Chapter 95
[Silence]
The Morning came, and with it Himiko and Jin were both still asleep at the moment, in a decrepit bedroom that had two old mattresses on the floor. Toga was quietly sprawled out on her mattress with one of her knives in hand, and Bubaigawara was snuggled up into a ball, while snoring on his mattress. Vanitas was leaning his back against the wall outside of the entrance to that room, quietly waiting for Tomura to notify him when the Hassaikai were going to take them to their headquarters.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Master Criminal]
Soon enough, the Villain in question came down the hallway and the Dark Remnant took notice of him. "They're on their way here." He told Vanitas, who nodded and pushed himself off the wall. "I meant what I said yesterday."
"I know. And they know too." The Dark Remnant replied before walking into the room and knocking loudly on the wall. "Wake up, you two. It's time to get ready."
The knocking was heard by both sleeping Villains, who were reacting to the abrupt noise and soon enough woke up from the disturbance. Himiko yawned as she sat up on her mattress, her hair messy and let down. "Morning already?"
Jin groggily pushed himself up and spoke up next. "So, early...WHY'D YOU WAKE US UP SO LATE IN THE DAY?"
"Our ride is on its way." Vanitas told the pair, before turning to walk away. "When you're ready, meet me out front."
The two Villains saw their ally take his leave and then looked at eachother, before getting off of their mattresses and each preparing themselves for the day. Bubaigawara checked his measuring tape in his wrist compartments, then found a mirror with a large crack in it to inspect his suit, looking for any tears in it. Thankfully for him, he found none.
Toga meanwhile had a small satchel that held vials containing some of the blood that she had preserved from her previous victims, just in case she needed it. Two of them were specially labeled though. One belonged to the single drop of blood that belonged to Izuku Midoriya that she had acquired from the Provisional License Exam she had infiltrated, and the other was an ounce that had belonged to Sora. It was from the knife that Vanitas had used to cut the Guardian of Light's tongue, way back when he was captured by them during the Heroes' summer camp.
The school girl themed Villain made sure that her vials were still sealed and preserving the blood, and once she confirmed that to be the case, she then styled her hair into her iconic messy twin buns that she loved, before looking in the same cracked mirror that her friend was using. She saw herself in the cracked mirror and had her bloodthirsty smile on her face, expressing her true self and not being judged for it.
"You ready to go, Toga?" The S ranked Villain asked her.
"Yeah. I'm ready, Jin." She said while still looking in the mirror, telling herself that as much as she was telling him.
The two then left the room together and made their way outside, where Vanitas, who was now wearing his black coat again, was leaning on the entrance, waiting for them. "The car is about to pull up." He told them, as a light source was very slowly reflecting more and more off of the Dark Remnant's mask.
The light source in question was the headlights of the car that two Yakuza members were inside of. Once that car had pulled over in front of the three League Members, the Yakuza in the passenger seat rolled down his window and spoke up. "You'll be riding in the back. We appreciate your cooperation."
Twice opened up the door and offered to let Himiko go in before him. She accepted the offer and entered the vehicle, scooting herself to the far left of the back seat. Twice himself then entered the car and sat in the center of the back seat, comfortable with being squished between two other people. Vanitas then entered last and took a seat on the right section of the back seat and closed the door when he was inside. "Cozy." The Dark Remnant dryly commented.
"So we're going underground somewhere?" Himiko asked the Yakuza members as the three put on their seatbelts. "That's what Tomura said at least."
"Yes." The passenger Yakuza confirmed.
"How long is the trip gonna be?" She wondered.
"Not too long." The driver told her before he put his foot on the pedal and began driving the trio to their destination.
[Silence]
Meanwhile with the good guys, Class 1-A was back at U.A., this time with everyone present. Sora and Izuku were both more relaxed than they were yesterday, thanks to the talks that they had with each other as well as others who were close to them. As Ejiro was sitting down at his seat Denki was on his phone and noticed something, feeling the need to call it out. "Holy crap, Kirishima!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Bright and Cheerfully]
The Red head looked towards Kaminari who showed him what was on his phone. "Take a look at this! Your Hero name is all over the news sites today! It's freaking crazy!" Kaminari told him before reading an excerpt from said site. " 'Newcomer sidekick, Red Riot bursts onto the scene! He rescued innocent civilians and fought a Villain on his very first patrol!' " Katsuki growled at that last part, mainly because he knew his classmate was getting ahead of him.
"And he's not the only one!" Mina added, showing another site that had Ochako and Tsuyu as the main focus. "Look, check out Tsu and Uraraka!" She then read an excerpt from that. " 'New sidekicks as Ryukyu Agency. Two there for a work study.' That's so cool!" Ashido exclaimed.
"Ryukyu?" Sora repeated. "Isn't she one of the top ranked Heroes? That's awesome!" He was happy that his friends were seen as good enough to work with one of the best.
The girls in question then saw the article themselves. "Wow. I can't believe this is real!" Ochako said.
"When did they even snap that picture?" Asui wondered.
"Oh, hey, you know what?" Mina realized something. "You might already have your own fanclub, like. Mt. Lady does!"
"I'm so jealous!" Toru commented.
