Chapter 33: Hunt or Be Hunted
"START!" At the signal, the barren construction-site-like training ground was filled with the loud sound of Ingenium's Engine.
The speedster blitzed through the terrain as a silver blur, each step pushing him faster than a sports car could ever hope to. On his back, holding for dear life, was Tail Man, using his quirk to latch on to objects and help his friend to execute sharp turns, or most turns.
"Now I know why everybody says you're horrible at curves!" Tail Man's voice was almost drowned by the wind's roar. He latched at the shovel of a bulldozer and sent them away from a cliff face.
"I am working on it!" Ingenium truly was, but that was a persistent weakness of his. "We have to focus! Power Loader will definitely be underground, so if we stop moving, we lose!"
"I know, I know. Wait…" A sudden epiphany struck Tail Man, confirming his theory that insanity was contagious, "I got an idea! Can you bait him out of the ground?"
"I believe so."
"Good. After that, just wait for my signal." The martial artist used his tail to launch himself away from his partner, not explaining further.
"Wait, what is the signal?!" His only answer was the wind. Groaning about the lack of clear instructions, Ingenium aimed at the tallest and flattest surface in his general direction, a steel beam at the start of a building foundation. Using his true and tested technique of walking upwards despite gravity, he launched himself into the air.
The momentum pushed the speedster up and up until he came to a stop high enough to see the whole training ground. Flipping to reposition, Ingenium linked his feet and assured his exhausters were opposite the ground, "I hope this doesn't end like last time." The maneuver had its merit, but Ingenium hated how it left him nailed on the ground, which shouldn't happen this time if his plan worked.
Revving his Engine to high gear, blue flames spilling out, he rocketed downwards, "Recipro Dive!" Just as he was about to crash, he thrust his feet down, legs straight as a spear. The legacy bearer felt that thing in his chest, that Light he found in the fires of battle along with his most trusted friends, roaring louder than his motors.
With a rumbling impact, Ingenium smashed the ground, making the earth shake and upturning large chunks of stone. Thankfully, he fell inside a tunnel his adversary had excavated instead of getting stuck waist-high into the floor like all the other times he executed his new move.
"Show yourself!" Ingenium shouted into the tunnels, his voice echoing deeper.
A clawed hand enveloped in heavy metal gloves burst from the tunnel wall beside him, "Careful with what you wish for!" Power Loader's surprise attack earned him a slash at the student's armor, which let out sparks.
"You will need more than that to bring me down!" His new armor was reinforced with an extra layer of Mythril after the events in Hosu, additional protection against blades that Deku insisted on implementing. With a quick tackle, Ingenium grabbed Power Loader and forced his quirk to drag the man aboveground.
"What's your plan, kid? Think you got the advantage now just because we're not on my turf?!" The hero planted his knee on the student's gut, making Ingenium gasp, then headbutted the boy with his metal helmet.
Ingenium's own helmed was the reason he wasn't unconscious. He forced himself not to falter and threw a punch at the man's exposed torso, which was batted aside by a claw.
Retaliating with a series of slashes, Power Loader taunted, "You sure you wanna pass this-?"
Another voice sounded, cutting him off, "Duck!"
Oh, so that was the signal. Ingenium didn't think twice, dropping low just in time to dodge the excavator's arm that slapped Power Loader away.
Looking at Tail Mail, who exited said excavator with a grin, he couldn't help but ask, "Since when can you operate an excavator?"
The martial artist rushed at his partner and helped him stand, "Remember the truck thing where we asked where Izuku learned how to drive? I asked him what else he knew how to drive, and the conversation kept going from there until I got qualified enough to be a machine operator." Tail Man clapped his arm, waving him along, "C'mon, if I aimed right, we have a big fish to catch."
The duo traced their opponent to an area with a recently dug hole filled with fresh cement, a mixer truck parked at its edge, giving more credibility to Tail Man's claim. In the middle of the cement pool was Power Loader, whose heavy equipment made him almost sink like a rock. The man tried his best to swim to a border, but Tail Man was prepared, using a long metal pipe to push Power Loader back.
"Oh, come on!" The man cried as he went back to flail around.
"I don't know how to feel about this." Ingenium knew that his class was known for their… Let's say unorthodox methods, but something about the current situation pushed even that.
"Grab a pipe and help me here while you figure it out."
Against his better judgment, he did, and that was how the boys spent the next five minutes, poking their teacher with pipes while he half-drowned in cement.
"Okay, OKAY! I give up! Just stop that!"
"IIDA TENYA AND OJIRO MASHIRAO CAPTURED THEIR TARGET. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
"And that was that." Tail Man chuckled, stopping his assault on the poor hero and offering the pipe's tip, "Grab on, we'll pull you out."
Power Loader gave a relieved sigh when he reached terra firma again, "That was one of my most humiliating defeats. Good job, kids."
"What?!" Ingenium was perplexed, "How can you congratulate us after saying we humiliated you?"
Shaking some of the cement off, Power Loader gave a tired sigh, "I'm not mad for getting put on the dirt; that was the whole point of this. One day I won't be around anymore, but you kids will." He stared both boys in the eyes, "So seeing you are better than me means we're doing our jobs right and that when your time comes, you'll make this world better than we did."
That moved the students greatly; the faith their teacher had in them, and their future lit a fire in their spirits.
"You can count on us, sir!"
"Good, now let's go; there's cement where cement shouldn't be."
—
"START!"
Midnight grumbled, not liking the terrain she got. A rocky field didn't do her any favors but wasn't all that helpful for her opponents either. She would have preferred something a little spicier for a showdown that could cost two teens their dreams.
Her line of thought was interrupted by whistling. Strolling in like he owned the place was Cellophane, a strip of Tape going out his elbow and over his shoulder, where what looked like a bag made of his quirk bounced heavily at each step. The boy held the strip connected to him in a loose grip and tapped his fingers on it in the same rhythm as his whistling.
"Oh, someone is feeling brave~?" Midnight made sure to double down on her persona, trying to make Cellophane stumble, "All alone and coming at me like such an appetizing snack~?"
The boy laughed, "Oh please, I went against a rhino, a dinosaur, and stars, damn Midoriya Izuku. Compared to that, I have no reason to be scared." He didn't mind talking, not when he kept getting closer and closer to that sweet spot where the distance was just right.
Even while feeling something was off and keeping her guard up, Midnight maintained the back and forth, "My oh my, I would feel insulted if I didn't agree with you wholeheartedly. No other year was as eventful as this one, nor the exams this… intense~!" She saw the suppressed shiver running down the boy's frame and chuckled.
"I know. Still mad I lost the bet. I thought for sure you guys would throw us into a jungle full of feral beasts or something along those lines." Almost there, a meter or two at most.
"Now, there is an idea~. I'll be sure to notify Shouta later." Midnight's hand traced the edge of her sleeve, ready to rip it and let her quirk loose.
