
"So?"
"I think I found the Marine base. It's an area near the center of the island with grey buildings and the Marine flag on top of the tallest."
"Sounds about right to me. Race you there!" Ryuko said as she began running. Izuku watched her run before turning to walk the other way.
Ryuko eventually discovered that she had been running the other way after looking back to see that Izuku wasn't there, and eventually caught up to him to give him a smack to the head. The two teens continued walking through the thick forest in silence.
"Okay, Ryuko. If we want to get through this alright, we can't be too reckless. We need to be able to utilize stealth, and cunning," Izuku said.
"... Probably should've brought along Shiota, huh?"
"... Yeah, probably."
"Don't worry, Izuku," Nana reassured him. "As long as you keep your guard up, you should be fine."
"But don't rely on Danger Sense. My Quirk can only detect hostile intent, and it's not guaranteed that everyone in the base will have such thoughts. Smokescreen and Float should be saved for an escape as opposed to stealth, as people are sure to notice that a cloud of purplish pink fog suddenly appears, or if a green broccoli in spandex is flying above their heads."
"He's not in spandex."
"Figure of speech, Nana."
"We spent a lot of time working on just finding the place. Let's see if we can beat the sunrise," Izuku said.
"Sure. Race you there! It's that way, right?"
"Yes, it's that way."
"Alright!"
"Hey! Pushing is cheating!"
"These Marines are the real deal. It took a full hour for them to break," Nagisa said as he and Makoto finished tying the half-drowned Marines to the branches of the tree.
"But what do you think they meant when they said invisible beasts? Is there like a Devil Fruit that gives people invisibility powers?"
"Hm… Unlikely. There is certainly a chance that such a Devil Fruit exists, but it's not possible for more than one Devil Fruit of the same kind to exist. There might be some with similar abilities, but not the exact same, and not too many."
"What about a Devil Fruit that makes multiple people invisible?"
"Perhaps. We should keep our guards up."
"... If we fight a Devil Fruit user, do you think we'll lose?"
"... Eh, it's a chance."
"I keep thinking you're about to say something else."
"And I keep finding myself about to say something else, but it feels like a phrase that's both overdone to death while still being fun to say, especially to troll people."
"... Have you heard of Sorcery Fight?"
"What's that? Is it like Wizard Battle?"
A large, bulbous creature was lumbering through the forest. It could sense two young blood running through the forest in its direction. A large, thick tongue slithered out from between its lips and licked them with glee. One was full of youthful energy, and it could sense not one, but two souls. But the other, its life force was stronger, and it felt as if it had not one, not two, not even three, but nine souls! Granted, eight of them felt more like remnants, but it would be a fulfilling and delicious treat nonetheless. It jiggled before slowly flattening, stretching to become flat and to cover the forest where it stood. It would be a quick, and useful trap.
FWOOSH!
The creature shrieked as blue fire suddenly burst into life all over its flattened body, causing it to snap back into shape. It rolled around, desperately trying to put the flames out before lashing at the area around them. Something was running about, dodging its attacks or cutting its body with a sword of blazing blue fire, the same blue fire covering his body. The creature roared and unleashed a powerful air cannon attack that the person dodged under. The air blast destroyed the trees behind them, reducing them to splinters. Shiro stood up and looked at the stumps, letting out a low whistle.
"Well damn, bro! You don't need to go deforesting the forest!" he said as he turned back to the creature. The creature growled.
"... Child of Satan. Why are you here?" it rumbled. Shiro's expression shifted. What was once an amused, exasperated face was now glaring at the creature.
"... Don't call me that. That bastard's not my dad," he growled.
"Traitorous, ungrateful brat!" the creature roared as it formed a massive arm and thrusted it towards Shiro.
The teen yelled as he intercepted the attack with his sword, and dragged it through the arm as he shot towards the body. The creature was helpless as Shiro sliced the entire arm in half and slashed it across the upper half of its body, causing it to shriek in pain as it collapsed, wriggling and thrashing about. Its movements became weaker and slower, until it eventually stopped, dead. Shiro stayed bent over before slowly getting up and putting a new cigarette to his lips, and lighting it with the blue fire. Behind him, the creature disappeared into ash as he sheathed his sword, banishing the azure colored flames before he slid it back into the package and slung it back over his shoulder.
"Yo!"
"Gah!" Shiro jumped and whirled around. Ryuko and Izuku were walking up to him.
"Fujimoto! What are you doing out here?" Ryuko asked. She looked around. "Woah, what happened here?"
"Uh, no idea! This place has always been like this, hahaha…" Shiro laughed awkwardly. Ryuko seemed to accept it, but Izuku looked around more.
'The wood is fresh and the splinters and sawdust are abundant. If this was old, then the wood would've rotted by now, and the debris should've been blown away,' he thought.
"There was also that big boom and the blue flames," Bruce said.
"Something tells me that our pastor here has more to him than he lets on," Kudo said. Shiro was looking at Izuku, who smiled in a friendly way.
"Well, what are you doing out here?" Izuku repeated Ryuko's question.
"Uh, I'm on a walk."
"Cool. By the way, the Marine base is over that way." Ryuko pointed. "You sure that you don't want to come with?"
"Uh…" Shiro looked around. He looked down, where a bit of the creature's ash was blowing away, and paused.
"You said, that way?"
"Yep."
'... Now that I think about it, it seems like the demons are all coming towards town from that direction. Are they coming from there?'
"... You know what? Let's do it!"
"Really?"
"Heck yeah! This is my town!"
"Alright! Let's- gak!"
"Slow down there, Ryuko," Izuku said as he retracted Black Whip while Ryuko rubbed her neck. "Since we're getting close, we should prioritize subtly and stealth. We don't want this to be harder than it already is."
"... Eh, screw that noise! I want to give those arrogant douches the reality check that they need!" Ryuko said.
"That does sound pretty fun!" Shiro said. Izuku stared at the two with a deadpan expression before face palming.
"Look, I'll give you the chance to give them a reality check. Until then, just let me lead?" he sighed. "If we go with my plan, we'll be able to both help people and kick butt."
"Help people and kick butt? Sounds good to me," Shiro said.
"Dammit, I guess I'm outvoted," Ryuko complained.
"Deku is your captain, so you had to listen to him anyways," Senketsu reminded her. Shiro looked around before focusing back on Deku, who was now talking to the Vestiges, formulating a plan.
Two guards stood on top of a large stone wall. Behind them was a large tower, the Marine Logo painted on the side, while dozens of Marines were doing drills in the courtyard surrounded by barracks. The two guards were at attention with their rifles and their swords at their sides. They stared into the distance. One scratched his shoulder. The other scratched his butt. The first one yawned, prompting the second to yawn. They spent the next two minutes yawning, prompting each other before the second one grabbed the first one by the throat, choking his yawn and ending the cycle. After that, they went back to looking out into the forest.
"... Hey."
"Yeah?"
"You ever wonder why we're-"
Black Whip shot up from the wall's base to grab them around their necks and yanked them off the wall. They fell to the bottom before they could even shout. Fortunately, Izuku caught them and set them on their feet. Unfortunately Ryuko and Shiro were quick to start kicking their asses.
"I'm not sure I've ever seen a stealth mission that relied on yawning," Yoichi commented. Izuku examined the wall as Ryuko and Shiro stomped the Marine guards into unconsciousness before dragging their beaten and bruised body into the forest.
"Never thought I'd see a pastor beating people up!" Ryuko said as she and Shiro joined Izuku.
"You should've seen my dad then. I actually got into a lot of fights growing up, though it was mostly with a bunch of jerks that liked bullying people and animals."
"Hm. I can respect that."
"Okay you two, remember to follow my lead," Izuku said.
