Hitomi-chan's First Date
As the crimson hues of dusk painted the sky, two figures emerged from the shadows of an inconspicuous hideout tucked away in the heart of Kyoto.
The taller figure, a man with an imposing presence strode with purpose, his blue-skinned physique and muscular form evoking a sense of raw strength. Bald save for the pair of horns adorning his head, his tusk-like fangs and white eyes made him appear barely human. His drip was unreal as well.
Beside him, a woman of lithe grace and striking features, with impressive curves. She had long blue hair cascading down her back, sharp teeth gleaming in the fading light, and a crocodile-like tail swaying with each step. Her attire, a long trench coat and sunglasses, made her look even more suspicious, and didn't even hide her features and body that well.
Avoiding the crowded thoroughfares, they instead weaved through side alleys and quieter lanes, their steps taking them to the fringes of the city. Hiromi draped her arm over Drekus' shoulder, a protective older sister guiding her younger brother. Drekus laughed. They had gotten really good at pretending to be family, to the point where they looked completley natural! (They did not)
The sun dipping low in the sky casted a warm golden glow across the park as Feral and Drekus strolled in. Their presence seemingly incongruous with the innocence of the place. Feral's gaze was intense.
"This will do." she said.
Drekus, towering beside her, grinned widely, his inhuman features taking on an almost jovial expression. "Drekus feels as if he's reliving ancient memories of innocence, very good."
Feral eyed the slide, her tone devoid of any amusement. "The slide. Let's test it."
Drekus' grin remained, his tone light as he responded, "Drekus will try."
The blue-skinned giant climbed the ladder. The entire slide barely supporting his weight. On the descent, he got stuck, and almost broke the damn thing.
"There, good as new." said Drekus, after trying to fix the slide that had been bent by his weight and frame.
"I think you even improved it" said Feral.
"The only real way to improve a playground is to enjoy it with friends." added Drekus.
As they chatted, they made their way to the swings, each taking a seat. Feral was having trouble fitting in her seat, and the whole thing creaked thanks to Drekus' weight.
"So you really messed up that guy's legs without even spilling your ramen? That's pretty impressive" Hiromi praised her companion.
"Drekus knows how to apply the brushstroke of suffering to the canvas that is the world."
"My little bro is a poet, who would have thought"
The swings finally collapsed. Drekus pointed towards the sandbox.
Feral's stern demeanor softened, her blue hair catching the last rays of sunlight as she crouched by the sand. Drekus' fingers moved through the sand, his touch was oddly delicate as he began to make a castle as best as he could without tools. Hiromi joined him, her movements less precise but no less enthusiastic.
Their hands moved through the sand, forming crude shapes and structures. Castles, towers, and twisted sculptures emerged beneath their fingertips. The contrast between their usual brutality and the gentleness of their touch was stark.
Feral's eyes seemed to hold a distant contemplation as she molded the sand. "This really brings back memories. I loved to play with the sand when I was little..."
Drekus' laughter, uncharacteristically light, filled the air. "Drekus can hardly picture that version of you."
"...there was also that time when another kid stepped on my sand castle and i bit off three of his fingers." continued the girl.
"On second thought, Drekus can totally picture that."
The two of them stepped away to admire their creation. It looked awful, and they weren't particularly proud.
"Drekus has enjoyed relaxation time. Stress is the real killer of the modern world. Drekus wonders what other activities could be as fun as making a sand castle. Probably few."
Feral's gaze turned contemplative, her voice softening. "Perhaps stargazing, watching the city lights from a distance, or even just sitting in silence."
Drekus nodded "Drekus would not mind engaging in such experiences. Except the last. We do that back in hideout all the time. The city sounds nice" Drekus felt that would be a nice sight for that piece of Amara he carried within.
The sun's retreat relinquished its hold on the sky, allowing the night to unfold its dark embrace. Feral's keen eyes caught a figure in the distance, moving through the shadows. She nudged Drekus. He turned only to see someone jogging, far away form them.
"Oh. God. There he is, Drekus."
"Drekus never liked joggers. Why run when there's no danger? Suspicious."
"That's the man I took that cape from."
"Oh! Drekus remembers! That cloth you are always sniffing and carrying around back at the hideout." Drekus squinted his eyes "So that's the young man big-sis yearns for. Drekus encourages pursuit."