"And check this." Kyouka spoke up while reading more from that article. " 'What Heroes in training. They're cute. They're efficient. But even more importantly, they manage to get the job done.' " Katsuki kept growling at the constant reminders that his classmates were getting ahead of him.
"You have Provisional Licenses now, and you're seen as Heroes. I must thank you for your service." Tenya spoke to his now famous classmates. "But a student's top priority is academics! Hit those books!"
"Yeah! Let's learn stuff!" Ejiro cheered. "We got this! Right?" To that, Midoriya nodded in determined approval.
"Wait, didn't you tell us you've been having trouble with your assignments lately?" Denki remembered.
"The teachers said they'd set up some extra lessons for me." Kirishima told him.
"Maybe I should have checked into those." Hanta commented. "I am totally slipping."
"Remember, we all learn at our own pace." Momo told Sero.
"Yeah, who cares, right?" Kaminari said with a nervous tone.
"I agree with our Deputy." Sora commented, noticing the electric student's nervousness. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"You're just saying that because you have Midoriya as a study partner." Denki pointed out.
"You know, since we live in the same dormitory, you could do what I do, and just ask to study with Izuku." Sora pushed back before listing off other potential study partners. "Or Momo. Or Tenya. Even Katsuki and Minoru."
"I only accept female study partners." Mineta replied from his seat.
"Never gonna happen, ribbit." Tsuyu responded to him.
The students then took their seats and Homeroom began soon after.
[Silence]
Back with the Villains, The Yakuza car had made its way to a garage that was owned by the Hassaikai and once the garage door was closed, the Yakuza members exited the vehicle, prompting the League Members to do the same thing. As Vanitas exited the vehicle, he noticed that he was in a different garage than the last time he was taken to this labyrinth. The group was going through a different entrance this time. "Time to go back underground." The Dark Remnant commented.
"Oh, yeah. You've been here before." Himiko realized. "What's it like downstairs?"
"Plain, repetitive, dull." Vanitas answered.
"Then this'll get boring quick...WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BLAST." Twice said as the Yakuza members opened a secret door next to a workbench.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Shie Hassaikai]
As the group entered the underground labyrinth, Toga already saw the first thing Vanitas had mentioned when describing this place. "Very Plain." She said, looking around to see nothing but gray walls ahead of her.
After ten minutes of walking and turning corners, Twice then spoke up. "Very repetitive...SO UNIQUE." He commented, taking note of how there was nothing to differentiate the halls from one another. Unless you either memorized it, or had a map of the place, there was no question that you would get lost down here.
After another five minutes of walking, Himiko then spoke up again. "Very dull. You weren't kidding, Vanny."
The Dark Remnant didn't reply to her, as he was focusing on something else at the moment. He tuned out the noises of the group's footsteps, and focused his energy on one singular task. Locating Eri's negativity. Ever since the group had entered the labyrinth, he could feel her negativity and practically taste her misery. But just feeling her emotions wasn't enough. He needed to figure out her location. Normally, he wouldn't have any issues with tracking and pinpointing a source of negativity. But the problem at the current moment is that Eri's negative feelings weren't the only ones he was feeling right now.
There was of course Toga and Twice's annoyance at being here and hatred of the man they were going to see soon enough. Then the two Yakuza members escorting the three League members were oozing out doubt and anxiety, even though they didn't show it in their posture. Then there's the general feeling of disapproval that seemed to be coming from all over the labyrinth from a few dozen other people that were using these tunnels. This place was like a gold mine of Negativity for Vanitas, but he wasn't looking for gold at the moment. He was looking for the hidden gem that was infinitely more valuable inside this underground maze.
Another fifteen minutes of walking and the group came to a stop at a door. One of the Yakuza members opened the door and motioned for the League members to go through. As the trio entered the room, the first thing they all took notice of was who else was in there. Sitting on a couch was of course Overhaul himself. Curono and Mimic were also with him again. But this time, another eight people were present in the room, each one sporting a different looking mask, and all of them were standing around the couch that Chisaki was sitting on. "You've arrived. Right on schedule. Please introduce yourselves to my colleagues."
[Silence]
Himiko went first, though she was not enthusiastic about this. "My name is Toga and I was told to come here. Hiya."
"Long time no see, birdman." Jin said to Overhaul. "Be warned. I'll never forgive you...SO HAPPY TO BE ON THE TEAM!"
"Twice." Vanitas said while pointing to Bubaigawara. "Vanitas." He pointed to himself, still mentally concentrating on finding the exact location of the girl.
"Wonderful." The Young Head replied.
"The League of Villains?" One of the currently unnamed Yakuza members realized before pumping his fists and getting excited. "This is perfect. Let's brawl!"
"I'll kill you." Twice told the guy asking for a fight.
"Yeah, no thanks." Himiko rejected the offer as well.
The Dark Remnant gave no answer, as he was not interested in making any small talk with some no name.
"Sorry about the whole Magne thing." Chisaki apologized. "It's unfortunate. I didn't want to kill him."
"You mean her." Twice corrected him.
"Don't make that mistake again." Toga glared at the Young head.
"Anyway..." Overhaul continued. "This is no time to be holding grudges against each other. We're on the same team now. I want your help with my plan."
"Bastard." Jin replied. "You tried to play it cool the first time we met too! Like you don't care about anything!...SO, WHAT ARE MY ORDERS?"