Black Whip became a makeshift ladder that Shiro and Ryuko scurried up to reach the top of the wall before pulling Izuku up after them. The Hero crouched down and looked over the edge, scanning the base with analytical eyes. He gestured, and the trio ran along the wall's top. As they got closer to the tower, he used Black Whip to create a make-shift rope bridge for the other two to dart towards the structure to a window. Ryuko used her shrunken Scissor Blade to try to make a circle, failed and thus made an oval instead, and punched it out before unlocking the window and letting herself and Shiro in. They stood to the side as Izuku shot inside into a crouched stance, glancing around before standing up.
"Okay now here's the next step. We disguise ourselves and find the treasury, then we use the same route to escape. Remember not to take more than we need."
"Alright, should be simple enough. You coming, Fujimoto?" Ryuko asked. The teen pastor was looking around for some reason before turning back to them.
"Uh… Sure. Just, uh, I got something to take care of first. I'll catch up with you guys later," Shiro said as he began running away. The two crewmates watched the raven-haired teen run in a different direction from them, confused.
"That's a little weird."
"Think he's up to something?"
'Hopefully not. Hopefully Danger Sense will warn me of anything bad,' Izuku thought as the two began sneaking down the hall.
It was relatively quiet as they snuck around. At one point they were nearly caught, and Ryuko played around a bit by sneaking right behind the Marine while Izuku freaked out about how risky she was being. Surprise surprise, the Marine caught on, and Izuku ended up having to snatch Ryuko with Black Whip and stick to the ceiling while praying that the Marine didn't look above her. They found a couple of rooms, Ryuko stealing some of their food, Izuku being convinced (gaslit) to take a few guns for Makoto, Izuku convincing (forcing) Ryuko to grab maps and a compass, until they finally found what they were looking for.
"Alright, here we are," Izuku said as he came up to the door labeled 'Treasury.'
"Doesn't look like anyone is coming," Ryuko said as she glanced up and down the hall. Black Whip slithered out of Izuku's palm and began fiddling with the keyhole there, and it opened after about a minute. Ryuko tried to bust in, only for Izuku to yank her back, and they quietly entered. And to their surprise, they didn't see anyone inside. In fact, they didn't see much of anything inside.
"What, the heck?" Ryuko said dumbly as she walked around. She spotted a few bills on the ground and scooped them up. "Seriously? 3 million beris every two weeks, and they have 75 beris in their treasury?"
"It's weird. Maybe they have another one somewhere. Let's keep looking. Take that 75 with us," Izuku said. The Scissor Blade wielder nodded and tucked the beris into a pocket and the two immediately ran out.
"NINTH!"
Izuku immediately stopped and took a battle stance as Danger Sense flared in his mind. But to his surprise, even as his head swiveled around…
Nothing was there.
"What, what is it?" Ryuko said in slight annoyance, having been (very slightly she promises) panicked by his sudden movements for seemingly nothing.
"Danger Sense is active, but… nothing's there?" En said in confusion.
Shiro ran down the halls with his covered sword in hand. His eyes were narrowed, and he was swiping away at the air in front of him. To the naked eye, he was swiping at nothing for no reason. But in his eyes, there were flurries of tiny black orbs with cat-like protrusions, spiky undersides that look like legs, and a pointed tail. Several died immediately on impact with his hand while others were smacked away.
'The Coal Tars are increasing in this direction! This place is where the demons are coming from! But what's the damn source?!' he thought to himself as he skidded into another hallway. A pair of Marines spotted him.
"Hey! What the hell are you-?!"
"Out of the way!" Shiro barreled through them like a bowling ball through pins, sending them flying into the walls and knocking them unconscious.
Shiro eventually made it to a long stairway leading down to what he guessed was a basement. He looked around before bending his knees and launching himself forwards. He practically flew down the stairs with his jump before landing on the stone bricks that make the floor with a loud impact. He took a moment to breathe.
"Your stealth skills are rather lacking." He choked on his spit and looked up to see Nagisa and Makoto standing ahead and looking back at him.
"Wh-what are you guys-?!"
"Well, our crewmates are likely here too, trying to play Robin Hood, so we decided to come here just in case they need any help, and to do our own investigations. Apparently there have been people coming here for some reason, and there have been rumors of invisible beasts," Nagisa said.
'Invisible beasts? That's gotta be demons! If the people here can't see them, they probably haven't gotten a Maisho yet. Are the demons here up to something?'
"So, uh, where are you guys heading now?"
"For some reason, Nagisa wanted me to lead, and I'm getting the feeling we should head down here," Makoto said.
"... Why?"
"Uh, no real reason," Makoto shrugged as he turned away. Coal Tars were in the air, buzzing around them, but they seemed to be gathered near Makoto more. Shiro frowned and eyed Makoto carefully. He could've sworn that he saw him swat one.
"... Hey, uh…
"Makoto Naegi."
"Uh, Naegi? Can you, uh, see these?" His hand reached up and snatched a Coal Tar out of the air. Makoto immediately breathed in relief.
"Oh thank God- goodness! I thought I was going crazy!"
"Oh? So you both see the 'little black thingies'?" Nagisa said as he made air quotes.
"You can't?"
"Not at all. But Naegi saw these when we first arrived here."
"So what the heck are these?" Makoto said as he swatted at one freely.
"They're Coal Tars. They're like fruit flies when it comes to demons."
"Demons?"
"Yeah, uh, demons are real."
"How do you know this?"
"Uh… You see… I'm, kind of an exorcist. I take care of demons."
"Woah woah woah, go back. Demons are real?" Makoto said in surprise.
"Yeah. They come from this world called Gehenna. It's kinda like musty, gross hell."
'Gehenna? A kind of hell? Another world? If these demons can travel between this world and this, then perhaps they're the key to traveling back to our worlds?' Nagisa thought. He turned his attention back to Makoto and Shiro.
"If I may, how is it that you two are able to see demons but I can't?"
"Uh, there's this thing called, uh… Maishos, which is like a demon injury, an injury that demons give you. It could be big, it could also be small, but if a demon hurts you, and manages to get into your system, then it makes you see them."
"Really now?"
"Yeah. I got hurt by a demon about a year back, so now I can see demons."
"What about you?" Nagisa asked Makoto. He startled slightly and scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Uh… I'm not sure?" the Ultimate said. He turned away, absentmindedly rubbing his stomach area. He could feel Nagisa's skeptical gaze on him and tried to change the subject by turning to Shiro, and addressing something he had noticed.
"Hey, Fujimoto. On the count of three, say, uh, 'I'm psychic.'"
"Uh, okay?"
"One, two… three!"
"I'm psychic!" "I'm psychic."
"... Woah! Dude! We sound the exact same!" Shiro exclaimed.
"Yeah! It's, it's kinda weird."
"Dude… We should pull some pranks with this."
"Figure that out later. For now, let's continue investigating."
"Right," Makoto nodded. As the now trio made their way down the corridor, he made a mental note in his mind.
TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED!
Maisho: A demon wound that grants the victim the ability to see demons.
"This is the third treasury, and we've only obtained 200 beris. Where did all of the money go?" Izuku said as he and Ryuko walked out of yet another empty treasury.
"Maybe they keep it in their office?"
"Then what's the point of having treasuries?"
"I dunno. Maybe they spent it all."
"On what?"
"I dunno." Izuku looked down the corridor, his eyes narrowing. He couldn't help but feel that something was watching them, something that he's been feeling for a while now.
"Hikage's Quirk musta broke."
"Don't you even start, Daigoro!"
"Well, this isn't ominous at all," Shiro said as he looked up at the tall black doors in front of him. Nagisa and Makoto looked up from where they were laying down a pair of Marine guards and joined the younger boy.
"So you say that the Coal Tar population is all the stronger down here?"
"Yeah. It's like walking through a swarm of fruit flies," Makoto said as he slapped several away with a single swipe.
"If we go in, they'll probably clear out. Coal Tars are attracted to demons, but they're not stupid enough to go near it. Not if it's strong enough," Shiro said as he gripped the package on his back. The two adults glanced at each other before Nagisa pulled out his knives and Makoto pulled out his pistols. Shiro reached forwards, and shoved the doors open as the three got ready. To their confusion, the room was empty. Except for one thing, which Shiro was quick to notice.