The two villains initiated their stalking mission. Because her bloodlust was low, Feral's adaptations were weak, and manifested slowly, only gradually increasing her flexibility and stealth, making her movements similar to those of a feline.
Drekus, less inclined to finesse, positioned himself behind various obstructions as they trailed Sandatsu. His towering figure obscured by utility poles and the cover of night
With each step, each stolen glance, Feral's infatuation seemed to deepen. Seeing his partner, Drekus let out a soft chuckle "Love. A mystery wrapped in enigma, as Drekus says."
Feral noticed something. Two figures dressed in sleek black suits and coats. They kept their distance from the boy. Their stealth was the opposite from her and Drekus'. Instead of staying in the shadows, the just kept their distance, and let their unremarkable visages act as disguises, hiding in plain sight.
"Drekus, do you see them? Who are they?"
Drekus let out an exaggerated gasp when he noticed "Love rivals."
As the tension mounted, Feral's evolution quirk kicked in. Her senses heightened, fangs elongated, claws emerged, and her gait shifted to a more animalistic one.
"Pieces of shit. Going after my target..."
Drekus' voice was a rumble of amusement, "Stalking is the sincerest form of love. Drekus approves of their tactics."
Sandatsu eventually reached a tree line, and kept on, delving deep into the nearby woods. The two men stopped. One took out a phone. She picked up the words "target... strange route... erratic...".
Without delay Feral and Drekus seized the opportune moment to strike against the two men.
One barely had time to react as Drekus used one of his acquired mutant quirks. Steel feathers erupted from his skin. The enforcer recoiled in surprise and pain as the feathers pierced through his body, rending his skin andleaving deep lacerations in their wake.
The uninjured enforcer summoned his quirk to the forefront. Malleable black substance surged beneath his skin, forming a protective layer that deflected Feral's fierce onslaught. Feral's claws clashed with the resilient substance. The enforcer countered, manipulating his quirk to form hardened tendrils of that extended towards Feral.
In the depths of the woods, Sandatsu's world seemed to distort and fragment. He clutched at the earth, his fingers digging into the soil as if seeking an anchor.
Images flickered through his mind, fragmented memories that refused to coalesce into a coherent narrative.
He struggled to recall the passage of time, to grasp the sequence of events that had led him to this moment. He remembered the simple act of jogging, the rhythm of his footsteps against the pavement. But the surroundings were wrong, distorted, as if his own memories were playing tricks on him. How had he ended up here, in this unfamiliar part of Kyoto? The sense of disorientation settled over him.
Sandatsu's hand reached instinctively to the pocket of his jacket, looking for his medication. But his fingers met empty air. He had exhausted his supply. Panic clawed at his chest.
The boundaries between reality and delusion blurred. The world seemed to tilt and spin. The earth he was clutching slipping through his grasp like smoke.
His breath came in ragged gasps, his heart pounding like a relentless drum. The world around him morphed and twisted. The world around him morphed and twisted. He could see the interior of that windowless, empty building on the corner of his eyes.
Faces materialized from the swirling mists, half-remembered acquaintances and complete strangers. His own body seemed to dissolve, his limbs elongating and contorting like a surrealist's nightmare.
Drekus and Feral moved deeper into the woods. The atmosphere was charged with an eerie stillness, broken only by the rustling of leaves as they navigated the undergrowth. She dragged the enforcer agent she fought. He was barely breathing. Her instincts driving her to deliver prey to who she perceived to be her partner, so that he could eat and regain his strength.
Feral's senses were heightened as her quirk made smalla djustments to her body to adapt to this environment. The air was thick with the earthy scent of damp soil and the faint aroma of pine, and she could hear the distant sounds of nocturnal creatures.
And among them, there was this unnatural sound, that breached the ambience of the forest. They found him. Sandatsu, sprawled upon the ground, his eyes wide and unseeing as he grappled with his own mind.
Drekus crouched down, his white eyes fixing upon Sandatsu, and his tusked grin casting an unsettling juxtaposition against the severity of the situation. "A bad trip, eh? Drekus heard that can be quite the experience."
Sandatsu's eyes flickered, his gaze distant and unfocused.
"Drekus has always found the delicate balance between sanity and madness to be quite intriguing."