Three more steps. Two. One. With an almost bored tone, Cellophane spoke, "Remember to tell him how you lost too." In a total tone one-eighty in tempo, he spun on his heels violently, letting his package whip around as his elbow gear roared, shooting out more Tape at match speed, "Capture Special!" Snapping his arm forward, he sent the bag at Midnight.
The woman tried to retaliate only to realize her whip was an inch short of reaching Cellophane.
The student's smug grin was hidden by his helmet, just like how it subsequently grew when his gear let out a harsh grinding sound when it stopped. The package unfolded into an elaborate net while letting free various sticky purple orbs, many still stuck to the Tape, only boosting its capturing power.
While impressed, Midnight wasn't helpless. She flailed her whip, catching the orbs. Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed what else the bag contained.
Flying over Midnight, hidden by the barrage of hair orbs, was Grape Juice. The boy grabbed more ammo from his scalp and finished shouting their special team move, "Double Surprise Package!" He let loose another wave of sticky spheres.
Midnight tried her best to block a two-front offensive, but when her whip trailed the ground too close, one of the orbs stuck to it latched on a rock. From there, all went downhill for the teacher. Various spheres glued to her before the net fell, trapping Midnight. Still, the woman had a last ace up her sleeve.
She ran her nail up her midriff, at least the most she could in her position, cutting the fabric open and forcing it open with a bust from her quirk. Dense purple smoke started to fill the air, getting closer and closer to the airborne Grape Juice.
"Crap!"
"Oh no, you won't!" A strip of Tape shot out like a bullet, zipping through the air and latching into a distant bolder. Cellophane roared along the motor of his gear, blitzing through the space between him and his friend in a blink and tackling the other boy away from the danger zone.
Both cried out in appropriate amounts of panic, seeing they were about to crash on a bolder at match one. Cellophane severed the line, making them fall and skip on the ground like rocks thrown at the surface of a lake.
The duo rolled to a stop, sat up, and looked at their adversary, seeing her completely trapped and her quirk incapable of reaching them.
"SERO HANTA AND MINETA MINORU CAPTURED THEIR TARGET. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
"Yeah!" Both cheered, trading a high-five.
"See? 'Told you no one expects the Surprise Double Package."
"I know, but the Special Delivery is so much cooler!"
"You only say that because you don't need to stay inside the bag in that one."
"'You speaking facts doesn't automatically make you right!"
Midnight interrupted the victorious duo, "Boys, boys, you both are pretty. Now, can you get me out of this thing?" She gestured to the net over her the best she could.
Cellophane pressed something on the side of his elbow gear, making a razor pop out of each, "I get the net; you get the balls?"
Grape Juice rolled his eyes, "Man, you know it isn't easy to keep away from old habits when you give the perfect cue like that, right?"
"Just testing you. 'Need to make sure my friend has his head on the game." With that, they went to free their teacher.
—
"START!"
"Well, here we go." Snipe grabbed his revolver firmly and started to track down the long highway. He thought that was the worse battleground being only a long corridor with two rolls of pillars, floodlights illuminating everything in sterile light, and who was the jackass that thought filling it with fog was a good idea? It only got to ankle height, but the thing was already creepy without the horror movie trope added.
The hero was against the class's top scorer in any and every stealth exercise and one of the most all-rounded students in the first year, so he was against a solid duo. Invisible Girl could run down the clock, and Tentacole would see Snipe coming from a mile away, which left him on the back foot for the first contact.
For some tense minutes, the only thing Snipe could hear was his steps, and the only thing he could see was bland gray walls and pillars. And then he noticed the fog clinging to something at the corner of his eye.
The hero snapped his gun at what he believed was Invisible Girl's head, "Good try, lass, but not good enough."
"You sure?" The person to answer Snipe wasn't Invisible Girl, but Tentacole, who just faded into view before the teacher. The man couldn't react fast enough thanks to the jump scare and was grabbed by multiple arms.
Tentacole used one hand to hold the revolver in the hero's hand and another to close its barrel with a palm, many others latching on Snipe's torso and shoulders.
"Don't ya know to never stay on the line of a gun, kiddo?" Snipe only dared to shoot the student so close because he could regrow his hand and wouldn't be too debilitated by a rubber bullet mangling it.
He squeezed the trigger, and a muffled bang sounded.
Tentacole raised an eyebrow, "Don't you know that all our equipment is Miroriya-proof, old man?" He gestured to the gloves covering all his hands with his chin, "Everything we use can survive a nuke by design."
"So it does." Snipe nodded, then used the hand he kept behind his back to pull out a knife.
A sharp impact to his elbow bade him drop it, and another one to the back of his knee made the hero falter. Tentacole followed up by pushing him back, a hand grabbing his mask, and driving his head on the concrete violently.
Snipe struggled, but his quirk was useless with his revolver blocked, and his backup weapon was lost on the foggy floor somewhere, which made it almost useless. More and more hands grabbed him, immobilizing the man, "Darn, I think that's it for me."
"HAGAKURE TORU AND SHOJI MEZO CAPTURED THEIR TARGET. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
Tentacole let escape a relieved sigh, "Thank stars that worked. We didn't have a plan B."
"With an ace like that? I would put all mah chips innit too." Snipe accepted the boy's help to stand back up, "Since when can you do that, lass?"
Invisible Girl popped into view with a shower of sparkles, "Since now! Me and Izuku did a super awesome team-up in his boot camp, and I tried to do the same here. Making people invisible too isn't actually that hard."
Tentacole pointed at her, "Your nose is bleeding."
She brought a finger up, passing it under her nose and flinching when it came back red, "Oh."
The multi-armed teen grabbed her and started to march away, "And to the infirmary, you go."
"Yes, please. I feel weird now." Invisible Girl felt as if she was underwater now that the adrenaline ended; maybe she should practice before trying to pull something like that again.
—
Present Mic checked his watch, seeing it was time. He took a deep breath and announced the beginning of his match himself, "START!" A shockwave of sound traveled forward, crossing the forest area of the battleground and sending the animals scurrying away.
Far from his position, Earphone Jack saw the visible wall of noise coming and deadpanned, "Yeah, no." She plugged her amplifier earrings into her amplifier boots with zero remorse. With a pulse from her quirk, she matched Present Mic in volume.
The tools provided by their resident ball of chaos and sunshine would make outgunning anyone in a sound match a breeze, and how she learned to finetune frequencies with some help from her cat sensei (Melody was an adorable Dream Eater on the outside and a merciless slavedriver on the inside and Earphone Jack would die on that hill). Those two factors made nullifying Present Mic's opening attack mockingly easy.
"FOUND YOU NOW!" Another wave, this one closer, went at her.
Earphone Jack also canceled it and waited for the next. She leaned on a rock and hummed a tone, blocking the next assault, "I still can't believe I agreed with that plan." Or how illegal it almost was; who knew Anima also had a knack for skirting the law?