"Just follow my instructions, like everyone else in the organization." Chisaki stated. "But first things first. I want the details of your Quirks. It'll be easier for us to work together if I fully understand what you can do."
"I think I'll tell you about my powers when you need to know about them." Himiko said to him. "Oh, and just so we're clear, I still don't like you people."
"So much for making a good impression." The small Yakuza member known as Mimic spoke up. "Don't underestimate the YAKUZA!" He yelled out in fury.
"Didn't I have you by the throat the last time I was here?" Vanitas pointed out.
"You just got lucky that time, you LITTLE SHIT!" Mimic angrily responded.
"Mimic, enough." Overhaul ordered, making his subordinate calm down.
"I agree with Toga." Jin spoke up. "We'll tell you when we feel like it. Won't get nothing out of me. No way. My lips are sealed."
"What is your Quirk?" One of the unnamed Yakuza members, particularly the one that was fully dressed like an actual plague doctor, questioned Bubaigawara. And something that took Vanitas' interest was the very faint purple aura that came out of him when he asked that.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. Session]
"I can make doubles of anything." Twice answered, catching both Himiko and Vanitas off guard. "For it to work, I need a precise image in my head. Yep. That means, height, chest measurement and shoe size, if it's a person, you name it, I need it. Gotta have as much info as possible. Only then can I make one thing into two. The main difference between the doubles and the real thing is durability. They just kind of melt if they get knocked around too much. I can make doubles of up to two things at once. The damage the second object can take is even lower. Also, for personal reasons, I refuse to make copies of myself. Got it?"
[Silence]
After that tangent was over, Jin seemed to snap out of whatever influence he was under, before looking at Toga and Vanitas in silence. "Huh?! What just happened? It's like I couldn't stop the words from coming."
"Wow, that was pretty stupid." Himiko commented.
"Just tell them your whole life story, why don't you." The Dark Remnant added.
"It wasn't me, you two! I swear!" Bubaigawara told the pair.
"And you?" The plague doctor Yakuza spoke again with that same faint purple aura, this time to Toga.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. Session] A.N. Again
"If I drink someone's blood I can turn into them." She answered his question without hesitation, to which Vanitas quickly connected the dots. "Whatever I take turns into energy, so the more I drink, the longer I can hold on to the form. One cup makes me look and sound like someone for about a day. Plus, If I drink a bunch of people's blood at the same time, I can turn into any of them. I can recreate their clothes too. But they get layered under my own, so it helps to get naked before I transform, which can be a little embarrassing sometimes."
[Silence]
Himiko then snapped out of the influence and looked at Twice and Vanitas with a shocked expression, before keeping that shocked expression as she looked straight forward. "See?" Jin told her so.
"Seriously?" The Dark Remnant said out loud.
"And your Quirk?" The plague doctor Yakuza said to Vanitas.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. Session] A.N. Once more with feeling!
Vanitas then saw the purple aura reach his body and he spoke up immediately. "I don't answer to you."
A.N. PSYCH! [Play the record scratch sound effect, then Silence]
That answer shocked the plague doctor Yakuza member, and he spoke up once more, the purple aura coming out of him again. "Tell me your Quirk."
"Like I said. I don't answer to YOU." The Dark Remnant told him. "Overhaul can ask me nicely, and then I'll tell him."
Chisaki kept a calm look on his face, but Vanitas could feel the hidden surprise and worry inside of him. The Yakuza dressed like a plague doctor had a method of making Twice and Toga talk about themselves to him, but whatever he did had no effect on Vanitas, which clearly sent a danger signal to the Young Head. "If you would be so kind as to tell me your Quirk, please?"
[Play KH1 OST Villains of A Sort]
Time for Vanitas to sell himself. "I have quite a few tricks, you see. First things first..." He summoned Void Gear. "I can summon a weapon that can only be wielded by me." He tossed it over to Twice, who hastily caught it and held on to it. "Anyone else tries to take it from me and it'll vanish from their hands in ten seconds at most." As if on cue, Void Gear vanished from Jin's hands to prove that point. "I can also summon various elements, such as Fire." His hand emanated purple flames. "Ice." The flames then were replaced by purple ice crystals. "Lightning." The ice shattered and purple lightning started to spark out of his hand. "And pure Darkness." His hand then held a pitch black orb that had a dark red aura around it, before he crushed the orb in his hands. "You're already familiar with my ability to create silhouettes, since Mimic over there clearly didn't forget. But that's not all. I can also do this." He snapped his fingers and a dark puddle formed right next to him. After a moment, a pair of yellow eyes opened from the puddle and soon enough a Shadow crawled its way out of the puddle and looked around the room it was in. "It's called a Heartless. They come in various shapes and sizes, can appear out of anywhere, currently number in the hundreds, listen only to me, attack any living creature I want them to on sight, and they can't be permanently killed unless struck down by my weapon. Which means against people like you, they are immortal and unstoppable monsters." The Shadow pounced, but The Dark Remnant slashed and killed the Shadow with Void Gear, then unsummoned the blade again. "And all of that is fueled by negative emotions that I gain strength and power from being exposed to."
[Silence]
After a moment of silence, Chisaki saw that Vanitas was done with his explanation. "Understood." He told him.