The injured Enforcer's labored breathing grew weaker and weaker, until finally, with a sigh that seemed to release all the tension from his body, he succumbed to his injuries. His chest stilled, and his life force ebbed away.
As if triggered by the Enforcer's passing, Sandatsu's body tensed, a surge of energy coursing through him. His eyes widened, and he quickly got up. Sandatsu's powerful psychokinesis flared to life, ripping the Enforcer's coat and bringing it to him. Sandatsu used it to make himself an improvised cape.
His back erupted with sprouting arms, each equipped with deadly sharp talons, he launched himself forward, attacking Feral.
Despite Hiromi's obsession with Sandatsu, her instincts won. With a swing of her tail, she broke most of these arms. Her bloodlust was flaring up thanks to the boy's sudden aggresion.
Drekus, though not as fast, took the chance to counterattack. He raised his arm, steel feathers sprouting from his skin, and brought it down like an axe, cutting the remaining limbs.
Embers and cinders erupted from Sandatsu's form, the air around them shimmered with heat.
Taking refuge behind the large boulder, Drekus and Feral caught their breath and protected themselves from a torrent of cinders.
"Drekus thinks big-sis picked quite the fiery guy" Drekus remarked with an amused grin. Feral's frenzied state made coherent speech difficult, but Drekus could tell from her glare that she thought that was funny. Maybe. He could also tell that Feral was developing some mutations that could prove problematic to fight with until they were fully developed. He needed to buy time.
Right when the fire stopped, Drekus vaulted over the boulder with an unexpected agility that belied his large frame. Sandatsu's psychokinesis manifested once more, invisible currents of force clashing with Drekus's mighty build. Steel feathers met the whirling tendrils of the boy's newly stolen quirk, each impact resonating through the night with a metallic clang.
Drekus' raw strength alone was already giving Sandatsu trouble. Drekus could feel how he was gaining an advantage over his opponent by how his fists were getting closer to the boy's body when they collided with the barrier of psychokinesis.
Drekus delivered a risky haymaker that temporarily broke through Sandatsu's psychokinetic defense, and, in a seamless transition of copied quirks, he swapped to his spider mutation quirk. Drekus lunged at Sandatsu, delivering a venom-coated bite that sank into his flesh, the energy-draining poison immediately taking effect. A ripple of weakness coursed through Sandatsu's body, his concentration faltering. The fiery embers he was conjuring dimmed as his strength waned.
Before Sandatsu could fully react, Drekus executed another switch of quirks. The sudden blast of propane erupted from him, a highly flammable and odorless gas flooding the air. Drekus's blast met the still-forming embers conjured by Sandatsu, igniting it and sparking a small conflagration that burned the boy's hands and face.
Drekus didn't stop. Going back to his steel feathers, he took the chance to attack. Sandatsu's regenerative abilities were starting to be stretched thin, each impact causing fresh injuries that were met with slightly diminished healing.
"Hey, big-sis Feral might have a thing for you," Drekus's voice carried an almost playful edge, "but to Drekus, you're still not up to snuff. Drekus still needs to see something more."
His words barely faded before Drekus surged forward. Sandatsu was really struggling against this beast of a man. Strikes came from unexpected angles, each blow aimed to exploit weaknesses and capitalize on any opening. His attempts to retaliate were met with a relentless barrage of counters. "Drekus spent a long time living with big-sis. Had to fight for dessert every day."
Sandatsu tried to flee. But something was grabbing his leg. The fallen Enforcer, had been reanimated by Drekus while Sandatsu was still healing from the propane ignition. The reanimated Enforcer's grip tightened around Sandatsu's legs, its movements jerky and unsettling, its teeth sinking into his Achilles tendon with a sickening crunch.
With a desperate motion, Sandatsu managed to free himself from the undead Enforcer's grip and crushed it's head stepping on it with his other foot in a frenzied burst of strength. He unleashed his psychokinetic might, a forceful telekinetic wave that cascaded towards Drekus with the intent to overwhelm.
But once again the blue-skinned giant avoided his attack and came with a counter from when he least expected it. Drekus dropped down on him from above, and used his legs to grab Sandatsu.
"Like any good little brother would, Drekus should have a chat with the man courting his big-sis,"
His steel feathered wings unfolded, lifting both himself and Sandatsu into the air. Choking him at the same time.
