Chapter 15 A Hunter's Test
A real hunter always watches where he steps
-Maxim "Kapkan" Basuda, Rainbow Six Siege-
"How is she?" I ask the school nurse, Recovery Girl, one Chiyo Shuzenji, about my sister's condition
"Third-degree burns on her body, broken bones, cracked ribcages, and bruises here and there, quite severe, yet not life-threatening," She explains her condition.
I stay silent as she starts using her quirk to recover her wounds, burns, and many other injuries.
"Ther, I have managed to heal most of her injuries, but those cracked ribs and broken bones are not ready to heal perfectly, better to let her rest for now. Let her body go through the process," she said as she turned back to face me.
"No,w if you excuse me, I still have another patient to heal," she said, excusing herself.f
"I prefer if you didn't heal him, I'm" I whisper to myself, but it seems that she almost catches what I'm saying.
"What do you say, my boy?"
"Nothing," I quickly answer.
"Hmm…" she hummed to herself as she walked away, but before she closed the door for the patient ward, she gave a glance to me and said in a low voice…
"You better change your value, boy, or else…" Before closing the door
'My value, huh?'
Sigh*
"I wish that you would retreat from the fight, Izumi, not forcing your way into an unwinnable fight," I murmur, and I truly wish that she would give up, but I guess she's too stubborn for that to happen. Although I am also proud of her for facing insurmountable odds and coming out on top.
Well… not really on top… but you get the idea.
Seeing her peaceful sleep, I caress her cheek while humming an old lullaby, the same lullaby that Aria sang to me during Cayde's Funeral, the same lullaby that she sang during the dark days of The Red War.
My hand glows softly orange and yellowish as I channel a little 'Sol' energy to speed up her healing process.
"Heh, you remind me of when I was a young guardian… Bull headed, bounded by the concept of honor, trying to save everyone, and idealistic," I smirk, remembering some of my days as a young guardian,
"Thinking that light is good and darkness is evil, that our way is the best, that humanity could only survive by clinging to light, that I could finally be a hero, clad in shining armor…" I stopped and thought about that day, the catalyst of my change of perspective, attitude, and everything
"And that part of me died as I faced Crota…" I said to no one, reminiscing about my past
"Mngh, where am I?" Izumi's voice brings me back from my daydream of my past
"Infirmary," I answer to her, while at the same time withdrawing my 'Sol' from her. She's already regained her consciousness.
"Oh…" she offers token response; she seems extremely tired
"Your team won't, by the way, congratulations," I said, trying to cheer her up, which seemed to do nothing. But I'm never good at comforting someone, the best I can do now is to leave
"I'll see you later, rest well, Izumi," I said as I stood up and walked to exit the infirmary
"I'm sorry…" I hear a soft voice from my back
"For what?" I ask my sister
"For losing," she said in a despairing tone, "I have failed you, I know that with 'Void' I should win, that I should come out victorious. But I did not, I have failed you, I'm sorry."
"Are you expecting me to expect that you win?" I turn my back and slowly walk back to her
"We all started from the bottom, Izumi. It would be ridiculous for me to expect that win against someone like Bakugou-san. I have seen many guardians with less skill than you and managed to climb to the top. You think that I started as a strong guardian?"
"My first weapon, the Khvostov, is a relic from the ancient age of mankind, while my other peers are using exotic-grade weaponry. I have failed plenty of missions and got beaten up even more during my tenure in The Crucible. It's through time, perseverance, and proper mentorship that I could be called the strongest guardian."
"So, take your time, Izumi. The taste of defeat is bitter, but that bitterness is the one that makes the taste of victory so sweet."
"…" Izumi said nothing for a few minutes.
"Thank you, at least her mood is back to normal, I hate seeing her depressed like that.
"Hmm, it's ok. Well, at least cheer up, your first match ended in a victory." I, again, trying to uplift her mood.
"Yes, but…" She's about to say something, but I put my finger to shut her up
"Izumi, not ALL victory needs to be on a one-on-one battle. Some victory is determined by your completion of your objective. For most of us, guardians, it means teamwork. And you have shown quite good teamwork with Uraraka-san."