"Oh, that confirms it," he said as he ran forwards.
"What is it- what is that?" Makoto asked in confusion as he caught up to Shiro. The younger man was kneeling next to a massive patterned circle, which looked to be drawn in blood. Or, red paint.
"A pentagram?" Nagisa voiced as he joined the other two.
"A summoning circle. These are a staple of Tamer Meisters."
"Meisters?"
"Kinda like exorcist classes. Tamer Meisters use summoning circles like these to summon demons as familiars to help them fight. There's also uh, Dragon- no, Dragoon Exorcists who use guns, Knights who use swords, uh, Air- no Arias who use verses from the Bible to dispel demons, and Doctors who are medical exorcists."
"I wasn't aware that there were specific types."
"I think it's cool. Some Exorcists have multiple Meisters. My brother was- is a Doctor and Dragoon Exorcist."
"I see."
"If there's a summoning circle here, there must be a Tamer Meister. Which means, this isn't just a Marine base, it's a True Cross base," Shiro said, his face becoming pale at the thought, much to Nagisa and Makoto's confusion.
"Do you have a history with True Cross?"
"And what is True Cross?" Makoto asked.
"If I remember correctly, True Cross is a distributing organization working with the Navy in this world," Nagisa said.
"Yep. When True Cross was transported here eighteen years ago, they were quick to establish a partnership with the Navy. But they're also an exorcist group, which helps them deal with the demons that also came with them," Shiro said. Nagisa hummed in surprise.
"I see. So True Cross is an Otherworlder group. Are you an Otherworlder too?"
"Technically? My mom was transported here when she was pregnant with me and my brother."
"My brother and me."
"Not the time, Shiota."
"Sorry."
"But what does this mean?"
"Well, it explains why I've been seeing demons around the place," Shiro said.
"But why is there a pentagram down here?"
"I'm afraid-" the trio immediately spun around, but it was too late. They were surrounded by Marines who aimed their rifles at them. The Captain stepped forwards with a satisfied and smug grin.
"That is something that you will never know."
"Captain Thorne. I knew you were the one behind all the demons here," Shiro growled as he grabbed the package on his back. The cocking of the guns around them made him pause slightly before he returned his glare to the Captain.
"And I knew that you were not what you seemed. It's rather hypocritical to judge me for bringing demons here, when you did so yourself."
"!" Shiro flinched, drawing a look of confusion from the two older men before they turned their attention back to the officers around them.
"Now. Conspiracy against officers of the law, trespassing, assault, and attempted theft. Not to mention…" Thorne held up a pair of posters, showing off Nagisa and Makoto's bounties. Shiro blinked and held back a snicker. Makoto slowly turned his head to the younger boy.
"What."
"You're kind of, uh, cheap."
"Be quiet kid."
"Yes, do be quiet. All three of you will be put in prison. And you, Shiro Fujimoto, will be sent to Impel Down."
"!" Nagisa turned sharply.
"No." He became a blue blur, and the Marines around them cried out in pain as slashes appeared all over their uniform and drawing blood. Shiro and Makoto gaped in shock from the sheer speed of Nagisa as he reappeared in front of them, glaring down the now paling Captain Thorne.
"I've heard about your infamous Impel Down. If you think I'm going to let you send him there, then you should think again," Nagisa said firmly.
"Fool! You dare stand against a Captain of the Marines?!" Thorne growled as he drew his sword. "I will bring your heads in as my trophies."
"You two go on ahead. I will discipline this man," Nagisa said.
"Sure. But first!" Shiro pulled the package off his shoulder and raised it over his head to bring it down on the floor with a great impact.
"No!" Thorne cursed as the ground covered in the pentagram was shattered, thus destroying the summoning circle. Shiro and Makoto around the Captain who tried to slash at Shiro, only to block a knife thrust from Nagisa. The teacher was immediately behind him and kicked him in the spine, sending him rolling over the broken pentagram.
"I wonder. Why exactly does a Marine Captain need a summoning circle? Surely even this world is aware of what demons are."
"You can ask the demons themselves when you see them in hell," Thorne said. The two dashed towards each other with their blades flashing in the dim torchlight.
Marines were running through the halls with weapons at the ready. After another group ran by, Izuku and Ryuko dropped down.
"Well, this mission is a bust. Let's bounce!"
"Wait, we need to find Fujimoto!"
"He's tough, I'm sure he can handle himself. Come on!" Ryuko pulled her captain behind her, and Izuku had little choice but to follow. The two eventually made it outside, where they were spotted by Marines.
"There! Get them!"
"Looks like we're fighting!" Ryuko said as she pulled out and enlarged her Scissor Blade while Izuku quickly activated his Vast Gauntlet. The Marines yelled as they charged and clashed with the two teens.
"Out of my way! Shear Shockwave!" Ryuko said with a yell, blasting several Marines back. She dodged and parried a few more sword swings before leaping over them to launch a spinning kick that knocked them all away.
Izuku dodged around a sword to punch the Marine across the face before turning to grab another's arm and yank him into a third before kicking them both over. He ducked under another swing and grabbed the Marine by the leg to swing her around and slam her into other officers, knocking them away and sending them flying.
More Marines ran into the courtyard and took aim with their rifles, prompting Izuku to grab Ryuko and pull her behind the expanding Black Whip, blocking the bullets while simultaneously releasing a purple haze from his body. The Smokescreen washed over the Marines, causing them to glance around cautiously. Izuku appeared behind one and yanked him into the smog where sounds of assault echoed out before he was sent flying into another Marine. Ryuko appeared behind another and slammed the flat of her Scissor Blade on her head before slamming it into another Marine.
This was the chaos that greeted the duo of Makoto and Shiro as they ran into the courtyard. Makoto immediately recognized the smog as Izuku's Smokescreen.
"I guess this is where Matoi and Midoriya are." Confirming his thought, it didn't take long for Ryuko and Izuku to spot the two, and they immediately ran over after taking out a couple more enemies.
"Naegi-san! You're here?"
"Yeah, Shiota and I decided that we wanted to help after all. And we wanted to find you two too. So, what have you guys been up to?"
"Well, we raided their treasuries, but they're pretty much empty."
"Seriously?" Shiro chimed in. "6 million beris a month, and they're empty?"
"Must be for one of three reasons," Makoto said as he held up three fingers, bending them as he listed the reasons. "One, the money is being kept in other places."
"We've checked several treasuries, they only had a few beris in them."
"If there's beris in them at all, that means the treasuries were used. So two, they literally burned the money."
"That's just a massive waste!"
"So then it's three. They spent it all."
"6 million yen? What could they possibly spend it all on so quickly?"
"Maybe it's that True Cross organization that Shiota brought up. We did overhear some Marines about guys making a delivery."
"Indeed!"
'Oh, that's not good.' Shiro ducked behind Izuku as the group turned to see a pair of men dressed in black uniforms different from the Marines. They had longer cloaks of leather, more modernized guns, and crosses danging around their necks. The two jumped down and landed in front of the four, Makoto and Ryuko immediately falling into their stances, while Izuku glanced back at Shiro and stood straight.
"Greetings. We are exorcists of the True Cross Order. I see you've been making a mess here. Well, I hope you'll forgive us for cleaning up. It would be rather uncouth for guests to simply sit by."
"Actually I'd say a lot of guests do that."
"Not us. We have standards."
"Not if you're working with these morons. Speaking of which," Ryuko chimed in. She brought the Scissor Blade back and launched herself forwards. "Shear Shockwave!"
The Exorcists quickly dodged the shockwave with one immediately bringing out a rifle and slamming it into Ryuko's side, earning a hiss of pain. Makoto fired at the other one as Izuku began trying to escort Shiro away without him being seen.
"What's wrong Fujimoto? Why are you trying to hide from them?" he asked urgently. Shiro glanced at him with a grimace.
"Uh, let's just say that I'm sort of a runaway."
"A runaway?"