Present Mic had no clue he had lost already, rushing into the forest and sending out long-ranged attacks one after the other.
The man complained loudly about the zone he got, with all the mosquito bites he was receiving from the pesky fliers. He kept at it, not giving up just from the tiny annoyances.
Minutes later, he burst from the foliage to face his opponents, only to be greeted by a bored Earphone Jack playing some song on a leaf. Present Mic was surprised the girl knew how to do that but pushed it aside for later, "So, not going to run? Or do you plan to buy time for your buddy?"
She shrugged, not appearing threatened by the hero's presence, "I mean, I could, but you already lost, so I don't see why."
"And why would you think that?!" Present Mic felt a little offended from being dismissed like that.
The one to answer was Anima, the boy coming out from behind a tree with red berries in hand, "Because you got injected with a dose of doku utsugi juice strong enough to leave you bedridden for a week." He lifted the berries.
Doku utsugi was famous as a poisonous berry that could easily be mistaken for a safe-to-consume one. It wasn't lethal, but it could cause vomiting, difficulty to breath, cramps, and other similarly unpleasant things to those who ate it.
The students watched the man pale, then glance at the mosquitoes buzzing around him, "Oh shit." He didn't know that Anima could also control bugs, but all the bites might have put enough poison in his bloodstream for him to go down, "You kids are evil!"
"Says the adult man that was paid to beat teenagers." Earphone Jack had no qualms about sassing him. She went for the kill, "You have two options now, you can keep fighting, and we wait for you to kneel over and start putting your insides on the floor. Or, you know, you can give up and rush to Recovery Girl before that happens." She shrugged disinterestedly, "Your choice."
Before Present Mic could answer, Anima coughed into his fist while dangling the red berries on the other.
"Shit!" The hero cursed, but he knew trying to go down swinging would only make him miserable for nothing. He had already lost a bunch of time rushing there, so exhausting the time wouldn't be hard for the other two, especially when the poison started acting, "Fine! You two win. I surrender!"
"PRESENT MIC SURRENDERED TO KODA KOJI AND JIRO KYOKA. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
"There. Now can we please go before I start putting my insides out?"
"And why would you do that?"
"Because of the poison that you punks put in me!"
Anima chuckled, "There's no poison; these are just regular red berries."
Earphone Jack could swear she heard a record scratch in Present Mic's head. The man's eyes were wide behind his shades as he finally understood what happened.
"I was had. I was bamboozled. I was played. I was played like a fiddle!" He fell to his knees in despair.
"A fiddle is actually hard to play. We played you like a cheap kazoo." The girl didn't spare the man while he was down. She threw a glance at Anima, "And I'm surprised you came up with that."
He reverted to sign language now that the need to play the bad guys was over, "In the animal kingdom, half of the conflicts are about posturing and looking meaner than you are."
"And that's why I'm fine being a city girl, thank you very much." Earphone Jack passed the still-sulking hero without sparing him a glance, "Let's get back before the mosquitoes decide that we look tasty too."
—
Tsukuyomi took a centering breath. He had one duty, to see them through this trial. Since he learned how his quirk truly worked, letting two aspects of himself exist in reality simultaneously, he has little reason to fear his power, which only made it grow. Tsukuyomi was one of the powerhouses of their class now, so he was the one that needed to assure their victory.
Not that he was dismissing Froppy, no. He knew for an absolute fact she was more than capable of surviving till the end on her own; however, he did not wish to pass; Tsukuyomi desired a victory.
"Are you sure about this?"
At her question, the boy opened his determined red eyes and turned them to her, "Yes. I was afraid of the dark-, of myself, for long enough." He bowed to Froppy, "Please, grant me this opportunity to prove myself."
There was a ribbited chuckle before she pushed him up by the shoulders. Froppy's large eyes stared into Tsukuyomi's with certainty, "You don't even need to ask. I'll have your back, and you get us our win."
The avian teen opened an almost imperceptible grin, "As you wish, my lady."
"START!"
They traded a nod and moved. The battleground was a building with large halls and many rooms, which would make hiding an easy task if not for the army tearing through it. Ectoplasm, their math teacher and a pro hero capable of cloning himself, was the teens' opponent this time.
They heard the telltale sound of many peglegs pounding on the ground, "Show yourself!"
Tsukuyomi's shout only made the squadron of clones converge on their position. Six identical copies of the man, glaring with their ghoulish masks and appearing to be a wall with how their coats blended into each other.
"Not very smart to give away your position like that." One of the clones taunted, more rushing there from further away.
Tsukuyomi's only answer was to rip off his mantle. He would be forever grateful to his friend for all the support, in various forms, he received, but today he wouldn't lean on it. No. Today, Tsukuyomi proved to himself he could fly with his own wings!
"No more holding back." As the whisper faded, Darkness exploded from his form like a tidal wave.
The clones were all pushed back, almost tumbling onto each other like bowling bins. Froppy, who had maintained a safe distance from the start, watched as her friend's months of hard work came to fruition.
Like a phantom materializing from the other side, Dark Shadow formed but differently from ever before.
What was once a wispy black figure was now as solid as steel and dark as tar. An avian mask in the form his head usually took, filled with dark matter, not unlike muscles, menacing yellow eyes glowing from within. A lean body covered by black feathers tinted with red, with dull-grey chains connecting it and the two large wings/claws capped with equally steely tips to Tsukuyomi. In the center of his torso, a hollow void in the shape of a heart.
"Not yet." The wraith growled, his voice echoing and ethereal. "Not yet!" Dark Shadow convulsed, rattling his chains.
"More. More! Moremoremoremore." Dark Shadow brought his hands over his chest with tips pointed inwards, "I am not hollow; I am not Heartless! I. AM. MORE!"
With a roar from both Dark Shadow and Tsukuyomi, they proved themselves more.
No more a child that did not understand himself.
No more a power that feared its might.
Now, they were the hero who braved the night skies!
With a blinding deep-purple flash, Dark Shadow finished his ascension. The hole in his torso was now filled with a brilliant purple crystal; over his shoulders was a feathery cape that looked like a ripped piece of the star-filled sky, and bright red replaced the old yellow.
They let out a heavy breath and announced as one, "Dark Guardian: Nevermore."
Tsukuyomi raised himself tall, his Guardian floating above him with borderline feral exhilaration, "Rejoice, you will be the first to fall before my true power."
"Now we are one. Now we are powerful!"
"And now, you succumb." Tsukuyomi threw his arm forward, and Dark Shadow threw himself at the still dumbfounded clones.
The Dark Guardian ripped through the quirk-created beings as if they were made of butter, claws cleaving through bodies and leaving glowing lines of purple marked on the air. He never felt so free, so strong! Even when more clones appeared, they all fell one after the other before Dark Shadow.