"One more thing." The plague doctor Yakuza spoke up once more, with the purple aura coming out of him again. "Did Shigaraki say anything about betraying us?"
Compelled to answer that question, Toga and Twice spoke together. "No."
"He said your plan had serious potential." Vanitas told him.
"Did he really?" The plague doctor Yakuza asked the other two.
"Yes." They both answered at the same time.
"Okay, then." Overhaul said, feeling content with that. "I'll accept you three as members of the Hassaikai now." He stood up and walked towards one of the exits. "But wanted criminals like you need to stay out of sight. Unless I say otherwise, don't leave the underground facilities."
"House Arrest?" Jin realized.
"Aw. That sounds super lame!" Himiko complained.
"Once I trust you a little more, you can do what you want." Chisaki said to them. "But you'll have to prove yourselves."
"After that, will we be able to say hi to Eri?" Vanitas said out loud.
[Play KH 2.5 HD Remix OST Hesitation]
Overhaul froze in place, then slowly turned his head back. "What did you just say?"
Curono, Mimic, and a few of the other unnamed Yakuza members had tensed up at what the Dark Remnant had said out loud.
"Eri?" Toga repeated, out of the loop.
"Who?" Twice wondered.
"Toga." Chisaki spoke up. "You and Bubaigawara are excused. See yourselves out. Now."
"What? Why?" Himiko asked.
"Just do as he says." Vanitas told her.
"But..." Jin protested.
"I'll be fine. Go." The Dark Remnant told them.
After some hesitation, the two League Members did as their comrade said, and left the room through the door they came in. "Rappa, Tabe, Hojo, Setsuno, you will wait outside."
The Yakuza who wanted a fight earlier, a Yakuza with a bag looking mask tied on his head, a bald Yakuza with a plain white doctor mask, and a blonde Yakuza with a black plague mask then left through the door that Chisaki was originally going to leave from. "Do they not know about her?" Vanitas asked.
"No, they don't. And neither should you." Overhaul growled. "So how did you know? And don't lie."
"You scared that your plague doctor Yakuza thug can't force me to tell you that on his own?" The Dark Remnant said before giving his answer. "The Heroes weren't the only ones who saw little Eri when she ran off that day. And remember what I said about negative emotions? I sensed her the moment that she got out of this place. And the second I entered here, I could feel her overwhelming despair again. She's close. A few more levels down and...a little to the west, if I'm sensing the negative emoticons correctly."
Overhaul's gloves disassembled from his hands and he was visibly angered at that remark. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now."
"I'll give you three." Vanitas said with a calm tone in his voice. "First off, do anything to me, and you lose the League's widespread name recognition that you oh so desperately needed in order to get your pet project underway. Unless you don't mind being put back quite a ways because you couldn't reason with us."
"Secondly, those heroes that you failed to get any information out of." The Dark Remnant mentioned. "I know their names. I know who they work for. And they are coming after you. You probably want to know all of that stuff. But I'm afraid that if you kill me, you'll never know, and you won't be able to stop it."
"The third and most important reason, so pay attention. I'm just like my Heartless. Kill me, and I'll just come back. So it would be unwise of you to give me a reason to flood these tunnels with the Heartless after I come back to life." As Vanitas said that, a few black puddles began to manifest in the room on the walls, ceiling and floor. Curono and the plague doctor Yakuza had pulled out guns as a reaction to that. The Yakuza with ash blonde hair and a brown plague mask manifested a yellow dome around himself, Mimic and Overhaul. The Yakuza with long black hair and a white mask held a bottle of alcohol in his hand and was ready to do something with it. And lastly, the large Yakuza thug put his fists in front of him in defense.
The Young head could see the position he was in, and quickly realized that he had no power in this situation. As much as he hated it, he buckled under the Dark Remnant's reasons. "What do you want?"
"First, I can leave the underground whenever I choose." Vanitas said. "I've been a member of the League ever since their first attack on the school, and only until All For One showed his face, did I decide to show my mask. I can and have been noticeable for as long as I so choose to be."
"Fine. What else?" Chisaki agreed to that.
"My position in this group. I will not be taking orders from anyone, other than you, directly." The Dark Remnant told him. "I am not a pawn, like the boys you have waiting outside."
"Okay. Anything else?" Overhaul was content with that.
"Eri. I will be allowed to be in close proximity to her." Vanitas calmly demanded. "Her negative emotions will make me stronger and stronger the more I am around her. Who knows. Maybe I could get dependent on her like a drug and you can leverage my loyalty with that?"
That last demand made the Young Head clench his fists in anger, but he was in no position to refuse. "You can guard the door to her room, but she can't see you. Is that good enough?"
"Unless she tries to escape, she'll never see me." The Dark Remnant was fine with that role.
After a moment of silence, Chisaki gave his answer. "Your terms are acceptable. Once you tell me about the Heroes coming after my organization, I'll see that you are escorted to Eri's room so you can begin your guard duties."
The pools of darkness then vanished from all around the room and Vanitas smiled under his mask. "Excellent. Where do you want me to start?"
[Silence]
Back with the Heroes, The school day went by normally for the class. And as 1-A had finished their final class period and were excused for the rest of the day, Sora walked over to Kyouka, who was just finishing up a conversation with Mezo and Momo. "Hey, Kyouka. Are you free?"