"in private of course!"
Sandatsu finally managed to escape Drekus' grapple, and would have fallen down had he not kept himself in the air through psychokinesis.
The moonlit sky became their battleground.
Drekus's superior maneuverability was evident as he nimbly evaded Sandatsu's initial counterattacks, relying on hit-and-run tactics to keep his opponent off balance.
In contrast, Sandatsu grappled with the challenges of maintaining his airborne position using his psychokinetic abilities. As Drekus darted through the air with grace and agility, Sandatsu's focus was divided between engaging his opponent and preventing himself from plummeting to the earth below.
Drekus's taunting voice reached Sandatsu "As you see Drekus has nice dance moves, big-sis Feral would be proud,"
Sandatsu's arsenal of melee-focused quirks proved ineffective against Drekus's aerial mobility, leaving him at a disadvantage as he struggled to keep up. The searing blasts of embers he unleashed were met with Drekus's uncanny agility in the air, the latter evading each fiery onslaught with astonishing ease. Sandatsu's frustration mounted as his ranged attacks proved insufficient to pin down his adversary.
In a desperate gambit, Sandatsu unleashed a torrent of flames, aiming to engulf Drekus in a roaring inferno. The cascade of embers and cinders surged through the night sky, painting the darkness with hues of orange and red. Yet, his target was different—the fiery torrent found its mark not on Drekus, but on the lush forest below.
For a second, Drekus stopped to look at the forest below, now a raging inferno. This was a moment of distraction that Sandatsu seized upon, lunging at Drekus and grabbing him. He put everything he had to keep his grip on Drekus while using Separate. The blue giant felt the shoulder Sandatsu was grabbing start to fall appart. He uses one of his steel feathers to cut the boy's arm. He quickly grew another one but Drekus's reflexes were sharp, and he intercepted Sandatsu's grasp with a fierce grip.
Sandatsu responded by sprouting additional arms from his back, each laden with the fiery power of his embers quirk. The searing projectiles erupted forth in a blazing salvo, aimed at Drekus, hitting him almost at point blank.
"Don't tell Drekus you like meat well cooked. Drekus would be disappointed. Immeasurably so." looks like the guy was still hanging on. Sandatsu had never faced an opponent as resilient as this. However, thanks to that last attack, Drekus' strength was waning. Sandatsu was about to reach Drekus' chest.
Amid the chaos, a new force entered the fray. From the fire below emerged a huge creature —dragon-like in shape, with immense wings, covered in a mix of scales and feathers.
Feral's evolution had led her to develop a set of colossal wings. Her muscular physique had expanded, and she had grown taller. Her frame was almost completely covered in thick, spiked scales. With a mighty roar that reverberated through the night, she charged into the midst of the skirmish, a force of nature in her own right. She intercepted both Sandatsu and Drekus, releasing her companion, her immense wingspan creating a barrier that shielded them from Sandatsu's retaliation, which came in the form of another wave of fire.
She quickly turned, getting into an aerial brawl against the reaper. The clash between Sandatsu and Feral was marked by a relentless exchange of blows and titanic displays of power. Feral's dragon-like form gave her the advantage of immense physical prowess, her strikes resonating with a force that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them. Sandatsu, despite his multifaceted arsenal of abilities, was hard-pressed to match the sheer might of his opponent.
In the midst of the onslaught, Feral's mind managed to push through the frenzied state induced by her quirk. Her attempt at communication, though hindered by the chaos within her, yielded a response that resonated with Drekus. Amidst the fierce battle, Feral managed to muster a few words."Big sis got this," she managed to utter.
With a smile after hearing his partner, Drekus found himself tumbling through the air, using the remains of his wings to gain a semblance of control over his fall. His landing was far from graceful, but it was effective; he had managed to reach a section of the woods that had so far remained untouched by the relentless flames. The air was heavy with smoke and the scent of burning vegetation.
Meanwhile, above the inferno, Feral and Sandatsu continued their fight. Feral's massive wings propelled her through the air with an unmatched agility, unexpected for her large muscular frame. Her savage slashes and powerful strikes were really affecting Sandatsu. He tried to defend against the worst of the impacts with his psychokinesis, but he was still taking too much damage.