Tsukuyomi walked through the chaos with barely a glance at the bodies being brutalized until turning back into the whitish substance they originated from. Since learning more about Heartless and the one bond to the villain Izuku noted as a repulsive madman, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Tsukuyomi felt something didn't add up with his quirk.
Dark Shadow and the Dark Guardian were so similar, so alike.
Then why wasn't he nearly as powerful?
In the internship with Hawks, when Tsukuyomi thought himself strong, he had to fight beak and talon to keep up with the man. While his friends battled a fanatic and an invasion of Heartless, he had struggled to keep going from one small fry villain to the next. Would he have been of any help? Would Tsukuyomi be a hero or just another powerless victim?
Was he always fated to not be enough?
No! He refused; both parts of him refused such a notion!
So, with a desperate determination born from a self-inflicted feeling of inadequacy, Tsukuyomi trained. He improved. They overcame. Dark Shadow and Tsukuyomi, together.
But it still wasn't enough. Not until Hawks's words replayed through his mind again.
"Birds should fly."
Then why was he struggling to stand by himself when he should fly? Because he was afraid, still afraid of himself and his power.
Afraid until he became angry. Izuku trusted Tsukuyomi with the truth about himself, and Hawks trusted him with his vision of the type of hero they were, so why couldn't Tsukuyomi trust himself?!
And now, now he decided to put every single doubt to rest. He asked Izuku how a heart fell to Darkness and became Heartless, for that was his ultimate test. Dark Shadow or Tsukuyomi would prevail, and the weaker one would vanish.
But he refused because there wasn't one or the other.
"Are you stupid?!" Izuku shouted at Fumikage.
"I am desperate!" His tone matched his friend's, "I am tired of failing to live up to my ideals, to your trust! I will prove myself superior or perish trying!"
The strike was blindingly fast, sending Fumikage to his back. He held his sore beak and looked up, seeing two blazing green stars looking back.
"There is no one superior," Izuku all but spat the word, "There's only you! You are not a Heartless, and you are not just a person either. You are more!" He pulled the shorted boy by the scruff of his shirt, glaring into his eyes, "Stop thinking there's 'a him and an I' because that's what's chaining you down!"
That, that single moment, with his enraged friend shouting directly at his face, was when every last piece of the puzzle fell into place, "There is only one me, only one heart, with two ways of expressing itself."
Izuku huffed, "Took you long enough to figure that out." He put Fumikage back down and pulled a notebook, handing it to the reven-headed boy, "Page six-seventeen." With that, he turned and left, going back to help the other members of his boot camp.
Fumikage stood there, in silence, for a long moment before opening the book and searching the mentioned page.
Written in bold letters on top were two words.
Dark Guardian
A wet slap to the back of his head broke Tsukuyomi from his recollection. He looked from side to side, seeing a torn-apart corridor and no enemies left. "Thank you." He nodded at Froppy, who had literally slapped sense into him.
"Anytime." She ribbited, then glanced at Dark Shadow, "You look nice with a cape."
The Dark Guardian fuzzled with it, "Thanks. I finally feel like a hero myself." In part from his appearance but mostly from how he truly accepted both aspects of himself.
Tsukuyomi was grateful that his blush was masked by feathers and mask alike. "We lost enough time on duplicates. Let's hunt down the original."
Their search was a short one. At the end of the corridor, Dark Shadow knocked a double door open with his claws, which led them to a balcony to an inner atrium. It was a circular space with its center giving sight to the ground floor. On the opposite side of the students was Ectoplasm.
"I have to ask, are all you kids like that?" The hero's tone was tight, watching Dark Shadow warily. Rightfully so, as the Dark Guardian could cross the distance in a blink.
Froppy made a show of thinking about it, "Yes, yes we are." Credit to where credit was due, they all embraced the chaos without thinking twice.
The man let out a sigh, "Now I can see Eraser's point. Well, I can't just give up now, can I?" He hadn't created any more clones after the first wave just to make sure he had enough juice for his hail mary, "So I hope you're ready for this!" A deluge shot out from his mouth, falling over the balcony and crashing to the ground below.
It bubbled and expanded, growing and solidifying into a giant copy of himself, towering over the students.
Saying that was unexpected was a euphemism, but the students were used to having surprises thrown at them, "Can you get that big too?"
At Froppy's question, Tsukuyomi held his beak in thought, "Maybe. For now, we will not need something of that nature to achieve victory." He brought his hands closer, interlocking straight fingers and quieting his mind.
Dark Shadow barked out a shrill cackle, "Yes! Time for our grand finale!" He flared his cape and shot up, floating higher than the giant clone reached with its height, "Witness me! Witness my might!" The Dark Guardian threw his wings out, and they grew to cover the whole atrium.
The giant tried to slap Dark Shadow out of the air, but it was too late.
"Nyx Storm!" They shouted together. From the pitch-black wings, feathers made of Darkness rained down like a barrage of arrows.
The assault transformed Ectoplasm's giant clone into a pincushion, with some of the bigger feathers punched straight through it. The quirk duplicate broke down while falling, wounds emitting black smoke.
Ecroplasm clicked his tongue, "Not bad, but you don't look too hot right now."
That was downplaying it; Tsukuyomi was on his knee, taking deep breaths and trying to stave off the feeling of pins and needles over his whole body. Bringing forth such power had a cost, one that both parts of the boy needed to pay.
Still, "It changes nothing."
"You already lost!"
All too quickly, a camouflage tongue snapped Ectoplasm peglegs close, making him lose his balance. A dropkick to the back sent the man onto his face, with the perpetrator of the attack perched over him.
"Can you give up now?" Froppy asked with a head tilt, the cute action turning menacing when Dark Shadow floated down behind her.
The man blanked. Doubly so when the Dark Guardian conjured two orbs of Darkness over his claws, "I think I can, yes."
"TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE AND ASUI TSUYU CAPTURED THEIR TARGET. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
Dark Shadow and Froppy traded a high-five, then he turned back to his slowly approaching other half and gave Tsukuyomi a thumbs-up, "Our debut was a success!"
—
"START!"
Chargebolt and Pinky traded blank stares, "Do you have a plan?" They asked at the same time.
The blond sighed, running a hand through his hair, "We're so doomed."
Pinky had to agree; how could they win a match against the principal if they didn't even know what he could do? Still, she tried to remain positive, "Hey, at least he won't have much of an advantage in here." She gestured at the urban battleground littered with tall buildings
"Hey, maybe we can hide in one and wait until the time runs out?"
The suggestion was instantly discarded when a deafening crash sounded somewhere in the mock city. The very earth started to shake while more and more loud noises followed.
"He just domino-ed a bunch of buildings, right?" Chargebolt knew how said disaster felt alright, with how often it happened in class.
"Yep!" Pinky popped the 'p' for emphasis.
They saw buildings beginning to fall around them and made a break for it. The tremors intensified when they started to hit the ground properly, with clouds of dust raising and glass and other debris falling.