"Sure, what do you need?" Jiro answered.
[Play KH1 OST Shipmeister's Humoresque]
"I was thinking that today we could get started on those guitar lessons." The Keyblade wielder requested. "If you're free later today, what time could we start?"
"After we get back to our dorms and complete our assignments, I'll be free to do those lessons." The punk rock themed girl said to him.
"Wow, really? Sweet." Sora was happy to hear that.
"Don't you usually do training after school though?" Kyouka asked.
"That's every other day. And I did my training yesterday, so I'll do it again tomorrow." The Keyblade wielder pointed out.
"Oh. Alright then." Jiro understood. "You wanted to learn the acoustic guitar, right?"
"Yes." Sora confirmed.
"Ok. I'll make sure it's ready for you before the lesson." The punk rock themed girl told him.
"Nice. Thanks, Kyouka." Sora said to her before leaving the classroom.
Class 1-A soon made their way to their assigned dormitory in Heights Alliance, and each classmate went off to do their own thing. Some people grouped together and hung out, while others went to their rooms on their own. Most of the class went to complete their assignments, while a select few decided to prioritize other things instead.
Sora was in a study group with Izuku, Ejiro, Ochako and Tsuyu. The Keyblade wielder was always doing his assignments with Midoriya, getting help from him whenever he was stuck on something. Kirishima wanted to see how someone other than Katsuki would act in a study group, and he needed a break from trying to get Denki to stop slacking during those sessions. And Uraraka and Asui mainly wanted to hang out with Deku and Sora, and figured that studying together would be a nice way to do that.
Thanks to One For All user's book smarts, as well as the positive auras that everyone else in the group was giving off, the group was able to finish up their assignments quickly and fairly easily. Figuring that Jiro might need some time to get ready, the Keyblade wielder decided to go to the kitchen and see what he had and what he could make out of it. To his surprise, there was a lot of chocolate in there that was going unused. After inspecting some cabinets and finding plenty of dough, Sora had an idea of what to make today.
He washed his hands before taking a food processor in the kitchen and poured 1/4th cups of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into it. After pulsing those ingredients together a few times, he added some butter into the mix and pulsed them some more until some crumbs started to form. He then poured some milk and vanilla together into a measuring cup, before pouring that into the flour mix. After that, he pulsed them together until the dough was smooth.
After that was finished, he spread some flour on the counter and moved the dough to there, rolled the dough until it was thick enough to his liking, shaped it into a rectangle, wrapped it in plastic, put it on a small baking sheet, then summoned his Kingdom Key. Normally, one would have to wait about three days for this to chill until it was firm, but Sora knew how to work around this. He casted Blizzard on the plastic wrapped dough, encasing it in ice, waited for a minute and a half, then broke the ice off of the plastic wrap. He felt the dough and could see that it was firm, but not frozen solid. Perfect.
He then went to the oven and heated it to 177 Degrees Celsius. Sora then used a knife to cut his dough into strips that were a quarter inch thick and five and a half inches long. He then moved half of the strips to the fridge while he spread flour on the counter again and gently rolled the other half of the strips he made on it until they were 8 inches each. Once that was finished he placed them on a baking sheet and set them in the oven while he worked on the other half of the strips he made.
After he finished rolling the other strips, he then grabbed some of the chocolate that was just sitting in the fridge and mixed it in a metal bowl, pouring some teaspoons of vegetable shortening before whisking it together. By the time it was fully mixed and stirred, the first batch of strips was baked golden, and Sora took those out while he put the second batch in. He then poured the mix into a glass bowl before heating it for half a minute, then mixing it some more and continuing the process until it was fully melted together.
At that point the second batch was ready and Sora happily took that batch out, shut off the stove, then dipped each strip into the chocolate mix and made himself some homemade Pocky. Once all the strips were coated and placed on a tray, Sora once again skipped the refrigeration process with a Blizzard spell, then waiting for 60 seconds, before breaking the ice. The Keyblade wielder grabbed one of the sticks and took a bite out of it. He let the taste settle for a moment before taking another bite and giving a thumbs up. Success!
He took a glass cup and then placed the few dozen other sticks inside it, before cleaning up the kitchen and washing the dishes and utensils he used to make this snack. Once that was dealt with, he noticed Yaoyorozu come into the kitchen to make some tea for herself. She noticed the Keyblade wielder and spoke up. "Oh, there you are, Sora. Jiro said she's waiting for you in her room."
"Sweet. I'll make my way there." The boy replied.
"If I may." Momo was curious about something. "What are you and her planning to do together?"
"I asked her if she could give me some music lessons. She told me she was okay with that, so I'll be learning how to play guitar from her." Sora explained.
"Really? Considering what you did yesterday with her during our training, I assumed you already knew how to." Yaoyorozu said.
"My Keyblade just made me sound good." The Keyblade wielder explained. "If I played a real guitar, it'd be bad."
"Well then, good luck with your lessons. Once you feel confident enough, I would love to hear you play for me or the class." The class Deputy suggested.
Sora gave her a thumbs up and responded, "Sure. I don't mind playing a song for you guys when I know how."