"I… see…"
"Look, I would love to keep talking to you and share my experience and perspective. But I'm afraid, I need to go back, who knows if I got called for testing?g" I walk back to the exit door.
"Just try not to linger on this defeat," I said as I exited and closed the door.
"Kinda hard to not…" A murmur from behind the door briefly catches my attention, making me shake my head and start walking back to the training ground
"So whose turn is it?" I ask Momo-san as soon as I return to the arena
"Just you, me, Todoroki-san, and Fumikage-san," she replies while still watching the fight between the frog-like girl and the big guy with six arms, both whose names is doesn't know.
'More like don't care enough to know...'
"Hmm, interesting…" I ponder while also watching the fight. The frog girl does have the upper hand on mobility and speed, but the muscular guy has six appendages, and that gives him an extra versatility on offense, defence, and movement.
Furthermore, the frog girl seems quite thin and she packs no defensive armor on her hero costume, while I could see the reason why, even I as a warlock/hunter still have armor in my chest guard and my gauntlet, furthermore my Hood of the Exile is not merely for show, it can handle bullet from hand cannon caliber.
And her with only a thin piece of garb to protect her entire body is… suboptimal, to say the least.
"That girl would have a hard time dealing with him…" I said to no one, surprisingly, Yaoyorozu-san replied
"I don't think so… Ayasui-san is quite nimble, and her job is to distract Shoji-san. And it seems that she's quite successful on that"
"It seems so…" I give a vague reply, I see on the screen how she leaps and jumps from one wall to the other, from object to object, luring away the guy. The frog girl, Ayasui-san, lured him into a mall complex. And finally, this cat and mouse chase is going to an end when Ayasui-san is trapped in a store.
"You have nowhere to go, heroes, give u,p" Shoji-san said with a surprising calm in his voice. Before suddenly…
"HERO TEAM WINS!"
An announcement from All Might declares that the simulation is over, with a victory for the heroic team.
"Hm,m it seems Denki-san is bested, well, I guess it can't be helped" he said with a shrug before offering Ayasui-san a handshake, which she promptly accepted.
"Congratulations, Ayasui-sa,n" he said with a… smile? On his face, or at least what I assume to be a smile
After a handshake and reunion where a purple-skinned girl jumped into Ayasui-san and caused a ruckus with the team, it's finally the final team.
"OKAY! Now, finally, the final team for this simulation is…." All Might said with full enthusiasm
"Izuku Midoriya and Tokoyami Fumikage as villain! Versus Momo Yaoyorozu and Shoto Todoroki as heroes!" he said with a big smile on his face.
"Well, it seems that it's our turn," Yaoyorozu-san said with determination in her voice.
"Good luck seeing you there…" she said as she went to the hero staging ground.
"…" I observe her for a while before also walking to the villain's staging area.
"So, do you have any plan, Midoriya-san?" asks the bird-headed boy, Tokoyami Fumikage, if I was correct.
"I have two options, one, we split them into two, just like my sister does, and what I assume everyone does. Or we stay together and fight one of them, then move to the other." I laid out the option for him to choose
"Hmm… if we stay together, we might be able to overwhelm our opponent; however, that would leave the objective unguarded" Fumikage-san ponders our option. But on the other hand, if we split into two, the heroes could have done the same to us. One of us goes and faces the hero, only for another hero to come and act as backup, and then it'll be two versus one…"
"Fumikage-san, may I ask what your quirk is?" I ask my teammates
"Dark Shadow, come out," he said, suddenly his shadow manifesting beside him, it takes the appearance of an aura of darkness with a bird head, and two yellow eyes.
"This is a dark shadow, my quirk. He's able to do anything that a person could do, and he's sentient." He said, showing his quirk
"Yes! I am sentient" *caw* "We are inseparable!" *caw*
"Yes, dark shadow, we are…" he sighs. "The problem with my quirk is I haven't been able to control him perfectly. In darkness, our power is significantly stronger, but harder to control. The reverse is true in Lightroom, it's easier to control, but weaker."