Turning on his lightning cloak, Chargebolt followed the skating Pinky's lead. The girl made sure to keep them far from the blast zone.
"How's he even doing this?!" Her answer was a wrecking ball toppling a building right on them, "Oh, that's how." She nodded, then pulled a grenade filled with her strongest acid. Pinky threw it straight up, the orb bursting and erasing the middle of the building, about to crash on their heads from existence. She still thought they were a little too strong.
The two halves landed on their sides but not causing any harm and letting the duo keep running for their lives. With the localized apocalypse happening in a somewhat constant form, the teens took the chance to bounce ideas.
"Can we do that thing where we throw the building back?"
"We would need Midori or Chaco for that. What about the slingshot thing?"
"Hanta still didn't show me how he does it."
"What about the ramp strategy?"
Chargebolt waited for the rumbling of a building colliding with the ground to die down before answering, "Last time I tried, I ended up halfway to the USJ."
"Your aim sucks." Pinky's comment had no heat behind it, not with how the girl laughed at all the chaos transpiring around her.
"Harsh. Man, what's the smart thing to do here?" His words caused a lightbulb to light up over his head, metaphorically at least, "That's it!"
"You figured out the smart thing to do?" That would be a surprise coming from the blond.
"No, but we don't have to!" Chargebolt opened a grin, confidence renewed, "If we can't outsmart him, we just need to outstupid him!"
The girl stopped her frantically skating, eyes widening along her smirk, "I like how you think!"
"Thanks, I do it from time to time!" They shared a laugh. Chargebolt's neurodivergent mind put together the pieces of his idea to form what an insane person (so Izuku and most of their class by now) would call a plan. "Which building he's gonna drop next?"
Pinky, resident demolition expert since that one time the smart cookies of the class explained to her how structural stability worked and why melting a wall could send a skyscraper down, stopped to think about it. Their class was used to it by now, what with the ongoing leaderboard of destruction caused during training exercises and how Pinky was third in it (Izuku and Katsuki switched first place around at least ten times a week, but she was ahead of Shoto and hot on their heels), so it wasn't hard to tune out all the mayhem and figure the answer out, "That one!"
Chargebolt followed her stretched finger to an office building at the end of the street they were desperately running down, noticing how it was triangular but with one of its faces parallel to another building, "Oh, that's just sweet." He dashed to it, sparks flying from his form, "Get ready!"
"Ready for what?!" Pinky's shout fell on deaf ears, the electric blond too far away.
The trick to wall jump up a pair of buildings was figuring out the angle for the distance between them. If they were too close, you had to go mostly up to have time to turn and push out of the opposite wall; if they were too far, you had to go almost horizontally to bridge the gap.
Chargebolt's case was the first, with him having to squish in an alley formed by the space between his target and the other building. He crouched down and focused most of the charge on his legs, making his muscles tense. He leaped, pushed his feet against the wall for another boost up, turned, kicked out, and repeated until getting to the roof.
His gloved hand magnetically zoomed on the metal railing of the rooftop. The boy pulled himself up, panting, "I'm never ditching the boys when they call me to hit the gym ever again." Chargebolt rolled onto the concrete floor and wheezed, "Okay, now let's see."
The blond dragged himself up, only to see a wrecking ball coming straight at him. He deadpanned, then sighed, "Screw it. YOLO!" Chargebolt sprinted to the edge and leaped.
His heart stopped for a second, seeing the ground so far down, and then it started to beat so fast his ribs hurt. If he died, he hopped his buddies scrapped what was left of him from the asphalt and buried it somewhere nice.
The ball smashed into the building, sending it toppling. Chargebolt stretched his hands, grabbed the steel cable connecting the wrecking ball to a crane, and latched onto it like a koala. The boy spun, sliding down the cable until his butt crashed painfully on the hook at the end of it.
"Ouch." He groaned pitifully, "Definitely gonna feel that tomorrow." Chargebolt looked around, seeing he was in position and ready to enact his master plan! And that he should do it fast before Nezu launched the wrecking ball right under him against another building.
Chargebolt took a deep breath, feeling the energy inside his chest go onto overdrive, "Indiscriminate Discharge: Ten Million Volts!" His shout was drowned by the sound of lightning all but exploding out of his body. The yellow arcs ran up the cable and through the crane, frying the machinery and rendering it useless.
Pinky watched it all from the ground, mouth open in awe, "That was so awesome!" She hopped in place, excited beyond belief. Oh, she couldn't let herself get shown up like that! "My turn now! You better be ready principal. Here I come!" She bolted, using her Acid to slide away.
With the crane now unmoving, it was easy to trace its arm back to the control cabin, standing on top of the crane's body on a half-finished construction. Pinky went straight at it, eyes on the prise.
She zoomed on the stairs going up the crane, reaching out for it, and getting zapped by lingering electricity, "Ack, that hurt!" The pink girl sucked it up and started to climb. A minute later, she reached the cabin and a calmly waiting Nezu, who was enjoying a cup of tea. Pinky pouted, "You are under arrest!"
The principal asked with a chuckle, "Under what charges?"
Pinky started to list off, "Destroying buildings, terrorizing teenagers, piloting a crane without a license, and being very mean!" She finished with a dramatic finger pointed at the unidentifiable mammal.
"Ah, it makes sense. Very well, I surrender." He put his arms up, not spilling the tea.
"PRINCIPAL NEZU SURRENDERED TO ASHIDO MINA AND KAMINARI DENKI. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
Pinky blinked owlishly, "Huh, didn't expect it to be so easy."
Nezu decided to clarify, "I had determined conditions at the start of the match that, if fulfilled, would lead to your victory regardless of other factors." He got up and perched himself on the girl's shoulders, "Now, let's go collect your partner."
"Sure." She started to slide down the stairs, not bothered by the furry principal hitching a ride, "Say, what were the things you chose to let us win?"
A deeply amused cackle escaped Nezu, "I selected three. If you two had gone underground, I would cease my assault and waited for a defeat by timeout. In the case of avoiding my offensive until forty percent of the battlefield edifices got destroyed, I would also stop hostilities."
"And the last one was getting to you?"
"Yes! And I will give bonus points for disabling me first."
"Nice! I'm sure Denki will…." The girl trailed off, remembering where her partner was, "Oh crap! Denki!" She jumped off the last couple of steps and rushed to the last place she saw him.
As she feared, the blond was still latching to the wrecking ball. Chargebolt had a completely blank face, staring silently at nothing with not a thought behind his eyes. His hold slowly but surely slipped, sending him into freefall.
Pinky let out a startled cry and rushed to try and catch Chargebolt before he splattered on the asphalt.
She wouldn't make it.
Fortunately, she didn't need to. Nezu pointed a digit at the falling boy, the tip of his claw glowing purple.