[Silence]
After that conversation was had, Sora first went to his room to get out of his school uniform and into some more casual clothing, then he made his way to Kyouka's room on the third floor, and knocked on her door. "It's Sora."
Jiro then opened the door. She herself was also wearing some casual attire, and looked a little timid at the moment. "H-Hey."
"Heya." The boy replied before handing her the cup of Pocky sticks he made. "Made us a snack in case we get hungry while we do these lessons."
"Oh. W-Well, thanks." She appreciated that, before gesturing for him to come in. "Sorry if the place is a little messy"
The boy looked at her room and it didn't change in appearance from when he saw it the first time. "Looks fine to me." He told her.
That made her calm down a little, as she remembered who she was in her room with at the moment. "So, how familiar are you with string instruments?"
"I learned how to play ukulele back at my home, though that was a while ago." Sora admitted. "I remember how to tune, keeping the strings clean, how to keep the instrument in good condition."
"Okay. You know how to keep your stuff in good shape." Kyouka noted. "You know how strings work?"
"Yeah. Their pitch can be adjusted depending on how tight it is and where you pull it." Sora went over what he knew. "It can also change depending on how thick or thin the string is too. As long as whatever stringed object you strum on is flat, it'll work, but it's usually better when it's hollow on the inside, at least I think so."
"Okay, so you have the know-how." Jiro stated. "I'm guessing that you just want me to help you with the proper motions and rhythm?"
"Pretty much. Yeah." The Keyblade wielder confirmed.
"Okay then." Kyouka understood. "I remember you saying that you had a song in mind you wanted to do. Do you have sheet music for it?"
"Well, uh. The song doesn't have sheet music for it." Sora told her. "My dad played an acoustic guitar and sang it to my mom once and I...wanted to learn it, but couldn't...after the Heartless took them."
"Oh..." Jiro realized what Sora was talking about and understood the personal significance of this request. While this was her first time hearing about exactly what had happened to Sora's parents, she didn't need any more details to know that they were gone. The boy wanted to learn this song as a way of remembering them. She then had one request. "Could you sing some of it, so that way I can see what we're working with?"
"Sure." The Keyblade wielder accepted her request. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, focused his thoughts on the memory of the song, and then let the words come out of his mouth.
[Play Simple and Clean (From Kingdom Hearts) by NateWantsToBattle]
"When you walk away~"
"You don't hear me say~"
"Please~ Oh baby~ Don't go."
"Simple and Clean is the way that you're making me feel~ tonight."
"It's hard~ to let it go."
[Silence]
The boy then opened his eyes and looked to Jiro, who was taken aback by what she heard. She could feel the connection that Sora had with this song. The love that was felt from it. The sadness that was subtly part of it. Those first lyrics were all she needed to hear to know that this was a song about a romantic relationship.
After she let that sink in, she finally spoke up. "Okay. Let's get started."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Overhaul]
Back with the bad guys, Vanitas had just finished explaining everything he knew about the Heroes that were coming after Chisaki and his group. Now the Young Head knew the name of Deku, the green colored Hero who was openly suspicious of him. He knew the name of Lemillion, the blonde Hero who avoided giving out this information. He knew about a hero named Sir, who was described as a lanky man with a resting scowl on his face. A female Hero with blue skin named Bubble Girl was also mentioned, as well as a hero with a Centipede head and black suit. These were the people that were working to take him down right now.
The group was small, but playing their cards really well right now. At the moment, they weren't an immediate threat. But based on Overhaul's own calculations, by the time they could become a problem, his organization would have already made itself too valuable for other Villains to lose, making him basically untouchable, as the other Villains would be willing to take a bullet from the Heroes in exchange for the bullets they'll use to shoot back at them. "This information will be useful." Chisaki admitted. "Anything else?"
"They plan on getting assistance from other Heroes once they manage to find any hard evidence to pin you for anything." The Dark Remnant told him. "So far, they have found nothing and are only running on suspicion. You do a good job covering your tracks."
"It's how the Yakuza survived this plague of Heroes." Overhaul stated. "Needless to say, these Heroes can't do anything to us at the moment. And they won't be able to trace any bullets we distribute back to us, due to how indirectly we send them out. I'll still make sure that my men know to look out for those five whenever they are doing any dealings on the streets. Can't take any chances."
"Wise idea." Vanitas told him.
"Curono will escort you to Eri's room." Chisaki stated. "Remember."
"She won't see me unless she makes a run for it." The Dark Remnant assured him.
"Good. And she is not to be mentioned to your colleagues. If they ask, tell them she's unimportant." The Young Head instructed.
"Nobody important." Vanitas repeated.
Chasaki then left the room, and the Dark Remnant was motioned by Curono to follow him. Vanitas did so and as soon as the pair had left the room, the Yakuza member who had wanted to fight earlier had noticed the pair and approached them. "Hey, you. Kid in the black coat."
[Silence]
Vanitas turned around. "You again?"
"You never said no when I wanted to fight." The Yakuza member told him. "Come on. Let's brawl!"
"You want me to fight you?" The Dark Remnant questioned.
"Yeah. To the death." The Yakuza member confirmed, sounding excited.
Vanitas was surprised with this guy. "There are so many easier ways to kill yourself."
"Oh! I like that attitude!" The Yakuza member got pumped up. "There's an empty room close by where we can do this. Come on. Let's go."