"I used to work for True Cross, but they didn't see me as human. They wanted a weapon, and I happened to be the best option for them. But, they didn't like me. I didn't feel happy there, so I decided that I wanted to run away."
"A… weapon?" Several images flashed in Izuku's mind. A little girl with white hair, a woman with purple and pink hair. Granted, it, hopefully, wasn't to the same extreme, but the thought did make him rather, unhappy.
"Go ahead and hide. We'll take care of this."
"... Thanks Midoriya." Shiro started to run, but unfortunately, his route was cut off by a shot that struck the ground in front of him.
"Dammit, I let myself get distracted," Izuku grunted.
"Or they probably already knew I was here," Shiro groaned. The two turned to see the Exorcists now focusing on them with pistols aimed while Ryuko and Makoto were now dealing with other Marines. Ryuko was currently fighting off Marines that were trying to swarm her, while Makoto was firing at random, keeping them at bay while also shooting at nothing.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the demonspawn," one Exorcist sneered.
"It really is him," the other scoffed. "And here I thought Thorne was wasting our time. To think he really was audacious enough to found a church."
"Look, I don't want any trouble," Shiro said as he backed up, hands raised.
"You should've thought of that before you decided to breathe. Fortunately for us, bringing you back alive is only requested, not required."
"Leave him alone." Izuku stepped between them with a glare in his eyes.
"Do you not know who you're trying to defend?"
"I'm defending someone who helped the people of this island from people who are guests to those who exploit it." The hero's words made the Exorcists glance at each other.
"Well I suppose we can't blame you then."
"Then allow us to explain it to you," the first Exorcist said as he stepped forwards after putting his gun away. "That boy behind you, who told you that he was Shiro Fujimoto? He was lying to you."
"Lying?" Izuku glanced back at Shiro. Shiro was tense, but not refuting the statement. The Exorcist took it upon himself to continue.
"True Cross Order is an organization of Exorcists who have taken it upon themselves to keep the world safe from demons. Of the demons, the most cruel and heretical is the one that we refer to as Satan. And of the Exorcists, the most skilled and powerful of them all was the Paladin, the highest of the Order, the real Shiro Fujimoto. However, nearly 18 years ago, he disappeared, only showing up every now and then like a folktale, or a legend. It was only recently when we discovered his true location, but by then, it was too late."
"Demons? Exorcists? … What do you mean by too late?"
"When we finally found Shiro Fujimoto, he was unfortunately dead. And standing over his body, was that boy. Indeed, he is the one responsible for the death of Shiro Fujimoto, and not only did he have the audacity to open a church despite his heritage, he took the name of the man that he allowed to die."
"You-!" The one called Shiro snarled animalistically.
"What do you mean by his heritage?" Izuku asked with narrowed eyes. The Exorcist's face, which had been smug up until this point, became serious as he focused on the imposter.
"That monster's true identity is not that of Shiro Fujimoto, or a pastor. He's not even human. He's a demon. The son of the most dangerous, and evil demon, the very incarnation of cruelty and heresy! He is Rin Okumura! The Son of Satan!"
Nagisa jumped back, dodging Thorne's saber as he darted all around the room, jumping between pillars before bringing his foot down onto Thorne's head, only for his axe-kick to be blocked by the Captain's arm. The attack didn't even budge it, making Nagisa hum slightly before he blurred out sight to dodge the sword.
"Stay still and face your judgement criminal!" Thorne growled.
"Say, you're a rather durable man, aren't you?" Nagisa said as he pulled out his knife and slipped between the sword swings and stabbed at Thorne's stomach, only for the blade to come to a stop upon contact with the man's very flesh.
"Heh. You think you're the only one who has mastered some of the Six Powers? I was once a Rear Admiral, the fourth highest position of the Marines!"
"Ah, so you were demoted."
"SHUT UP!" Thorne freaked. He took a breath to calm himself. "That being said, you are correct. I was a Rear Admiral, but I was demoted upon being unable to perform my duties accordingly. I got lazy and arrogant, and I let myself and the Marines under my command grow weak. We were dismissed as failures, but not for long. I partnered with my former second-in-command, and we have been working to restore ourselves to our former glory."
"I assume that's what these demons are for?"
"Indeed! Invisible living weapons that most criminals wouldn't even be aware of, who don't need to be compensated like normal Marines and can multiply like mice. Such a resource would be valuable to the Marines."
'Looks like I'm getting my answers after all,' Nagisa thought in amusement.
"And what makes you think you're the only one? The Navy is quite large. If one of you is doing it, surely there's another one."
"It doesn't matter how many of us are doing this, what matters is whether or not we do it at all. In the end, what's necessary is what we do to benefit the Marines."
"No. What should be your priority is what you do to benefit the people. That's the whole point of you Marines," Nagisa said as he spun his knife in his hand. Thorne scoffed.
"We aren't to serve the people. The people are to serve us."
"Hm. Unfortunately we don't have the time for a true discussion. Now, you say that you're also someone who learned the Six Powers? Do you know this one?"
Nagisa disappeared from sight. Thorne scoffed as he also blurred, reappearing with Nagisa in another part of the room. The assassin hummed in surprise before they continued to disappear and reappear in different areas with their blades clashing, creating sparks. Thorne launched a furious thrusting assault with his blade, his scimitar seeming to multiply from the sheer speed, but Nagisa was able to easily evade with his body swaying like a blade of grass in wind, weaving around the sword tip. When he countered with a fast barrage of slash attacks, Thorne did the same before swinging into a kick that Nagisa blocked with his forearm, skidding back slightly.
"Moon Walk!" The two began fighting in the air, clashing and blitzing each other with sparks erupting in the air all over the place.
"And now! Iron Body!" Thorne said triumphantly as Nagisa slashed at his neck. With a sharp sound, the blade shattered into pieces, stunning the assassin before he blurred back to dodge another slash.
"Ah, I remember now. Iron Body was one of the three Six Powers I didn't have a chance to learn."
"Indeed. And for the sake of respect for someone who managed to keep up with me to this point, allow me to inform you that the strength and ability of a Six Powers user is directly connected to both the number of techniques they mastered, and the lengths they went to master them. You have three, but I have four. That is to say, I am far superior to you," Thorne said smugly. Nagisa crossed his arms.
"Hm… Indeed. Every one of the Six Powers is meant to boost the user to superhuman levels. Paper Art: reflex. Shave: speed. Moon Walk: agility. Iron Body: durability. Finger Pistol: lethality. And Tempest Kick: power. Even though they each have their own target, every one of the Six Powers increases a normal human's abilities to superhuman levels on their own. So on paper, by having only three to your four, you're literally on a different level. That being said…" Nagisa pulled out his second knife and pointed it towards Thorne.
"The difference in physical abilities is why mankind developed weapons. And as my teacher often told me, an assassin who doesn't carry a second blade isn't worth being called an assassin. Shave!"
"Fool! I will simply shatter your blade with my Iron Body!" Thorne yelled as he quickly activated the technique. And yet, despite this, Nagisa still reappeared behind him. Thorne's eyes widened, before they suddenly erupted into blood. More ruptures appeared all over his body, causing the Captain to scream in agony.
"What?! How?!"
"I'm afraid that you are the fool here. The Six Powers are techniques that can be learned by any human. Which means that they revolve around the usage of a human's natural resource. In the case of Iron Body, it's easy to guess that it revolved around tensing your muscles to superhuman degrees, thus creating armor. But when your brain sends out the signal that your muscles need to be tensed, there's a very, very small delay for the bioelectricity in your body to send that message to the muscles involved. I simply needed to strike within that time frame."
"Impossible! No one can move that fast!" Thorne protested.
"Impossible? Good. I was trained to accomplish the impossible," Nagisa said. He glanced over his shoulder. "And besides, there are some parts of the body that can't be tensed to that degree. Your eyes, your joints, the front of your neck, even your scrotum."