A spherical field enveloped Chargebolt, arresting his momentum and leaving the student floating a couple of feet above the street. Nezu lowered his paw, and with it, the boy, who softly landed on the ground.
Pinky stared, shocked at what transpired. She slowly turned her head to the mammal still on her shoulder. Nezu, for his part, only chuckled and put a digit over his mouth, giving a conspiratory wink.
The girl had questions, but she was too scared to ask. Just who was their principal?
—
Uravity and Can't Stop Twinkling's match started ten minutes ago. They had been holding for dear life to a railing of the USJ plaza for five.
They thought blitzing Thirteen would guarantee them a win, as the teacher wasn't very well-versed in combat. This plan had only a little flaw.
Thirteen's quirk perfectly countered the students. Blackhole could swallow Can't Stop Twinkling's laser at the same time that it made getting closer impossible. Uravity hadn't a single stone to throw, being in plain and clean terrain, which was a major oversight in her fighting style, and even if she had, it would also end up destroyed by Blackhole.
To not be sucked in, the teens grabbed at the railing at the plaza's edge and were forced to come up with a new approach.
A phrase kept repeating on loop in Uravity's mind, 'What would Deku do?'
The boy always made it look so simple to come up with a miracle idea that got everyone out of a tough spot and snatching victory on the way, a brilliant smile on his face all the while. She still could remember what he said before their parted ways for the test.
"I think that's it." Uravity sighed, tapping her fingers against her armor to channel the anxiety she was filling into something, "I just wished things didn't get so complicated all the time."
Deku turned to her with his inquisitive and worried gaze, and Uravity found herself tracing the slightest sign of blue in his irises again. Since she realized they were there, every time they locked eyes, the barely noticeable line of color grabbed her attention without fail.
He left the company of his partner quietly, the bomber still focused on discovering a way to emerge victorious against their newest and worst challenge. Deku rushed to her side and asked with those big eyes of his, "Are you okay?"
Uravity couldn't lie to him when he looked at her like that, "Not really. It's just- I-" She slumped with a sigh, "Will it always be like that? We push ourselves until we can't anymore, only for something to happen that makes it seem like we're not enough."
Hands landed solidly on her shoulders, startling the girl. Deku was staring into her eyes with a burning gaze now, "Don't ever say that again."
"What-?"
He cut her abruptly, "You are more than enough! You work so hard; you make me want to do better too!" The words startled Uravity, but Deku wasn't close to finished, "Every time I see everybody striving to become stronger, you're the one trying the hardest. You learned so much, and I don't mean just how to fight but also how to help people. You struggled to push your grades higher, so much you're on the top part of the class now!" His brilliant smile turned soft, "And you did all that to give your parents a better life. Seeing all that, I can say for sure. You're more than enough, you are worthy."
Those words managed to send the Light in her heart fluttering every single time. Uravity looked down and balled her fists, "You can't just say that."
"I just did." He gave her a cheeky grin, "So know for sure, no matter what happens, it will be alright. Why? Because…" Deku raised his fist, unshakeable belief clear on his face, "You can do it!"
Uravity was broken out of her thoughts by an elbow lightly poking her side. She glanced at Can't Stop Twinkling, silently thanking the boy for his unbothered expression. It was nice that someone wasn't panicking.
Can't Stop Twinkling mentally apologized for what he was about to do, but he had complete faith in Uravity to make it work, "You were thinking about what Izuku would do, weren't you?"
"I mean, yeah?" She was sure everyone asked themselves that at least once on that exam.
"You seem to do it quite a lot, having him on your mind. Can it be that…" Can't Stop Twinkling prayed to the stars for his plan to work, "You like him?"
The effect was instantaneous. Uravity's face became red like a tomato, and she reflexively brought her hands to her cheeks…
Releasing the railing and getting dragged by Thirteen's quirk.
Uravity didn't notice it though. No, her mind was painfully empty at that moment.
She liked Deku? No, she-
The denial died before it could fully form. Looking back, Uravity remembered all the times he had been there for her, where she had been there for him. How they smiled, laughed, talked, how they just were when together.
She remembered how she was happier when he was there.
The revelation brought new clarity to her.
Did she like Deku?
Yes.
Ǐ̸̛͇̤̝̾̉ ̷̫̙̩̗̎l̵̙̼̈́̚o̵̫͌v̴̛͎̙̂̍ě̴̢̳̜̐͝ͅ ̸̫͔̩̻͑͛̾y̸͇̜̎̇͊̂o̵̻̘̓̈̓̔ǔ̶͓̼̲.̸̼͖̈̉̾͂
Ņ̸̘̓͋o̶͉̟̓̀̈́̔w̷͔̲̑͑̉,̴̲̥̞̾̔̃ ̶̢̼͓̠̎̐̕f̶̥̞̄͜o̴͔͇̙͋r̸̲̋̉̕͝ê̶͎͔̥̎v̴̠̝͋̽̉͠ę̴͔̤͗̀r̸̜̤͐̔̓̏,̷̹̏̎͝͝ ̴̺̉̃̎̋a̸͙͐́͋͝ǹ̴̙̍́̈́d̸̮̿̿̓̆ ̶̯͓̠͛̇͂b̷̞̲̂̐͝ͅê̴̱̭͂̆͛y̴͉̌̿̓o̷̟̼͛n̴͍̺̰͙͆̍̌d̷͈̘͊͐̈͝.̸͙͓̱̓
Uravity flipped in the air, facing the shocked Thirteen with determined eyes. The Light in her chest shone so bright it was like it wanted to make the girl go supernova. As if guided by someone else, She extended her hands, the pads at the tip glowing in a swirl of pink and light purple.
"Zero-Graviza!"
At her shout, one of the primal forces of the universe bent. A tidal wave of purple and pink light swept through the whole USJ, negating the pull of gravity and raising everything not grounded. Debris, machinery, the Flood Zone boat, everything became suspended in the air, like a meteor belt, and in the center of it was Uravity.
She couldn't think of anything else, only one thing filling her mind.
I'm gonna win this!
Her costume's propulsors came to life, shooting out compressed air and sending Uravity directly at Thirteen like a meteor.
The hero flailed around, trying to get her bearings. Seeing her opponent getting closer, she tried to aim her arm at the student. Her mistake was losing Can't Stop Twinkling in the chaos.
The sparkly knight crashed onto her first, using his Navel Laser to shoot out like a shining comet. He grabbed Thirteen's arm and pushed it aside, "I'm sorry professeure, but this show est fini." Just as his words fell, Uravity arrived.
"It's over!"
With her hands still glowing with magic, she latched on the teacher and dragged her along. With a palm push with the pure force of the stars behind it, Uravity crashlanded on top of Thirteen, driving the woman into the concrete floor and leaving her sprawled, unable to move.
Thirteen tried to push herself up, but she felt as if she weighed a ton. In no time, she lost what energy she still had, "Ouch, I give."