"Rappa, stop trying to fight everyone who joins." Curono told the Yakuza member.
"He's not saying no, Curono!" The man now known as Rappa barked back. "Come on, Black Coat, you wanna do this too, right?"
"You know what? I do. Just to shut you up." Vanitas accepted the challenge.
"Oh, YEAH! This is gonna be awesome!" Rappa got excited and motioned for the Dark Remnant to follow him.
Curono stepped in when Rappa was out of hearing range. "Overhaul would be very much against this. It would benefit us all if you both didn't try to kill each other."
"Fine, then I'll just beat him until he can't talk anymore." The Dark Remnant said before following Rappa. "Unless he gets on my nerves too much."
Once the two of them made it to the empty room that Rappa mentioned, the fighting maniac stood on one end of the room and clenched his fists. "You ready?" He then saw Vanitas summoned Void Gear. "Wha? Aww! Damn it!"
"You got a problem?" The Dark Remnant asked.
"Yeah. You're a coward." Rappa complained. "And here I thought I'd finally have some fun."
Vanitas' posture showed how offended he was at that. "Excuse you?!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST The Spear and Shield Match]
"You pulled out a damn weapon. Those things have got no place in a fight." Rappa explained with a disappointed tone in his voice. "Real fighters kill their opponents with just their own strength. The best kind of match is a Death Match against equals, not some mismatch with a fighter and a coward who hides behind a sword."
That comment made Vanitas actually angry. The nerve that this man had to call him a coward twice in his face. He then scoffed. "Oh, so you want a death match between equals? Is that what you want?" He then snapped his fingers and a large dark puddle appeared next to him, before out of said puddle came a Large Body Heartless. "Here's your equal. Another common, basic piece of fodder." He told Rappa before commanding the Heartless next to him. "Go rip that guy's heart out."
The Large Body then looked at Rappa and ran towards the fighting Maniac, who reared his right arm back before throwing a punch towards the Heartless' gut, only for the punch to be rebounded once he contacted the creature's gut, making him stagger long enough to get slammed by the Large Body's belly and sent back to the wall, hitting it hard enough for him to fall to one knee.
Rappa looked to see the Large Body slap its belly, as if to taunt the fighting maniac at its failed attempt to hurt it. The Yakuza member then let out a growl, and got back on his feet. "Now this is more like it." He said as he got his fists back up and dashed towards the Large Body, this time throwing a punch towards its face, which landed and made it stumble a little backwards. Rappa then went for a followup attack, wanting to keep his momentum going.
The Large Body saw the Yakuza go for another punch to the gut, only for it to rebound off of it again, and make him stagger. The Heartless then regained its balance and lunged forward, but this time Rappa put his arms up in front of himself to soften the blow. He was still pushed back a good distance, but he was able to stop himself from slamming his back against the wall again. That didn't stop the creature from following up with another attack of its own.
The Large Body swung one of its large arms at Rappa and knocked his arms out of the way, before it lunged itself towards the Yakuza again, once again hitting him head on with its belly, and slamming his back to the wall. This time however, the Heartless ran up to Rappa and slammed him between itself and the wall, crushing the man between the two. The creature then stepped back to see Rappa still recovering, and thrusted its arm into his chest, aiming to do what Vanitas said.
The fighting maniac was caught off guard at that action and when he felt something being ripped out of him, he grabbed the Heartless' arms and struggled to hold it in place, although it was extremely difficult and painful for him "Gah! Oh man! He's really going for it!" He noticed how the Heartless was actually trying to rip his heart out, although it wasn't bloody, he could still feel something was being pulled out from inside him, and it made his blood start to pump.
At that moment, Vanitas smirked under his mask. "You wanted this!" He taunted the Yakuza member. "Here's your death match! Now roll over and be done with it!" The Large Body continued to pull and it was very slowly gaining more ground as it did not let up in its attempts to steal the Heart of Rappa. "And after all that talk about being a real fighter, you can't even take out a simple no name? What a joke!" The Dark Remnant said before laughing at this display.
Rappa gripped his hands tighter around the Large Body and pulled back even more, tapping into that fight or flight response that was in every human and using that to give him the strength to keep himself in this tug of war for his heart. "Now it's really getting good." The fighting maniac said and he went for a punch towards the Large Body's face and landed it, making it recoil from that long enough for Rappa to yank it back, and rotate himself and slam the Heartless to the wall.
He then felt the Large Body release its grip from inside of him and he pulled the creature's arm out from his chest and let out a gasp for air that he needed. "Damn, close call." Rappa said before seeing the Large Body attempting to push itself up from off the ground. When it did however, its back was facing the Yakuza member, who saw how it wasn't padded and realized this Heartless' gimmick. "I bet you're soft from the backside!" He exclaimed as he went on the offensive.
Rappa made contact with the creature's back and he didn't feel any pushback from the attack. This was the soft spot. He then threw another punch, and another and another and another, each one coming out as fast and as hard as a bullet and at a lightning fast rate of swings. His barrage of punches was no joke, as the Large Body was feeling each blow and it was doing damage. "Come on, fatty! Show me what you got" Rappa yelled as he backed off to let his arms simmer.