What a unique quirk, a sentient quirk is truly rare among people. But it's not like I don't have one companion that stays with me no matter what…
Anyway, I started to judge our position here, with Fumikage-san's quirk, it'll be more akin to three versus two. However, the heroes have the son of the number two hero on their side, and based on my oobservationn, he has a quirk to control ice, which is weird since Endeavor has a fire quirk…
'He could easily freeze the entire building, and I'm quite sure that's what he'll do. My 'Sol' could handle the freezing effect, but Fumikage-san here could not.
"Hm…, I have a suggestion," I said to him
"I'm listening…"
"OKAY! FINAL ROUND BETWEEN HEROES AND VILLAINS!" the voice of All Might booms from the speakers as Fumikage-san and I ready ourselves
"AND BEGIN!" The declaration from All Might prompts the heroes to start their move to the bomb site
[Izuku's P.O.V]
"Here he comes, stay close with me, Fumikage-san," I warned him, decked in my guardian outfit.t
"H, mm," he gives a simple reply.
I sense the temperature suddenly drop, and just before the ice freezes our body and the floor, I summon 'Well of Radiance.' The heat from the well is enough to stop the encroaching ice, leaving a dry patch as big as the well
"Impressive Midoriya-san, you never tell me your quirk," he said while seeing the dome of light emitted by the well.
"It's better if you don't know my quirk, but let's just say I can store things." I give a half-truth explanation.
"I see… well, I shall proceed with the plan then." He said as he walked to the window and prepared his quirk
"Fumikage-san, a moment please," I call out to him as he prepares to dive to the enemy.
"As long as you live, that's a win in my book. The mission can fail for all I care, but please come back alive."
"You're overdramatic, Midoriya-san, but thank you for your concern," he said before he jumped down as the plan laid before
[Tokoyami's P.O.V]
Flashback
"We flank them." Midoriya-san offers his idea
"We bring the fight to them; you will utilize the shadows from the building and handle Yaoyorozu-san. After that, I will handle Todoroki-san."
"I see… a risky plan, Midoriya-sa,n if I or you lose against our opponent, they will have an open road to the bomb." I give my point of view.
"The bomb will be rigged with traps, and I still have a backup plan," he said with a confident tone in his voice.
"You will handle Yaoyorozu-san, my quirk is… unsuitable for fighting her. I can win, but it'll take too much time and be quite annoying. I would prefer to handle Todoroki-san."
"Are you sure? Todoroki-san is strong, you know. I voice my concern on his part. He took a while to respond, pondering how to give a reply.
"I have dealt with something worse before."
Flashback ends
And now here I am, perched on the edge of a building, looking down on two figures. It seems that the heroes are still unaware of my presence.
'Where are you, Midoriya-san?' I wonder where he's at, he's supposed to be here right now, maybe he's preparing the traps? But my attention changes when something happens near me. A small object, manifesting out of nowhere, no bigger than a fist, with a lens that acts as its eye. It calmly floated to me and spoke.
"My dearest guardian has finished his preparation; you may begin your assault," before quickly disappearing.g
Whatever that thing is, it certainly comes from Midoriya-san, and it seems to act as a massager for him. No matter, I could begin my attack, and so I leap down and summon Dark Shado.w
"Your darkness has arrived, heroes."
Izuku *
For a while, I look out the window from he jump, and making my way to the rooftop of the building, I kneel and…
"Shame. Guilt. Fear. We all bear them. Gather your regrets, purge them as best you can. Let your enemies feel the weight of your burdens."
This is the word of Ada 1 the creator of my trusted sniper rifle. Izanagi's Burden. The rifle is still clean and pristine, her body still as white as ever, with the two blue koi fish engraved into the rectangular barrel.
"It has been a while, hasn't it?" I greet her as I take up the rifle and perch myself in the sniping position overlooking a crossing, from there I see two figures, one female and one male. After adjusting my scope and pulling the bolt in
'Honed Edge x4'
Honed Edge it's a perk bestowed upon the sniper rifle; it consumes the entire magazine, but leaves one bolt with extra range and damage. Unfortunately for me, or fortunately for the enemy, I'm using a dummy round as a regular round would be unnecessary.