"URARAKA OCHACO AND AOYAMA YUGA CAPTURED THEIR TARGET. STUDENTS WIN THE MATCH!"
Uravity let out a slow breath, her fingerpads locking almost absentmindedly, "Release." The glow in her hands started to die down, and with it, the spell holding everything aloft.
There were two things she was absolutely sure of now. She liked Deku, and she had absolutely no idea what to do about that.
Can't Stop Twinkling approached slowly, having helped Thirteen up, "I know what I said there, but-"
"Shush. I needed to hear that, but I'm still kicking your butt later." The girl turned and started to walk away, "Now, if you excuse me, I need to freak out."
The teacher heard her and nodded, "Yes, I don't know how you did that, but lifting a city's worth of weight was very impressive."
"Oh, there's that too." Uravity barely acknowledged how she cast a spell even Deku couldn't, not without setting up a lot first, at least. There was also the fact she didn't know how to do magic until two minutes ago.
Yup, she was going to freak the heck out.
—
"She stole my thunder." Dynamite's completely calm tone showed how he was truly and genuinely pissed. "I worked so fucking hard for the better part of a month, and she stole my thunder!"
It was only him and Deku in the observation room now, having the hardest match leaving them to go last. And it was a blessing that it did because Deku figured it out.
"That's it!"
The bomber rolled his eyes. Of course, Deku would figure it out after seeing his girl win her match, "What?"
"Everybody won."
"Yes."
"By doing different things."
"Yes."
"But none of it will work out for us. We can't win like they did."
"Yes."
"So we won't!"
Dynamight stared at his friend for solid five seconds, then his eyes widened, "Oh." He snorted, speaking in a perfectly level tone, "Fucking hell. Let's do it." He cracked his neck.
"I'm surprised you agreed that easily." Deku was expecting some more resistance.
"We have one shot, so we're fucking taking it." The blond punched his chest lightly, "See you on the other side."
The Keyblade Master smiled at his best friend's back as the bomber walked away. Turning to the only remaining screen, it grew brighter.
.
.I̵̴̸̴̶̷̷̶̶