The Large Body pushed itself back to its feet and once it did Rappa went for another barrage towards its back, but the Heartless quickly turned around and the Yakuza member stopped himself from striking its belly. The creature however began to glow a slight purple aura before pounding its chest with its fists over and over again. The Yakuza member noticed how much more aggressive it was becoming. "You're getting into this too, huh? Alright then, fatty! Let's GO!"
The Large Body then hopped in the air and landed on the ground hard enough to make a small tremor in the room, making Rappa stumble and nearly lose his balance. Heartless followed up by charging towards him and slamming him back to the wall. It once again attempted to crush him with its weight, but the fighting maniac saw it coming and sidestepped the attack, making it slam into the wall and tumble back. Rappa then quickly punched it a few times in the face before circling behind it.
The Heartless was quick however and turned around, deflecting the barrage with its belly before swinging its big arms in front of itself, swiping at Rappa, who braced his arms and blocked the blows this time. When the arms stopped swinging, the Yakuza member instinctively sidestepped the Large Body as it lunged forward once more. As the Heartless fell on its stomach, it slid forward and slammed its head into another wall, dazing it for a moment. "You're done, fatty. You did good though!"
Rappa then closed the distance and sent out another barrage of punches, all making contact with the Large Body's back and dealing serious damage to the creature. As the yakuza member was gleefully beating this Heartless to death with his bare hands, Vanitas couldn't help but look at this display and feel both annoyed, but impressed. "Hmm. Maybe he's not fodder after all." He quietly admitted to himself. "He's still weak though. Can only just about handle one Heartless."
Rappa then went for the finishing blow and yelled out. "To make sure you're dead!" He then plunged his fist into the creature's back and then twisted his arm in there a little bit before ripping his arm out of it and then slamming it into the Large Body's head, making it splatter into chunks and go limp. As it began to fade away the fighting maniac held both his fist up and cheered out. "YEAAAAH! That's what I'm talking about! Now THAT was a good death match!"
[Silence]
The Dark Remnant just shook his head before turning to walk out of the room. "Hey, hold up." Rappa spoke up. "When I heal up, give me another one of those guys to fight."
Vanitas turned around and looked at him like he was an idiot. "What? After what you said to me, you expect me to just help you get your routine workout done?"
"Ugh. Alright. Fine. I'm sorry I called you a coward to your face." The Yakuza member halfheartedly apologized to him. "Not my fault that your friend has more balls than you."
"Oh yeah, keep saying stuff like that. Give me more of a reason to leave you dry." The Dark Remnant told him.
"What do you want from me?" Rappa replied. "I like a good clean death match. That's it. You have lackeys that can give me that. What, do you want me to pay you for it?"
[Play KH BBS OST Master Xehanort]
That last thing the Yakuza member said ended up catching Vanitas' interest. "Pay me?"
"Yeah. I can pay you if you want." Rappa told him. "How much for another match?"
The Dark Remnant looked around the room, seeing that it was just the two of them in there at present. Curono was most likely waiting outside, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of this fight. Perfect. "Tell you what. For the price of you answering any questions I have about your group, I'll happily call some more of my Heartless for you to have deathmatches with." He offered. "Deal?"
"That's it?" The fighting maniac replied. "Hell yeah, that's a deal! When I get patched up, I'll call you up for another round."
"Cool. I'll be around." Vanitas said as he left Rappa alone in the room. Once he left and saw Curono, he spoke to him. "He's still alive."
"You should know, he's going to demand a rematch." Curono informed him. "He doesn't like 'draws' as he calls them."
"Let me know when he does. I'll gladly thrash him around over and over again." The Dark Remnant was fine with it. The two of them then made their way through the halls of the underground labyrinth, with Vanitas feeling in complete control of the situation, just the way he likes it.
And that's another chapter in for this story. Continuing with the dual perspective, we now have Toga, Twice and Vanitas making their way into the Yakuza, while Sora is learning guitar lessons. Quite the contrast. To start things off with the Heroes side, Sora and the class see how Ejiro, Ochako and Tsuyu were doing during their work studies, via new reports of their escapades. Just like in MHA's original story. Then later in the day Sora makes a snack for Kyouka and him to have while he begins his guitar lessons. And yes, the song he will be learning will be Simple and Clean. I mean, come on. It's THE Kingdom Hearts theme. It just feels right. So that's the Heroes side. Now the Villains. Vanitas joins Toga and Twice to the Hassaikai headquarters and I already know what you're going to ask. "How is Vanitas immune to Nemono's quirk?" Here is the answer. Nemono's quirk is stated to make people tell the truth. Last I checked, The Vanitas REMNANT is not a person. He is a unique Unversed. Unversed are creatures that are both manifested and strengthened from negative emotions. Therefore, this version of Vanitas is NOT a person, and cannot be affected by a quirk that only works on people. Moving on from that. He also managed to bargain his way into a much more favorable position via leveraging his knowledge of Eri, most of his knowledge of the Heroes, and just outright threatening to end Overhaul's operation if he goes to kill him. And thanks to Curono being cautious about his life, when Rappa and Vanitas were left in a room alone together, the single minded brawler agreed to basically leak any info he knew to the Dark Remnant, in exchange for a regular brawl against a Heartless. Now the story is getting juicy. Let's see what happens next. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and Until I decide to upload again. ;)