04/05/2024

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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 16 - And Let Slip

Detara knew he was just a random goon but he was proud of that fact. He'd been born a Yakuza and today it looked like he'd die a Yakuza. The only regret he had was that he wasn't dying under the banner of his own group. He had been born into the Sekai Inochi Nanatsu but they hadn't been able to continue. The boss of the Shie Hassaikai, the old boss, had taken them in and they'd served ever since. He wasn't sure what he thought of the new Boss, Kai Chisaki but the man gave them direction, and purpose. And he wasn't any worse than Maeno, the leader of Sekai Inochi Nanatsu before he died. Kai was firm, demanding but fair.

He hadn't really wanted anything more for his life than to live and die for his clan. And now he would die for his clan. Deidoro had said something about them being attacked. Detara had expected another group to attack. He'd expected guns and quirks but instead… He wasn't sure what was attacking them.

They all had exposed brains but bright eyes. And they showed no fear of death. A few of the other Shie Hassaikai had guns and had shot at the things but they'd barely flinched at the wounds and Detara had watched as the wounds closed on some of them. These things were not normal. And none of them were the same.

They poured in through the gate and over the wall like some sort of living mat and nothing was slowing them down. Deidoro ordered them to hold firm, and Detara was somewhat comforted that there were two of the Eight Bullet's here. Rikiya was with them and he'd already injected himself with Trigger. The man was directing his quirk towards the creatures and it seemed to be working.

Detara was thankful for that. It meant they could be defeated. His quirk wasn't that useful for fighting. It had advantages but it didn't do anything for his strength or stamina. Perfect balance just meant he could pull off some tricky moves without falling flat on his face. Against these things, he wasn't sure what it would do but he'd do his best. In addition to all having exposed brains they were all overly muscular but none of them were the same. They were different colours with most of them being a dun colour. There were some that had a more grey, blue skin tone and a few with black skin. It was not a natural black, heh, though with quirks, all colours were now natural. It was not a colour that had been seen before quirks, They all wore pants but that was it. So they were human… or at least they had been.

When they charged his position, Detara dove in, trying to strike at the brain of one. It jerked back, inhumanly fast and Detara only just missed getting slashed by its claws. He managed to twist out of the way of another that appeared from under the first one's arm and he managed to catch that one with his knife.

Detara had been in enough fights to know how people reacted. They hissed or cried out and pulled back when injured. No matter how tough they were, there was always a moment of recoil. This thing did nothing of the sort. Detara wasn't even sure it noticed his knife. It kept moving as if didn't and he had let go before he got dragged further into the scrum.

Then Rikiya was there. The man threw the creatures aside easily and Detara took heart from the fact that when the member of the Eight Bullet's threw them, they were much slower at getting back up. Some of them even stumbled, which surprised him until he saw Deidoro's white mask up on the ceiling. Detara had no idea how the Eight Bullet member could effectively move around but he could and he knew it was his quirk causing the creatures to stumble.

Unfortunately, they weren't as mindless as their exposed brains appeared to suggest and one of the black ones appeared to have spotted Deidoro. It roared and leapt at him.

Detara didn't see what happened. Another charged at him. This time he dodged out of the way and drove his knife down, stabbing into the exposed brain. The creature stiffened and fell. He went with it, dragged down because Perfect Balance did jack shit for him when he refused to release his second knife. Detara scrambled to his feet a moment later but before he could pull his knife back, something whacked him in the side.

The wall stopped him but all the wind was knocked out of him and Detara tasted blood. He gasped and tried to rise but he couldn't. All he could really feel was a haze of pain from his back. He sucked in a breath, swallowing blood. This was how he ended…

Except none of the creatures bothered to come near him.

Detara watched as Rikiya kept fighting. The man was in a frenzy but being forced to watch showed Detara something he didn't want to know. While Rikiya was holding firm, the creatures just kept getting back up. Even with Deidoro's quirk impacting them, they were not going down. They couldn't keep on fighting forever either.

He wanted to tell them. He wanted to say that they should run but he couldn't say anything. Instead, Detara watched as Teire, Saita and Unaga went down. He couldn't do anything to save them and Detara felt a tear trace down his cheek. With them gone, he was the last of the Sekai Inochi Nanatsu and he couldn't do anything!

He was about to try to rise again, because anything would be better than just waiting for death when someone came through the far door. Deidoro was being pushed back by the things, and Rikiya hadn't noticed. The person was accompanied by one of the black monsters. It hovered over him, literally hunched over him like some sort of huge… Detara didn't know what but it was obvious the creature would protect the shorter person. Its bright eyes fixed on him for a moment before he was dismissed but Detara was more focused on the person. He didn't know who they were. They were dressed in a black jacket that covered them to the ankles but was open to the waist. It had electric green highlights and the guy, Detara though they were male, wore some sort of helmet which was accentuated in the same way.