̵̶̶̴̵̵̷̶̶̵̶̸̵̷̵̶̸̷̴̶̷̨̛̞̼̟̖̖̼̹̟͍͕͇͔͔̥͈͙̫͕̅̊̔͑̉̂͂̔̋͂̿̎̅̐̔͑̍̈͘͘ͅͅc̷̵̸̶̷̷̶̶̵̴̴̵̵̷̷̴̸̶̷̸̶̨͖̳̼̘̲̭̫͕̠͔̦̞̤͈̦̫̱̗̖͇͗̓̇̓́̾̊͋̅̔̈̐̅̄͒͋̄̒̚̕͝ȧ̵̸̷̵̷̷̷̸̸̸̸̶̷̸̸̷̵̷̵̵̴̡̢̡̝̹̫̗͇̪̤͚̥̰̘̱͙͇͉̩̺̽̌̇̈̋̊͌͗͗͌͑́͊͆͘̕̕͜͠͝͝n̸̷̴̷̷̶̵̷̸̷̷̸̴̵̵̷̵̷̴̷̶̢̨̧̢̛̥̜̜̝̙͓̟̣̜̣̖͇͖͇͕̺̣͗̈͌͒̿̅̅̀̏͋̇́͒͗̆̂̕͝͠͝ ̸̶̴̶̶̶̶̸̶̷̵̵̸̸̶̸̸̴̵̶̸̢̢̡̟̳̖̤̟̠̪̼̹͚̠̳̥̹̫͉̖̱͒͋̄̾͌̓̇̄͗͌̌̉̀͗̅̍̃̏̏̀͝ǎ̵̴̶̷̶̷̴̴̸̶̴̵̵̷̵̶̵̴̴̷̶̢̨̧͈̹̱͉̠̖̱̥̬̱͕̻̮͙̹̲͓̔̃̓̍́̅͛͐͊̇͐͛̈́̐̔͋̐̊͘͠ͅĺ̶̵̷̴̷̶̷̴̶̸̸̷̴̵̴̸̶̶̷̸̸̢̡̨̨̨͎͔̠̮͈̹͉̰̳̹͙̱̳̀̐̽̊̾̒̽͌̄̑͆̉̏̿͘̕̕̕͜͜͠͝ͅw̸̸̷̵̶̵̷̸̷̶̶̴̵̷̷̶̴̴̵̷̸̨̟̺͖͇̳̹͚͍͖̪̗̥̠͓̥̲͉̙̲̱̍̈́̎̔͋̅̒̍̏̓̉̑͌̿͒͐̋̓̚͝͝a̷̶̵̶̷̸̸̸̴̷̵̸̷̵̸̸̶̴̷̴̶̢̨̟̖͈̰̖̯̖̩̫̣̪̫̥͔̭͓̝͇̍̓̇̎̊͌̌̍͂̀͑̇͊͐̏̈͊͗̓͘̚͜ŷ̶̵̸̴̴̸̸̵̵̵̶̷̸̴̶̴̶̴̵̸̴̧̢̭̰̘̤͔̯̪̣̮̞͉̲͓̝̙̳̎̄̀̈́̄̂̆̈́́͋͒̈́̇̔̎͑̔͂̕͜͜͝ͅs̷̷̸̴̶̸̷̴̸̷̷̴̸̵̴̸̴̵̴̸̷̢̨̛̛͇̪̮̖̜͈͙̰͕̳̖͍̣̞̦̜͖̪̀͆͂̈́̂̈́̆͆̓̀̋̔̈́̍̐̽̕̚͝ͅ ̵̸̵̵̸̵̸̸̶̸̷̶̸̸̴̴̷̴̷̶̷̧̛͎̙͍͉̭̤̘͎̠̗̝̤̠̻͎̹̼͚̯̥͋͛̑͂̇̊͌͑̈̍̈́̓͂̀̈́̕̚̕͝͠c̴̶̵̵̵̵̷̴̸̶̷̷̶̴̷̴̵̵̴̵̸̡̛̩̱̼̯̹͎̹̗̮̥̝̫̝̥̼̫̗̲̹̍̀̉͂͂̀̑͋́̑̉̀͌͗͂̅̕͜͝͝͝ǫ̸̴̷̵̸̸̸̸̸̸̵̷̸̴̴̸̵̷̶̷̷̢̛̖͉͉̳̪͉̗͍̺̯͙̜̰͇̦̦͈̭͂͌̎̀͌̑̈́͋̈́̾͐̔̈́̈́̕̚͜͠͠͝͝ú̶̴̷̵̸̷̶̴̴̴̷̷̶̶̷̷̴̵̴̸̶̡̧̪͎̥͕͔̩̙̙͕̳̤̳͕̤̮́̊͊̔͌̄̋̆̿̏͒̀̄̈̌̉̓͗́͠ͅͅͅͅņ̸̷̷̵̴̴̴̴̵̷̵̷̴̴̸̷̷̵̴̴̸̨̛̘̞̳̯̩͕̣̺̫̣̝͖̰̤͈̬̝̟̓̓́̒̇́̽̋̀̀̈́̃̑͊̃̈́̀͗͠͝ͅt̴̸̸̷̷̸̷̶̸̸̵̵̴̷̸̵̵̴̷̷̴͚̹̺̼̮̮̬̰̝̩̳̮̺͔̖͇̪̙̞̝̔͊̋̾͋̄͌̓́̌́̃͑̀̓̂͛̌͝͝͠ͅ ̵̸̶̴̷̵̵̸̷̵̶̸̷̵̵̸̴̴̷̴̸̧̧̡̢̛͔̭̭̼̫̼̻̬̜̠̺̪̞̤̜̤̤͛̓͐̿̾̊̅̓́́̐̈́̓͒͌͋́̔͝͝ǫ̶̸̶̸̸̸̴̸̸̶̵̷̶̶̸̸̸̸̵̴̶̢̡̫̠̼̭̞͈̟̻̠̖̭̳̳͕͚̘̻͒̎͌̃̔̐̅̅͌̄͌̍̃̋̇͘̕̕͝͝͠ͅņ̵̴̷̵̵̴̸̶̸̴̴̷̴̸̶̶̵̴̴̷̶͕̪͚͙̱̖̫͔͉͙̮̪̙̳̮̫͉͙̇̀͂̒͛̄̍̽͒̊́̌̋̅̈́̀́͒̐͜͜͝͝ ̴̶̷̴̷̵̴̵̸̶̷̴̷̶̸̵̴̷̴̵̷̡̡̡̨͈͔͓̘̺͙̼̭͚̰̤̮̱̭̰͕̘̿̀̆̅̄͂̑͐̋̔̓̿̍̒̐̐̊͝͝͝͠ỳ̵̶̴̴̷̴̵̸̵̴̴̵̶̷̸̸̷̸̴̷̵̨̨̡̛̰͔͉̠̩̼̪̤̹̘͈̪̹̣̝͉́̿̌̈́̓̉͒̔̅̅̈́̈́̇͋́͊͐͘͜͜͝ǭ̵̴̸̶̷̵̵̵̸̷̷̸̵̴̷̷̴̸̴̵̸̨̛̛̼̯͔͓͚̹͙̗͉̩̼̼̫̘̣͈̱͙̹́͗̄̏͆͐̽̋̅̓̆̐͊̽̐̚̚͝u̵̵̵̴̶̶̸̵̷̷̷̴̷̵̸̶̶̷̸̴̸̡̢̺̗͕̤̬̪̟̘̭̝͕̫̱̱͔̠̯̻̅̒̐̂̒̌̉́̌͐͊́̆́̉͌́̐̕̚̚ͅ,̶̴̴̸̴̷̴̸̷̵̵̶̵̴̴̶̵̴̵̴̷̧̢̡̧̟̙̜̠̮͍̺̩͇̳̹̝͓̥̭͓̇͋̔̒̈̆́̀̊́̍͌̊̔̄̎͌̈̾̕͝ͅ ̶̷̴̵̵̴̴̸̶̷̶̶̵̷̶̸̸̶̵̷̵̡͇̟̝̦̬͈̺̠͈̻̘͍̰̟̼͙͔̞͋̃̎͑͋̍͗͛̈́̈͛͌̑͌̐̀̾͐̽͝͝ͅͅm̶̶̴̶̸̷̸̴̸̵̴̵̶̴̴̷̴̶̶̴̸̨̡̛̛̙͈̯̣̗͇͈̤̹͓̼̝̪͈̱̲͕̬̀̒̂̎̄͑̀̑̓̄̆̾̄͘͘͜͝͝͝͝y̷̴̶̶̴̸̵̵̷̵̶̵̵̸̷̴̵̷̵̴̸̢̦̫̝̰͚̥̪̥̱͔͙̱̪͍̮͈͗̔̑̃̂̇̓̈́͑͆̄̾̇̐̓͋̉͌̕͜͜͝͝ͅͅ ̸̶̴̵̵̵̵̷̷̷̵̷̷̴̴̴̷̶̶̴̸̛̛̛̪̰̝͚̳̜̦̝̬̹̼̙̝̭̖̜̲͗̾̾͑̃̂̌̿̍̋̄́͗̊͋̓́̕͜͜ͅͅR̷̸̴̷̷̶̴̶̵̴̷̴̶̴̸̸̴̴̵̶̸̢̫̞̘͓̮̦̤̗̜̦̤̣̼̠̣̩̤͕̀͛̔͑͐́͒͗̆͋̽̋͊̑͗͆́͆̀̏̇͜ͅǫ̴̶̵̶̷̵̷̶̸̶̸̶̶̷̷̸̴̷̶̵̸̨̡̨̢̛͙͍̭̗̩̦̝̲̱͓̭̥̪͔̦̈́̔̅͆̽̀̅̀͋̾̉͐̈́̂͐̄͂͋͜͝͝s̴̸̴̵̵̴̵̷̵̴̸̶̵̵̶̷̵̷̵̵̴͎̞͕͇̙̟̱͇̙͙̮͕̞̳̞̘͎̜̻̘͒̾̿͗͐̇̐̓̀̏͗̈͂̉̔̉͐̈́̚̕͝ͅḙ̸̶̶̵̸̸̵̶̵̴̵̸̷̶̵̷̸̴̴̵̵̡̡̣̗̭̱͕̟̫̟̪͕̗̹̝͙̳̩͊̍͊̆̄͌̽̆͊̅̅̾͂͌̐̋̈͆̑̃̏͜ͅ.̷̵̸̸̵̴̷̵̸̸̷̴̴̶̷̴̷̶̴̵̵̢̨̡͓̩͚͓̤̪̝͇̥̱͈̙͔̺̺̟̻̝̊͐̇̓͒̋̐̃̐̀̓͌̂͑͑̚͘̚͝͠͝"̷̵̴̴̸̸̸̸̸̶̸̵̶̵̶̵̵̸̶̷̴̧̛͇̰̜͈͓͚͓̗͖̦̪̥̪͇͖̘̙̤̜̹̽̂̌̆͊͂̌̀͆̅͌̎͂̆̾́͂͝͝͝
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DONE! You reading it can freak out now.
If you have questions, then good! Read and find the answers, hehehe!
For those that want to support me, go to the P site and look for Bola8 to put some change on the tip jar, because that's basically what it is. Then you can have your name at the end of the chapter, like:
Guipa_, SilverZero90, CBN, and Brolly Freeman, a heartfelt thanks to you all!
Beyond that, my friends made this readable, so a shout-out to SilverBits and keeperofhounds!
Oh, and join the discord.
discord . gg / stAGY4V