The dummy round is crafted by me to lessen the impact of a regular round, filled with little propellant, having a rubber tip.
Inhale* *Exhale* *Inhale* *Exhale*
I steady my breathing and position my crosshair on the boy.
And I pull the trigger…
[Yaoyorozu's P.O.V]
The moment I hear the loud gunshot, I instinctively run to a wall, but Todoroki-san isn't so lucky. I see a round impact on his head, and he quickly loses consciousness.
'What? Sniper? From where? How is there a sniper here? Is that Midoriya-san? These thoughts quickly passed through my mind, but I have no time to waste figuring out what happened; I need to quickly secure Todoroki-san from an open area.
So, I make a smoke grenade and toss it to the street, it explodes and covers the crossing, I quickly run to him, and grab his body before quickly running to another building to take some cover.
"Shit, Todoroki-san are you okay? Are you bleeding? How many fingers do I hold up?" I quickly ask my teammate multiple questions, as I need to assess his condition quickly
"Ugh, my head…" he groans while also holding his head
"Todoroki-san are you okay? Are you hurt? Bleeding?"
"Ugh, my head hurts, but fortunately my ice armor stops the bullet," he said, before continuing, "But it doesn't lessen the impact."
"Can you walk?" I ask him
"Yeah, just give me a minute to regain my balance," Todoroki said, clutching his head
"What should we do? There's no way we can stay here.e" Yaoyorozu's panicked voice can be heard by Todoroki.
"I have an idea, I'll make a glacier to try to strike him, then we move, we dash from building to building. Using it as cover," Todoroki said with confidence.
[Izuku POV]
I finished reloading Izanagi and preparing to move, but suddenly a huge spiky glacier struck where I am perched just before. Had I been a second slower, it might have hit me as well.
'Hmm, they take the bait. Now I wonder who will be the hunter of me…' I muse before running into the depths of the building to prepare the traps
[Yaoyorozu POV]
Todoroki and I quickly rushed to the building where the villain team hid the bomb. It seems whatever Todoroki-san is doing to the other villain is working, there are no more gunshots. As we quickly approach the building, a large claw made of shadow strikes our position.
Luckily, I managed to push Todoroki-san away, the attack missed, and we managed to see the assailant.
"Impressive reaction, ion heroes," the villain said with a small smile
It seems that they are splitting into two groups, and the fact that Tokoyami-san is here means Minodriya-san is waiting inside.
"Can you handle him alone?" Todoroki asks with a glance at me
"Not easy, but I'll manage, I said, I'm not entirely sure I would be able to defeat Tokoyami-san as his quirk, although situational, is extremely strong in close combat
"You both have a higher chance to defeat us than alone," Tokoyami said with a straight face
"Yes, yes, together is better than alone, Caw," his… shadow? Adds
'His quirk is sentient, this is more problematic. But, the sun is still up and I could create several gadgets to minimize his power.' I formulate a plan inside my head.
'I just need to hold him long enough for Todoroki-san to touch the bomb, easier said than done. But with a couple of flashbangs, floodlights, something to slow him down, I think I can do it.'
"Todoroki-san, you go in and disarm the bomb. I can handle this," I urge my friend to go without me.
"Very well, good luck, Yaoyorozu-san," He said before quickly running into the building.
"Hm… his prediction is terrifyingly accurate," Tokoyami mused out loud, and that sentence…
I don't like it.. The fact that Midoriya-san predicted this outcome is unsettling. But no matter, I need to hold him long enough.
"Your deeds ends here villain, for too long you have stayed in the dark and now…" I smile to hide my nervousness, silently using my quirk to make three flashbangs
"Time to bring you to light!" I quickly throw three 'bangs on him, and we'll see…
Is my bright mind strong enough against the darkness?
[Todoroki POV]
As soon as I hear the deafening sound of flashbangs, I know that my time is limited. Yaoyorozu-san is strong, but her quirk is not as suited for close combat as Tokoyami-san's. Don't get me wrong, it's exceptionally powerful in general, and I have no doubt she'll be a greater one, but it needs preparation and time.