They were short but radiated a sense of presence that… Detara had only ever felt Maeno feel like that, and then the old boss felt like a feather compared to whoever this was. They felt heavy, as if they didn't have to lift a finger to know they would win.

"Ah," the guy murmured. He was definitely a guy with a voice like that. "So this is why they aren't getting further," he sighed.

That brought the attention of Deidoro and Rikiya. The two of them charged, ignoring the creatures.

The person swayed slightly and Detara smiled. That had to be the effect of Deidoro's quirk but before the two of them could get close, the person stood firm. He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers, pointing towards Deidoro. A blue grey creature launched from behind him and there was a sickening crunch when it impacted Deidoro. Detara didn't know much about physiology but he knew enough to know the crunch sounded bad! The creature snarled and growled and raised bloody claws and slashed again. It didn't matter if Deidoro had survived the impact, he couldn't survive that.

Rikiya didn't even pause and Detara watched as he pulled back his fist to hit the person.

He never connected. The huge thing covering the guy blocked the punch. Detara was shocked for a moment but he knew how strong those things were. They obviously had strength quirks but blocking Rikiya was the exact wrong thing to do… or right in this case. Detara couldn't really laugh but he managed to whisper. "Victory!" Because this was Rikiya's win. The Eight Bullet member could draw energy from around him but once he touched you, it was all over.

Except….

The big thing didn't move and the smaller guy just cocked his helmeted head before lifting one hand and making a come here gesture.

Detara had no idea who the gesture was for but a moment later Rikiya was thrown back by the creature. The Eight Bullet member stumbled and before he could recover the creatures were on him.

He screamed but it was cut short.

Detara felt sick.

The guy was examining his gloved hand, flexing his fingers slightly. Detara had no idea what he was looking at but it didn't matter. With Deidoro and Rikiya gone there was nothing holding the hoard back. It rushed past the guy and his bodyguard, heading deeper into the complex. Detara swallowed blood as he watched. They'd failed, and he wasn't even dead! This was a disgrace!

He just had to die… and he couldn't even do that right.

Detara couldn't think further before he felt pressure. It bore down on him and his already difficult breathing became more laboured. Several of the creatures came at him and he felt a moment of relief. He might not have been able to die properly but they'd take care of it for him.

"Stop!" the command was firm and he gasped at it. He felt like he should stop as well!

Why had the guy stopped them? There was no mercy in that.

The guy's footsteps were heavy as he took a few steps towards him. His jacket rippled with each step, revealing the leathers he was wearing. Detara looked up and while he'd like to say he could see his eyes, he couldn't. The helmet's face mask was featureless but he was crowned with a green highlight across his brow. It was like a coronet. He felt like he was being measured, even though the other guy hadn't touched him.

"What was his quirk?"

The question wasn't one he expected.

The pressure abated a little and Detara gulped, ignoring the blood he swallowed. "Whose?" he answered. It felt like he had to answer… that if he didn't- He didn't want to entertain that thought.

"The big guy's," came the clarification.

"Energy suck," Detara replied, ignoring the way the creature leered at him from above the guy's helmet. It hadn't done anything but he could tell it… he seemed like it wanted to eat him. Long, sharp teeth grinned at him from below the exposed brain.

"It allowed him to take energy from others?" the guy asked.

Detara nodded.

The guy chuckled. There was almost a desperate note to the noise that Detara didn't understand and then he reached out his hand. Detara still didn't get it but he could tell the guy was slightly disappointed. "Touch based?" he asked, rhetorically, already reaching to take off his glove. The hand was covered in green scales and the guy had claws.

"Dragon," Detara whispered the name… He didn't know much about the underworld figure except he was powerful and… seeing scales and claws just made him think that.

"At your service," the guy said and Detara could hear his mocking smile before he reached out.

Detara tried to flinch away, he tried to scramble along the wall but he couldn't move. The impact earlier had obviously broken something and all he could do was watch as Dragon reached out to cup his face. It was a gentle touch. His claws didn't even scratch him but he felt Rikiya's quirk. The Eight Bullet's member had hit them all with it more than once when he used Trigger, so he knew what it felt like. But how did Dragon have it..?

The thought was the last on his mind, before everything faded to black.

-ted-

Izuku gasped as the Yakuza's energy flowed into him. It felt good! He felt revitalised. The quirk he'd taken from the larger man was… It was going to be useful. If it wasn't touch based then, it would almost be perfect, though- Izuku frowned beneath the helmet he was wearing. The impression he'd gotten from the Nomu's when using Radio Waves had been that they were weakening without the guy touching them.