"Bastard!" The blind Captain traced Nagisa's voice and used his own Shave to swing his sword down. In response, Nagisa raised his arm and let the blade collide with it. And to the Captain's shock, his blade stopped on contact, only half-buried into Nagisa's arm. The assassin grimaced from the pain as he felt it cut deep, but the blade wouldn't move.
"Wh-what?!"
"All the same, I do appreciate you giving me something to learn," Nagisa said as he brought his arm back.
'Iron Body hyper-tenses the muscles to superhuman levels. By applying it to a portion of my body instead of the entirety of it, then maybe I can do…'
"This."
Thorne felt a strong impact to his cheek, sending him flying across the room to bounce off the wall and off the floor.
'He- He already turned Iron Body into an offensive technique as well?!' Thorne thought before collapsing in a heap, completely unconscious. Nagisa hummed to himself as he looked over his fist.
"So that's what it's like to punch hard. I can see why Karma likes it so much. Now, to find my new students."
"Rin Okumura? That's your real name?" Izuku asked as he turned to the raven haired boy. He shamefully looked away before nodding.
"Yeah. Shiro Fujimoto was actually my dad's name. I took it to hide my identity."
"Shiro Fujimoto was not your father," the Exorcist hissed. "Your father is the devil!"
"Shut it! I know that the True Cross Order wanted to kill him the moment they found out that he adopted me! The only reason why they didn't was because he was already dead!" Rin snapped.
"Because of you! You're the reason why Shiro Fujimoto is dead!"
"I said shut up!"
"Now Abner!" The second Exorcist suddenly lunged behind Rin and hurled a large ball at him. Rin jerked back upon seeing it and tried to leap away, only for the ball to explode, releasing a clear fluid.
'Water?' Izuku thought in confusion. His confusion only grew and was joined by shock when the water splashed over Rin and he began snarling and hissing, the fluid creating hissing steam where it had contacted his body, even through his clothes.
"Agh!" Rin writhed in pain.
"Okumura!" Izuku was cut off when he was also splashed by a second ball, yet nothing happened to him, much to his confusion.
"Here is your proof. He had been splashed with holy water. The reason why it creates this much pain is because he is-"
"Detroit Smash!" Izuku's fist crashed into Abner's face, sending the Exorcist flying with blood flying from his mouth before he turned back to Rin.
'His shirt soaked in the water!' he realized before grabbing the shirt and ripping it off Rin with a firm yank. It exposed Rin's bare upper half, but he was already sighing in relief as the water was taken away from his skin.
"What?! What is this?!" The first Exorcist shouted in fury. "You're still helping him despite knowing his identity?!"
"I'm confused too. I mean, I appreciate the help, but, why?" Rin said as he rubbed at his bare skin, looking up at Izuku in confusion. Izuku paused, before smiling at Rin.
"You were in pain. I couldn't just stand by and watch that happen to you."
"But, I'm the son of a demon?"
"You called Shiro Fujimoto your father. I think that makes you the son of a human. It doesn't matter where your blood comes from, what matters is what you do with what comes with it. And you've done more for the people on this island than these guys did." Izuku turned his glare to the Exorcist, matching his own. "I can never understand the gall of someone who calls someone else inhuman, while never trying to be human himself."
"Excuse me?"
"Let's just say that I don't believe the sins of the father are passed down to the head of the son. I'd rather give him a chance to be good instead of trying to kill him outright."
"Well if you choose to stand with the demon, then we will simply eliminate you both! Abner!"
"I'm ready, Amasa!" The second Exorcist said as he recovered from the Smash attack. Izuku spun around to put his back to Rin while keeping himself between the two Exorcists, his eyes glancing at them.
"Go. I'll handle this."
"… Heh!" Rin stood and put his back to Izuku's. "After that cool showing, I can't exactly let you fight my fight for me!"
"In that case, let's fight together!"
"Fine by me!"
The Exorcists both took out several pieces of paper and clapped them between their hands, beginning to chant. Seeing this, Rin spun around and sank his teeth into Izuku's shoulder through his shirt, drawing a bit of blood.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, but you'll thank me!"
"What are you- Huh?" Izuku gaped. Suddenly all around the base, there were strange creatures waiting on standby. As the Exorcists finished their chanting, more creatures manifested from the papers as they were held up. Suddenly Makoto wasn't shooting at random, but rather he was shooting at the creatures at the walls.
"I get it. Those must be demons!"
"Yeah. You can't see them until you have a Maisho, a demon injury. Luckily, I have enough blood for it to count. Now you can see them, and fight them!"
"Thanks!"
"So that's why Danger Sense kept flaring up."
"I told you my Quirk wasn't defective!"
"Alright, alright, I'm sor- incoming!"
With a gesture, the Exorcist's demons shot forwards, prompting the other demons to do the same. Izuku quickly reformed Vast Gauntlet while Rin pulled his package off his shoulders. The hero quickly rushed forwards and uppercutted one demon, launching it upwards for Rin to jump up and bat it towards Amasa, who dodged while firing at the two. Izuku easily evaded the bullets to run up and try for a roundhouse kick that Amasa dodged. The two fought with Izuku launching kick after kick that Amasa tried to block with his rifle, only for the gun to crumple up after a few kicks.
"Are you a damn demon as well?!" Amasa growled as he directed several demons to attack him. Izuku jumped up to kick one in the face, knocking it over before landing and unleashing Smokescreen right in the face of another, stunning it long enough for a Vast Gauntlet uppercut. To his dismay, the demons were getting up with little issue. They were very different from ordinary grunts.
"If I just had all of my powers…"
"Ninth, they're demons. You don't have to hold back on them!" Kudo said loudly. Izuku grimaced, but steeled himself. As the demon charged back at him, he leapt high above them and aimed his fingers downwards.
"Black Whip: Twin Spear!" he yelled. Twin tendrils fired from his fingertips, piercing through the demon's head. He landed behind the demon and used Black Whip to swing it over his head and slam it into another demon, crushing them both. He roared as he swung the now stuck together demons to send another pair flying across the courtyard, before swinging them back up to slam back down onto a third, reducing them to mere dust. Amasa stared at this dumbly.
"... That was brutal! Do it again!" Daigoro yelled.
Shiro- no, Rin- jumped back as several demons tried to swarm him. He flipped over one to kick it in the back of the head before ducking under another and returning the favor with a strong punch to the jaw. The blow knocked the demon upwards, leaving it open for Rin to jump up and slam a powerful kick into its stomach, sending it flying towards another trio of demons with the force of a cannonball. He glanced behind him before dashing back, dodging another holy water grenade.
Abner scooped up a nearby blade and charged with a pair of demons at his side, striking with a fast downward slash that Rin parried with his scabbard before slamming the end of it into his stomach, causing Abner to grunt as he staggered back. Rin spun and slammed the sheathed sword into the side of a demon's skull, earning a crack. He looked around and spotted Ryuko before running over to her.
"Hey! Matoi!"
"Hey! What exactly is going on with-?" Ryuko began, having seen the three crewmates fight what seemed to be nothing. Rin interrupted her by grabbing her and biting her forearm. She yelped and backhanded him away, earning a yelp from him.
"What the hell?! What do you think you're- What the hell are those?!" she shouted as she spotted the demons. "Where the hell did they come from?!"
"Ryuko, I sense that your blood has been, for lack of better words, contaminated with something. I think that's what's allowing you to see these things."
"Invisible freaks? That's what Deku's been detecting?"
"They're demons. So feel free to go wild!" Rin said. "And by the way, your Captain just learned, but my real name is Rin Okumura."
"Oh. Okay then. So why did you-?"
"I'm half-demon, and you need a demon injury to see demons. Now try to keep up!" Rin said as he dashed towards some demons.
"Eh?! Hold it right there you pastor bastard! You pastard!" Ryuko yelled as she ran after him. Rin swung his scabbard into the face of another demon, knocking it back into another demon. Ryuko flipped over Rin and slashed the demon's face in half, killing it instantly and letting Rin kick the disintegrating demon into the second one again. A third demon dashed around behind Rin and raised its claws to slash at his back.