Feral's evolutions had enhanced her physicality to an astonishing degree, allowing her to withstand Sandatsu's attempts to counterattack with formidable resilience.
The video begins with shaky footage, a smartphone's camera struggling to focus on the scene unfolding in the distance. A group of people are huddled on a balcony, their murmurs of confusion audible over the distant sounds of the burning forest.
As the camera's focus gradually improves, the true nature of the spectacle becomes apparent. The camera gradually steadies, capturing the blurry, distant figures locked in combat over the blazing woods.
Voices can be heard in the background, murmurs and exclamations of surprise mingling with the distant wailing of sirens. The camera shifts slightly, adjusting its focus to capture the unfolding spectacle with greater clarity. The figures become more defined, revealing the massive form of a dragon-like creature with wings beating powerfully against the air. Beside it stands a cloaked figure wreathed in flames.
A hushed chorus of questions and speculation fills the air from the onlookers gathered on the balconies of nearby apartments. The camera angle changes as someone pans across the balcony, capturing the reactions of the people as they watch the battle unfold. Whispers of awe and uncertainty are exchanged, and some individuals can be heard wondering aloud about the nature of the spectacle.
As the camera zooms in, the dragon-like creature—whom the onlookers can only refer to as "the dragon"—moves with astonishing grace and speed. Its wings slice through the air, propelling it through the night sky as it darts and twists with precision. The camera struggles to capture every detail, but occasional flashes of scales and feathers are visible.
Beside the dragon, the cloaked figure wreathed in flames—referred to as "the caped guy" by the baffled onlookers—engages in a fierce exchange. Flames and embers dance around him, forming a deadly display of pyrotechnics.
A man's voice is heard on the video, his tone a mix of excitement and disbelief. "What the hell is happening? Are those... is that a hero?" His words are met with uncertain murmurs from those around him. The camera sways slightly as the person holding it adjusts their position for a better view.
The dragon suddenly unleashes a mighty roar, its sound carrying through the night air. The camera captures the awe on the faces of the people on the balcony as they witness the incredible display of power. Comments of "no way" and "this is insane" can be heard amidst the ongoing conversation. The person filming moves, showing that almost everyone in that building was looking at that fight form their balconies.
As the battle rages on, the camera zooms in further, capturing the finer details of the confrontation. The dragon's wings beat with power, propelling it toward its fiery opponent. The caped guy responds with bursts of flames and embers. The camera captures every flicker of flame and flash of movement, as well as the widening eyes of the onlookers as the battle reaches new heights of intensity.
Meanwhile, the distant sounds of sirens grow louder, and flashing lights become visible in the background. "Look, the fire department is here!" someone exclaims, pointing towards the approaching emergency vehicles. The camera momentarily pans to capture the fire trucks. Hopefully they'll stop the flames before the fire reaches the residential areas.
As the battle continued, they started gaining altitude until they soared above the clouds, the sky around them transformed into a surreal canvas of swirling colors and fragmented images. Sandatsu was losing his grip again. Shapes twisted and morphed, and a sense of weightlessness filled his perception.
The dragon's wings became a swirl of vivid hues, feathers melding into flames that danced and merged with the surrounding void.
Within this maelstrom of delusions, a series of disjointed memories emerged, like fragments of a shattered mirror. Inigo, his friend from the hero course, materialized as a fleeting specter.
The draconic form of his enemy had made Sandasu think of Inigo. His friend. Hifumi, a friend, too. He followed in the wake of Inigo's apparition. Sandatsu's mental landscape painted Hifumi with vivid strokes, emphasizing his skills and talents as a fighter, as well as his drive. Bobby's image emerged next, accompanied by a playful echo of his voice offering tips on punching techniques. The chaotic colors of Sandatsu's hallucinations converged and diverged with every jab. his friends. From the hero course.
The word "hero" resonated like a persistent echo within the confines of Sandatsu's hallucinations. He was assaulted by the memory of Mio's words at the festival, her cutting commentary on his worthiness of the title "hero." Her words rang like a bitter refrain, taunting and tormenting his fragile sanity.
Within this swirling cacophony of memories and delusions, Sandatsu's friends manifested again, their forms intermingling with flickering embers and cascading shadows. He saw their heroic poses, their ultimate moves, fragments of times they were simply hanging out. These visions of his friends, now distorted and abstracted by his unraveling sanity,flooded his mind.