The Nomu couldn't talk to him. Well, these ones couldn't. The Highest ones could but they weren't here. The ones he had could give him impressions and feelings and they'd definitely given him that feeling.

He walked over to the larger man, ignoring the way his bodyguard shadowed him. The Nomu hadn't been kind to the man but Izuku examined him, looking for- ah, there it was.

He didn't take drugs, but he knew they existed. Even before he'd chosen this path, he knew they existed. Everyone did. There were so called recreational drugs that people used and then there were quirk enhancers. One was called Trigger. It was meant to activate and strengthen your quirk. Izuku had heard of it but had never seen it being used, though… He had felt the effect of the man's quirk when he came in.

He'd felt them both actually. One had made him feel dizzy and that effect had been stopped when the Nomu got the first of the Yakuza. Then he'd felt tired and that had stopped when he'd grabbed the larger man's quirk. The Nomu had then taken care of him. Looking at his body now, Izuku could see track marks on his neck.

This guy had been a user… Izuku wasn't sure what but- He sighed. That was probably how he'd been able to use his quirk without touching him. Even with the quirk limited by touch, Izuku would have uses for it.

How is everyone going? He texted to the group set up for this raid.

While he waited for replies he reached out with Radio Waves to see what impression the Nomu could give him. For the most part they weren't troubled but there was a group who were encountering issues. They didn't feel quite the same as the others.

Okay. Not okay.

Haven't found anything yet.

I'm afraid I am rather pinned down. But I believe I have found the Shie Hassaikai section.

Izuku looked at the text replies. He knew who was stuck. Only Mr Compress would maintain such formality.

On my way, he replied. If Atsuhiro had found where the Yakuza were holed up, then it was likely they had the cure there. And while it would make him tired, using his quirk to grab the quirks of the Yakuza was a very effective way of taking them out, which would give them the cure for Himiko. He had to be a bit careful to make sure the Shie Hassaikai thought he was touching them when he took their quirk. He didn't want to give the heroes any hints of what he could do but it was still a calculated risk. Since they couldn't afford to linger here, he had to do it.

Mr Compress was the most advanced. He had to get the deepest into the building. Izuku figured if he had too, Mr Compress was the best at hiding and he had some vague idea that if they were interrupted, then Mr Compress could grab the cure and hide and be collected later.

Izuku didn't think Mr Compress would like that but he was also sure the man would do what it took to survive. The Yakuza base was disguised as an office and the research they'd managed to do before being transported here was that there was a legitimate business working out of here. Nise Kai was a medium sized business and their office hours meant that their employees should have already gone home. He thought they'd seen the last one outside.

He made his way through part of the office. The Nomu had made a mess of the desks but he couldn't see that they'd encountered anyone. Since Nise Kai was a legitimate business, it made sense that the Shie Hassaikai would use a different part of the building for their operations. So they were looking for divisions in the spaces or a hidden area.

Before he could consider that further, there was a long groan from above, followed by the hiss of water. For a moment, Izuku wasn't sure what was happening, and then he realised the building's sprinkler system was going. Since he was wearing a jacket, helmet and full body leathers he wasn't wet but… Urgh, they were going to be a pain to get off and dry and…

Why had the sprinklers triggered?

Dabi.

Izuku shook his head slightly. He assumed it was Dabi since using his quirk would most likely set off the sensors. Before he could think of anything further, his phone buzzed. Izuku pulled it out. Be quick. The message was from Mr Compress. Under his mask Izuku smiled.

I know, he replied. He didn't know much about sprinkler systems, like how much water they delivered, how long the system went for and all of those details but he did know they were triggered by excessive heat to contain fires in a building and that they sent an automatic alarm to emergency services.

And the hero who was stationed with them. It was usually a lower level hero whose job was to sortie and report back quickly so that a more appropriate hero could be sent. The double reporting wasted time but… people just accepted it.

For him, it meant they were now on a time limit. He didn't know what the heroes knew about this building. If they suspected it was the Shie Hassaikai base, they'd be rejoicing for the opportunity to raid it. If they thought it was a regular office then they had a bit more time…

He couldn't assume that. He went back to the group chat. Everyone head towards Mr Compress, Izuku ordered.

They were running out of time.

-ted-

Couple of definitions for people (Yes, I do terrible things to Japanese and no doubt change the meanting, but this is the words I was using as the roots for the names).

良い労働者 - Yoi rōdō-sha - Good Worker - Yoi Roudo

偽会社 - Nise kaisha - False company - Nise Kai

Sekai no nanatsu no inochi - 世界の七つの命 - Seven lives of the world

My discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!