"Fujimoto! Behind-!" Ryuko began. Rin swung his fist backwards, slamming his knuckles across the demon's jaw and dislocating it. As the demon staggered, Rin seized it by its neck and launched them both into the air, spinning in the air before slamming the demon face down, snapping its spine in half. He ducked under another demon's swipe before spinning behind it and suplexing the fourth demon, flipping over to drop kick it and sending it skipping over the ground away to crash into the wall.
"Booyah!" Rin cheered as he flipped to his feet and ran towards Abner again. Ryuko stared in stunned silence.
"Hyah- Ack!" Izuku choked as Ryuko caught him by the collar when he tried to run by her, pulling her captain close.
"We have got to get him on our crew!"
"Sure, sure, you can ask him again!" Izuku wheezed as he rubbed his throat.
"Awesome! Now let's kill some demons!" Ryuko said. Izuku sighed.
"You think I can't?! I'll show you!" The two teens dashed in behind Rin and simultaneously threw up a kick as Rin threw his own, sending another demon flying through several more. The three glanced at each other and took their stances, Izuku in the center with the other two at his side.
"Man, don't stand in the middle," Ryuko grumbled as Abner and Amasa took their place in front of them. The two glanced at each other before glaring back at the trio as they pulled out new summoning circles.
"To ally yourselves with the son of Satan. Very well! We will eliminate you three all together!" Abner said. The two clapped their hands over the circles and another duo of demons appeared. But these were much different from the more beastly demons that were around before.
Both were massive, one on all six of its legs and the size of a pickup truck while the other was standing upright, well over three hundred centimeters tall. The first looked like a monstrous beetle with pincers that move up and down and spiky, durable exoskeletons, while the second was a fat, ugly ogre-like demon standing on four legs while its massive, thick and long arms were at the ready. Both were letting out deep, rumbling growls.
"A fusion of an ogre and a centaur, and a damn vertical stag beetle?" Ryuko growled as she adjusted her grip on her Scissor Blade.
"Actually that's a rhinoceros beetle."
"Shut it, Deku."
"Wait, how did you mix those up? The pincers look like rhino horns!"
"I said shut it, Fujimoto!"
"I told you I'm Okumura!"
"Guys!" Ryuko and Rin snapped to attention as the demons charged. "I'll take the ogre, you guys take the beetle!"
"Screw you, I'll take the ogre, you can share the beetle with Rin!"
"First come, first serve!" Rin said as he charged to meet the ogre midway. The ogre roared and backhanded Rin as he tried to block with his scabbard, only for his eyes to widen in shock as his feet carved lines in the ground.
'Oh crud!' Rin thought before he was launched through the air, flying high above the courtyard to crash through one of the watchtowers. Izuku and Ryuko stared at the collapsing watchtower before turning back to the demons.
"... You might want to use Senketsu."
"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Ryuko said as she grabbed the pin on her glove and pulled it out. Senketsu writhed into a giant size before clamping down on Ryuko, transforming into the skimpy battle armor as her face took on a red glow.
"Such a heinous outfit!" Abner exclaimed.
"Shut up!" Ryuko let out a battle cry as she shot towards the ogre. The beetle tried to intercept, only for Izuku to flip over the demon with Black Whip ensnaring its pincers. He slammed down and yanked the beetle back with his feet digging into the ground. He yelled with exertion as he pulled the demon off its six feet and onto its back.
The ogre roared as it pulled a massive sword made of bone from its body and swung it at Ryuko, who blocked it with her Scissor Blade. She gritted her teeth and yelled as she managed to push the demon back, only to receive a kick to the stomach, knocking her backwards. The ogre rushed towards her, only for her to spin onto her feet.
"Scarlet Stream!" Ryuko yelled as she swung her Scissor Blade, leaving an X on the demon's chest. It grunted before it stomped on top of her, slamming her onto her back. It tried to impale her through the face, only for Black Whip to catch the blade. Izuku grunted as Black Whip came from his shoulders and ensnared the beetle demon as it flipped onto its feet, and both demons began trying to pull free, matching each other's strength as Izuku strained from being in the middle.
'These demons are intelligent, but they're still operating on instinct! We can outsmart them like this!' he thought.
"Clever! However!" Abner and Amasa took aim at Izuku. Suddenly Amasa was shot repeatedly, earning grunts of pain. Makoto ran around the group as he fired at Amasa and Abner, occasionally firing at demons that got too close to him.
'I'm the second adult of the crew. I can't let the kids do all the fighting!' Makoto thought to himself.
"You honestly think that you're capable of halting a demon horde? You, a mere human, incapable of anything noteworthy?"
'I thought you weren't talking to me? Why stop now?'
"Do not test me, human!"
'Shut up and let me concentrate!'
Unfortunately, the brief argument that Makoto had with the voice in his head distracted him, and he was immediately tackled and pinned under the paw of a panther-like demon. It snarled and lunged for his face, before it was suddenly cut to pieces. Makoto's eyes widened in shock before Nagisa helped him to his feet.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah. What about you? You're bleeding!"
"I'll survive. What's going on?"
"Demons all over the courtyard, it doesn't seem to end! Plus, Matoi and Midoriya are currently fighting a pair of demons that look pretty strong!" Makoto and Nagisa looked over at the two. Ryuko was letting out several war cries as she continued to clash with the ogre. Meanwhile, the beetle had broken free from Black Whip as well, and Izuku was currently trying to fight both it and the duo of Exorcists. It was proving difficult, as the two Exorcists were attacking immediately after the beetle attacked, forcing Izuku to focus primarily on defense. Nagisa's eyes narrowed.
"Shave."
Abner and Amasa both took aim at Izuku as the beetle demon rammed into him, forcing the hero to use Black Whip to try to hold it back, even with a single arm.
"This is the end!" Abner said.
"Serpent Overfang!" Nagisa's foot crushed Abner's ribs as it slammed into his side. Abner coughed up blood as he felt his ribs shatter under the force of the attack before it launched him into Amasa, sending the both tumbling into the ground.
"Demon Heart: Buddha Blade!" Slashes appeared all over the two. Their necks, wrists, ankles, even their eyelids, blinding them.
"Gah! What in the name of the Lord was that?!" Amasa cursed as he tried to squint around the blood.
"Demon! Come aid us!" Abner yelled. The ogre turned and smacked Ryuko away. She hurled the Scissor Blade, managing to disarm the ogre's sword, but it continued to rush towards Nagisa. Nagisa's eyes widened as he sensed bloodlust and used Shave to dart away from the Exorcists. The ogre snarled as it found that its prey had disappeared before whirling around and charging again.
"Shiota! Behind you!" Makoto yelled, trying to warn the teacher. Behind him, the massive demon was raising its first, readying to strike Nagisa. Yet despite Makoto's warning, Nagisa didn't move, his eyes closed.
"Move!" Makoto yelled again as the demon threw the punch. The bony spikes of its knuckles were aimed at his temple, yet despite sensing the bloodlust, Nagisa didn't move until it stabbed into his skin. Immediately he began to move with the punch, and was suddenly spinning mid-air under the blow until he landed with both feet. A small drop of blood trickled down his face to trace his jawline.
'He moved his body simultaneously with the punch to avoid the majority of the damage! But if he's fast enough to do that, why didn't he just dodge?!' Makoto thought in confusion. His answer came when Nagisa blinked and turned to look directly at the demon.
"Oh, well hello there." The demon was caught completely off-guard as Nagisa blurred and reappeared behind it, a dozen cuts appearing all over its body.
'Oh, I get it! He was trying to get a Maisho to see the demon!' Makoto realized. Nagisa smirked as he continued to move, appearing as nothing but a streak of color that continued to slash away at the demon. But to his dismay, the cuts were healing just as quickly as he was making them.
'Oh dear. If I just had my first knife, I would probably be able to dish out more damage than it can heal from,' Nagisa thought before he blurred out of sight to dodge another punch. He reappeared next to Makoto.