Oh man. Like Hifumi's move from the tournament. Or Inigo's Dragon Crash Claw. And he couldn't forget to punch just like Bobby taught them. Fall down with a strong hit. Kind of.
With a heart pounding like a frenzied drum, Sandatsu initiated his ultimate move.
Sandatsu ascended high above Feral, the world below him a mosaic of distorted colors and shapes. He relinquished his psychokinetic control, allowing gravity to claim him as he hurtled downward. The rush of air against his skin felt weird.
As Sandatsu plummeted, he channeled his psychokinetic power into a single arm, a surge of energy enveloping it. Within this same arm, he coalesced the essence of his Separate quirk, as well as the searing power of his embers quirk. The layer of psychokinesis helped contain the heat he was generating. The air shivered and trembled, distortions reminiscent of heat-induced mirages manifesting around this limb.
Feral's dragon-like form ascended to intercept him. When they clashed, before Feral could launch her own attack, Sandatsu's arm rose with an eerie grace, while, with a barely audible raspy voice he uttered the word "rupture". Feral's wing, arm, and part of her torso splintered and fractured.
Instead of wating for things to fall apart from the effects of Separate, it capitalized on it's ability to affect the structural integrity of it's target, and then infused all of his concentrated psychokinetic power and embers, bursting the weakened target in a somewhat focused area.
Drekus had sought solace from the aftermath of the intense battle. As exhausted as he was, reaching the hideout with all the chaos and emergency services would be dangerous and difficult, so he decided to seek refuge in his old sewer dwelling.
But before he could find refuge within his makeshift sanctuary, his solitude was shattered by the arrival of an unexpected figure.
Emerging from the shadows, Sandatsu appeared with an unconscious Feral in his arms. The once-powerful reaper looked like one of the zombies revived through Drekus' quirk, his body battered and broken, barely hanging onto the threads of life. His regeneration and unnatural endurance had kept him from succumbing to the brink of death, but the toll of the battle was etched across his very being.
Drekus, his concern for Feral overriding his instinctive wariness, was poised to attack. He had just started to see her as family, and family was an important concept for him.
But before he could unleash his wrath, Sandatsu released the unconscious girl, allowing her to fall towards the ground. Acting swiftly, Drekus intercepted Feral, catching her safely before she hit the ground.
Sandatsu's voice, worn and fragile, cut through the tension. "No need to worry." The eerie calmness emanating from the injured reaper was unsettling, even for Drekus.
Drekus was uncertain whether he was dealing with a deranged mind, just like his own, or one that had gained newfound clarity.
Sirens were drawing close. The authorities were combing the area. Drekus was a bit surprised and Sandatsu took the chance to enter his hideout. The muscular blue man sighed, and carried Feral into the sewers.
After a few minutes of moving in silence, Sandatsu, despite his battered form, took the first step towards breaking the ice. "You know," he began, his voice rough and worn, "I never properly thanked you for that egg."
Drekus, taken aback by the unexpected sentiment, blinked in surprise. "The egg?" he echoed, his voice tinged with disbelief.
A faint smile touched Sandatsu's lips, or what remained of them anyway "Yeah, I wasn't completely asleep yet. Really helped me too. That little boost of energy."
As they navigated the twists and turns, Drekus' eyes seemed to betray him, casting distorted shadows and sinister figures along the walls. Surgeon-like demons danced at the edges of his vision, grotesque specters with elongated limbs that appeared to be wielding misshapen medical instruments. He knew it was too good to be true. Having fun like that, at the park.
"What's that smell?" asked the reaper.
"Sewer smell" said Drekus, distracted trying to keep his mind from unravelling.
"No..."said Sandatsu, while sniffing the air. He turned around, using whatever energy remained for him to make embers to make light. The boy pointed to Drekus' head.
Drekus was annoyed, but then he noticed. Hair. Without noticing, he had grown a full head of hair, covered in different flowers. The product of his most cherished mutation.
Then the smell of the flowers hit him, not only obscuring the rancid stench of the sewers (he was already used to it though), but also making the voices quiet down a bit. It was almost as if, for a second, only one voice remained. The soft voice of a girl, saying "the park was fun, maybe we should go again".