And those two aspects are something you don't have in an ambush scenario.
I shake my he, and I can't let her sacrifice be for nothing. The faster I find the bomb, the faster this ends.
I look at the GPS that the heroes' team has, which indicates the bomb's whereabouts. It's in this building on the seventh floor. I quickly use my quirk to elevate and bring me to the seventh floor. I found myself in an auditorium. It's empty except that on the stage lies the bomb with a single light shining on it.
'This is a trap,' I thought to myself., There's no way that Midoriya-san would leave the bomb without any guard. I put my hand on the ground to freeze everything over.
"Ice Age"
The effect is instant, the floor, the ceiling, and the entire room quickly get frozen by a layer of ice.
'That should clear any '
And so I walk into the room, and that is my first mistake…
BOOOM!*
[3rd person POV]
The tripwire grenade explodes, instead of a regular explosion like any other sol grenade. Tripwire's explosion is a shaped charge, and that would direct the explosion into a narrower cone of impact.
Lucki, Lyy Todoroki's ice armor manages to absorb most of the explosion; he's unharmed, but with his ice armor disintegrating, he needs to be more careful now. After regaining his posture, he quickly looks around the auditorium. um
"Show yourself!" he yells, but the only answer is silence.t
"Be a man and show yourself f villain!" and again… nothing
"Tsk, so be it". Todoroki-san put both his hands on the ground
"Ice Crown!"
A gigantic spiky ice erupted at the center of the room, it tore apart the benches, and emitted a freezing aura. It's an extremely powerful quirk technique that would deal even All Might damage.
And yet even after that…, nothing…
No movement, no yell or sound of pain, no grand entrance or any word, as soon as the sound of the ice crystal cracking is done
Nothing…
Confident that the room is clear of enemy, he quickly runs to the bomb and as soon as he's about to touch it.
Another explosion… this time it comes from the top, and he quickly sees the lights, the steel bars, and the walkways on the stage come down.
Todoroki manages to dash away to avoid the incoming death by rolling away. He's safe, but now the bomb is buried under all of the broken , he has no time to relax, and from his back a sack comes swinging to him like those in the cartoon. He manages to conjure an ice wall to block the sac.k
Unbeknownst to him, the inside of the sack is another sol grenade, and as the sack hits the wall, the impact triggers the grenade to explode, shattering the ice wall and sending the boy flying away.
As he lands, he manages to roll away and clasp his hands together
"Ice Barrage!"
A series of icicles shoots from his hands and flies towards the stage. As each ice impacts its target, it freezes any object. Not satisfied, He claps his hand again.
"Freezing Wind!"
A strong gust of wind quickly rushes into the room, plummeting the room's temperature to absolute zero and freezing over the entire room. The once grand auditorium is now more akin to a glacier cave with jagged ice spikes coming over everywhere. The roof, the stage, everything is frozen solid.
Todoroki's breaths are short and sharp. He's running out of steam, and he can't feel half of his body. Further use of his quirk would threaten the buildup of ice in his blood.
But inside, he's feeling victorious, there's no way Midoriya-san's trap is still active, the whole room is frozen solid! And with a smile on his face, he slowly, tiredly walked to the bomb. He just needs to move the debris a little bit to touch the bomb.
However, as he's about to touch the bomb. A muffled sound of an explosion can be heard, and then he could feel something he didn't expect
The ground is giving away…
The fall isn't that far, only six meters away. But that short distance means he has no time to use his quirk to make any kind of platform to cushion his fall. He slams into the ground hard.
His body and head are hurting, he's dizzy, and his vision is blurred. But still, he tries to stand up, trying to touch the bomb…
But he could feel something he stepped on, he could feel the electricity pulses through it, he could feel his body burn, electrocuted. He could feel the pain and the shortness of breath in it.
And as he lay there on the ground, as darkness fell upon him, as he lost consciousness, he could only hear one thing…
"A real hunter always watches where he steps."