"You still have enough ammo?"
"Nope. I only have twelve more for my rifle, and my pistols are all out," Makoto said as he picked up a nearby saber. Nagisa turned back to the ogre as it began to charge at the two of them.
As Nagisa and Makoto continued to fight the ogre, Izuku and Ryuko were battling the beetle. It screeched as it parried a slash from Ryuko's Scissor Blade and smacked her away with a swing of its head before firing a blob of acid towards Izuku, prompting him to dodge with Black Whip launching him upwards. He somersaulted onto the beetle's head and unleashed Smokescreen, blinding it with purple smog. The beetle screeched again before launching him off, only for Black Whip to catch it by the pincers again.
'Focus it into a single point!' Izuku thought as he opened his mouth. A single pointed tendril shot out of his mouth and rocketed towards the demon.
"Froppy Style: Needle Bite!" To his dismay, the precise attack simply bounced off the sturdy shell of the beetle's head, and it fired another blob of acid that he dodged with Black Whip pulling him to the side, disappearing into the smog.
"Crimson Cleave!" Ryuko shot past and slashed at the demon's legs, only for sparks to fly from the shell blocking it. She growled and slashed at it repeatedly before it kicked her away.
"Froppy Style: Frog Grapple!" Black Whip once again wrapped around the beetle, this time its neck, letting Izuku pull himself forwards with his tongue.
'This time, for sure!'
"Vast Gauntlet: Piercing Claw!" Vast Gauntlet became a three fingered claw with long, thin points. Izuku roared as he slammed his Black Whip enhanced hand into the side of the beetle's neck, aiming for where it would be the thinnest. The beetle screeched in pain as he successfully broke through, digging the points of the claw into the bare flesh under the shell. It thrashed violently and tossed him away, causing him to growl in frustration, especially when he realized that the beetle was managing to heal.
"I can't do enough damage at once! Argh, if only I had One for All's power!"
"Kudo, how is the condition of One for All?!" Yoichi said urgently.
"Unfortunately, it's still too damaged for Ninth to use," Kudo responded.
"Let him use Gear Shift or Fa Jin!" Nana suggested.
"Our Quirks are also still recovering as well." Bruce shot the idea down.
"And without One for All, Gear Shift would only be able to be applied to other objects, instead of Ninth himself."
"Dammit!" Izuku said as he jumped back to avoid another glob of acid. He and Ryuko retreated back to Nagisa and Makoto, panting slightly. Ryuko winced as she gripped the Scissor Blade tighter.
'Thanks to the training Shiota's been putting me through, I can use Senketsu a little longer, but damn, it's still tiring me out!' she thought. Izuku glanced over to her before he reapplied Vast Gauntlet.
"These demons are strong. And there's still more demons to worry about," he muttered as the four put their backs together.
"Hm… Considering how the other demons appear, I can probably handle the swarm. The real problem is those two large demons," Nagisa said.
"And we have to check up on Fujimoto-kun!" Makoto said.
"Actually, Fujimoto is an alias. His real name is Rin Okumura," Izuku said.
"I see. Where is he by the way?"
"I… think he might be dead," Ryuko said.
"Like heck I am!" Rin suddenly shouted as he dropped from the sky with a large chunk of rubble that he slammed down on the ogre's head. It grunted as it staggered and collapsed onto its side as the rubble crumbled to pieces. The beetle swung its pincers and smacked Rin away, causing him to land near the other four where he was caught by Izuku.
"Thanks man."
"No problem." The five focused on the two demons as the ogre got back up, and the swarm of demons continued to surround them.
"So, Okumura-kun. Is there a way that you can deal with these two?" Nagisa said as he glanced at the bigger demons.
"..." Rin looked down at the scabbard in his hands before he turned to the crew.
"I can probably take them out, but doing it sends a big signal to the people I don't want to find me. I can take them out pretty quickly, but I need an opening to do it quickly!"
"My knife isn't long enough to do any meaningful damage on things that big, but I can probably cut out the beetle's eyes," Nagisa offered.
"I can probably shoot the demon ogre's eyes out," Makoto said.
"Leave the small fry to me!" Ryuko said.
"I'll make sure you can use that opening!" Izuku said.
"..." Rin looked at the crew in surprise with how quickly they jumped into his idea, before breaking out into a wild grin.
"Alright! Let's do this thing!"
With the plan in play, Nagisa immediately shot forwards as the ogre and beetle charged. Makoto dropped to a knee and took aim with his gun as Ryuko ran towards the swarm and Izuku charged after Nagisa.
"Shave!" Nagisa blurred out of sight as Makoto fired rapidly, unloading the last of his rounds at the ogre's face. The ogre roared as the bullets dug into its eyes, and the beetle screeched as Nagisa's knife slashed out its eyes before he disappeared again. Izuku dashed past them while Black Whip trailed from his arms.
'I'll take a book out of Mr Aizawa and Shinso's book!'
"SHAVE!" he yelled before reappearing behind the demons with Black Whip closing around their head. The demons were pulled off-balance and collided as Izuku panted his feet and pulled with all his might.
"Okumura-kun! Now!" he yelled. The smaller demons shot towards Rin, only for Ryuko to intercept them.
"Shear Shockwave!" she yelled as she blasted them all away. Rin took a breath and gripped the handle of his sword.
"Alright. Let's end this! Kurikara!" he yelled as he pulled the blade out. It slid out of its scabbard, revealing a silvery blade coated in bright blue fire. The same blue fire formed around his body and even formed a pair of fiery horns over his forehead with twin fireballs. A tail with a bushy end lashed around behind him.
"Demon…!" Rin yelled as he shot forwards, the very ground beneath him shattering before he jumped up high. The demons struggled to break free of Black Whip, but Izuku created more tendrils that dug into the ground beneath him
"SLASH!" The flame-coated blade slashed through the pair of demons with ease, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. The ogre's fat body and the beetle's shell were incinerated by the fire, and the blade cut through their flesh until they were completely in half. The four chunks of the demons fell apart as Black Whip dispersed, also burnt but disconnected before it traveled towards Izuku.
Rin took a moment, bent over with the blade down, before he swung the sword around and sheathed it, causing the flames to disappear. Yet while the flames of the sword disappeared, the flames were still burning the demons away until they turned into ash. Izuku stared at this in shock.
'Ryuko and I could barely do anything even as we tried our best, and he took them both out with a single attack! He's strong…' he thought as he looked at Rin. The teen was looking at him with a slightly wary expression, but it melted away as Izuku broke out into a wide smile.
'Amazing! He's easily as strong as some of the pros!'
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, Ninth," Kudo said. "He's as strong as that Bakugou kid was at the beginning of the school year. Probably a little more."
"Oh, let him geek out," Nana scolded the Second User.
"That was great, Okumura-kun!" Izuku said. "You're so strong!"
"Aha…! Thanks," Rin said as he smiled gleefully, scratching the back of his head bashfully. "You guys did pretty well yourselves! Most Exorcists have to fight with either special weapons or special verses to beat demons. I've never seen regular civilians fight so well against them!"
"OKUMURA!" A sudden shout surprised them. Izuku immediately dashed in front of Rin, blocking a rifle bash from Abner as he glared at them with bloody eyes. He suddenly pulled out a knife and slashed at Izuku as the hero dodged but bumped into Rin. Aber swung the rifle downwards, slamming it into his elbow. Izuku winced as he felt a crack in his arm before he stumbled backwards.
'Dammit, I used too much force for Piercing Claw!' he thought as his arm painfully hung next to him.
"Oh no!" Rin grimaced as he saw this. He heard gunfire and immediately ducked under some bullets as Amasa ran towards him while pulling out another holy grenade.
"With a broken arm, you're finished!" Abner yelled as he charged, fully intending on bashing Izuku's skull. The hero's eyes narrowed, before he suddenly held up his cast, blocking the blow and causing the cast to break, revealing his still purple and blue arm underneath. Abner's eyes widened in shock, before Izuku's left fist slammed into his chin, crushing his jawbone and sending him flying into the air in spite of the broken arm. Izuku spun around and delivered a similarly devastating blow to Amasa's face, earning a wet crunch as his nose and cheekbones were crushed.
"SMASH!" Izuku roared as the two Exorcists were sent flying away. Rin stared in shock as Izuku took the two down with broken arms.
"I'm sorry. Did you think you were strong enough for a broken arm to be enough of a hindrance?" Izuku growled.
"Izuku? What was that?" Nana asked in shock.
'Something's been affecting Ninth ever since we arrived in this world. But, what?' Yoichi thought as he observed this from the depths of One for All. Nagisa stared at Izuku from a couple of meters away, pondering.
'Strange…'
"Hey! We got more Marines!" Makoto called as he and Ryuko ran up.
'Midoriya-kun's arms are both broken, Matoi-kun is almost out of blood, and Naegi is out of bullets. Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to have to retreat,' Nagisa thought.
"Midoriya-kun! Let's go!" he called out loud as he led Makoto and Ryuko past the Captain and the half-demon. Izuku glanced back at the Marines before following with Rin.
"Come on! Let's keep going!" Rin said as he led the crew through the forest. The sounds of the Marines in pursuit had died out long ago, but they still ran until they broke out of the trees. The church was ahead of them, and they immediately dashed inside. They panted as Izuku winced in pain from his broken arms. Ryuko, having disabled Senketsu, collapsed nearby with her skin pale, clammy, and sweaty. Makoto tossed the empty guns onto the floor and put his hands on his hips, sighing in frustration.
"Well, that could've gone a lot better," he said.
"We went in in hopes of getting at least a few million beris, and we came out with only 200 beris. Not even enough for a WcRonald's burger," Ryuko growled.
"Sorry. If I wasn't so reckless and easy to catch," Rin began with a grimace.
"Now now," Nagisa interrupted. "I'm supposed to be stealthy, but they caught me as well. The fault isn't just yours. And besides, it was going to be fruitless either way from what I've heard from Matoi and Midoriya."
"Sheesh! Who just spends millions of money all in one go?!" Ryuko complained loudly, bringing Rin's attention to her condition.
"Hey are you okay?"
"Yeah, my uh, battle mode relies on my blood. So… It's just blood loss."
"Hey, that's pretty bad!" Rin exclaimed. "I'll make some food good for recovering from blood loss."
"Do we really have time? The Marines know where this place is," Nagisa said.
"Take what you need. Not just food, but also your stuff," Izuku said. Rin looked at him in confusion.
"My, stuff? Why?"
"You said that you wanted to run away from True Cross. Now they know that you're here, they're sure to be coming in swarms now. Not to mention that the Marines are after you as well. You're going to have to leave this island anyways," Izuku said. He smiled. "Why not do it with some friends?"
"Friends…?" Rin said. He stared in silence, before suddenly smiling.
"Sure!" He suddenly frowned. "But what about the village? The Marines are probably going to go after them and claim guilt by association."
"Would they really go to that extreme?"
"Trust me, they would. I've heard about how some would wipe out entire islands and slaughter innocent people on the off-chance that one of them is guilty," Rin said.
"I've met many Marines and even worked some odd jobs with them. Not all of them are that extreme," Nagisa said. He turned to Izuku. "That being said, I'm not too sure that the Marines here are as nice. It's likely that they'll take some of the villagers and pin the blame on them as scapegoats to avoid having their reputation here tarnished. It sounds like the Captain here already is struggling with that as it is."
"..." Izuku closed his eyes and thought about it.
"... Shiota-san, you said that you knew some Marines, and it sounds like you had a decent enough opinion of them."
"Indeed."
"In that case… I have a risky plan…" Izuku said as he absentmindedly rubbed his destroyed right arm.
Marines swarmed the harbor. Ahead of them, green hair was dashing onto one of the boats and leaping onto the deck. Unseen by the Marines, several other figures were sneaking towards some other boats. On the deck, Izuku panted as he turned back to the Marines and got into a stance, but winced as his right arm dangled and his left arm shook heavily. The Marines formed a line on the deck and took aim at the injured hero, shifting slightly as Izuku tightened his fist.
"Stand down, Black Whip!" one brave Marine said. "Your ship is surrounded, and you are in no condition to fight back!"
"..." Izuku glanced around. He carefully moved his eyes to make it seem like he was observing the Marines, but at the very edge of his vision, he could see a small blue flame lighting up and extinguishing. A signal. He dropped his fist with a frustrated exhale, and he was soon put into cuffs. He winced slightly as the Marines were rough even with his right arm, and he was dragged away.
"I'll be a distraction. As the person with the highest bounty here and as someone who did big damage to their guests, the Marines will focus on me, especially if I'm the one in their sights. In the meantime…"
Makoto quietly set up the sails of the fishing boat, and he glanced over to see Ryuko being fed a quickly cooked steak, munching angrily as she rowed the boat with Rin's help.
"Dammit that broccoli headed bastard! Why is he trying to look cool?!" she growled. Makoto sighed and looked at the rising sun.
"Naegi-san, Ryuko, and Okumura-kun will take one of the available boats and set sail."
"There's no way that we'll be able to get away from a Navy ship though! Especially when the sun rises!"
"You don't have to."
"Hey! There they are!" another Marine called as he spotted the fishing boat.
"Go! We'll call in more officers to help with escorting this pirate!"
"I'm not a pirate."
Izuku was ignored as several Marines broke off, got into boats and soon gave chase, Rin taking over and rowing as fast as he could.
"Just stay ahead of them for as long as you can. You're serving as another distraction."
"I see. With two distractions at once, the Marines will have split focus."
"And that will be where you step in."
Back at the Marine headquarters, there were less Marines than usual. Many of them were in the med bay, some were working on rebuilding the tower, and half a dozen were leaving to take over for the Marines escorting Deku. Meaning that there weren't as many Marines watching the communications room, letting Nagisa make his way in after knocking the Marines out.
"We don't know for sure if the Marines here would make the villagers as scapegoats, but we can't take that chance. So we'll give them what they want, with the exception of Okumura-kun."
"What? Why not me?"
"You have specific enemies. Naegi-san, you and Okumura-kun split off from Ryuko."
"What? Why am I being left alone?"
"Ryuko, come on."
"... Tch! You're lucky I think this guy is cool!"
"Alright, guess I'm left out then."
Makoto smashed open the top of a tightly sealed barrel. The purple smog of Smokescreen poured out, hiding the fishing boat as Rin flipped another pair of barrels upside down, these with tar slathered on the outside. Makoto nodded to Ryuko before he and Rin ducked under the flipped barrels and jumped into the water, letting sandbags drag them down to the bottom of the water. By the time the smoke cleared and the Marines caught up to Ryuko, the two were gone. Ryuko crossed her arms and spat at the Marines as they boarded her boat.
"You two hide out on another part of the island. Try to find a place where the Marines are unlikely to find you guys."
"And what do I do?"
"Well, do you think that there's a Marine who you can trust to do the right thing?"
"... There is one person I know for sure will help."
"You hesitated."
"Well. I just don't think he'll be happy to hear from me."
"Ahem," Nagisa cleared his throat after punching in the number on the Den Den Mushi. He held the mic up to his mouth as he heard it being picked up.
"Hello hello."
"SHIOTAAAAAAAA!"
End of chapter. I'll be honest, I think this spiraled out of control with me. Since I spent so long on this, it eventually devolved from being a good, thought out chapter to a chapter that I think is good enough, not as good as it can be, and the result of me just wanting to get it out already. But yeah, Rin's finally on the crew. Sort of. They got something to get through, and after that, hopefully things can pick up for real.
And if you're dissatisfied with any character in this chapter, don't worry. Cause this fic isn't just gonna put different protagonists into the story, it's going to treat them like protagonists. You'll see how in the future arcs, where the protagonists people love really get to shine.
But yeah, that's all for now. As per the usual, leave a review! Azure out!
