Full Circle II
Two figures flew in the skies of Kyoto, the famous Top Two Hero, Saurus, and his ex-intern, Kaylee. The dinosaur hero gave his student a side-glance, accessing her wounds.
She was not in top shape after what the Symbol of Death had done to her, her face oscillating between a frown and sheer, unbridled rage at herself and the events unfolding in real-time.
An attack by the Reaper himself on Shiketsu, followed by Feral chasing after a target that survived her, was not a coincidence. Something bigger was at play, but he could not put his claw on it yet.
Kaylee was panicking; she tried to bury it deep in her chest, but Saurus had a clear read on his student. Both attacks, especially the latter aimed at one of her closest friends, were taking its toll already.
He wanted to cheer up his student somehow, but the atmosphere was too heavy for light-hearted comments, and any consolation would be a lie. Feral was there, an S-rank villain with a bone to pick against Kaylee and her friends. He groaned.
‘I’m sorry, but there is not much we can do.’ While they would defeat Feral, it was impossible to know the extent of the damage she caused.
It annoyed the Top Two Hero how bleak things were becoming in such a short period.
Kaylee pursed her lips and spoke, looking down as they flew. “Teacher, do you think that they will be alright?”
Kaylee spoke sternly and rigidly in a vain attempt to hide her insecurities, and her question was a plea for hope, a small try at escapism.
“Rosethorn is strong, and so is your classmate, from what I heard. They will be alright.” Saurus half-lied. He knew the Yamata girl had to be made of iron given who her father was, but he knew next to nothing about her, so like his student, he hoped for the best.
Kaylee knew it was wishful thinking, but she accepted Saurus’ words.
They continued in silence.
Saurus felt uneasiness the closer they got to the last known location of the ambulance—as if they were getting into a mess.
It made him angry when he looked down and there was nothing there. His instincts told him that danger was lurking, but where?
A car thrown at him gave Saurus the answer.
The dinosaur hero narrowed his eyes and dodged to the side as Kaylee released a small blast of energy, ripping the object apart.
Saurus looked at the aggressor, a big man with blue skin and horns. ‘I think he is one of those villains from the Fushimi Ward attack months ago.’
Drekus was his name, he thought. Saurus knew a bait when he saw one. There was no reason to bite.
That was until the big man himself jumped from his position, clashing against Saurus midair and bringing him down to the ground.
Saurus grinned, his form changing for a more suitable one in that combat. His arms thickened while Drekus attempted to hold him in a chokehold.
The dinosaur hero escaped the chokehold and moved to Drekus’ back, where he kicked the blue giant to the ground.
Saurus followed after him, crashing on the ground several yards away from Drekus. Kaylee hovered by his side, ready to fight against the blue giant.
Drekus rose from the ground, cracking a few bones and his jaw. “Big Sis warned Drekus that heroes would come. Drekus can’t let you go through.”
Saurus narrowed his slitted eyes at the blue giant. “Flying Force, go ahead. I will deal with this one.”
Two high-ranking villains attacking so close to each other was not a mere coincidence; something bigger was at play there. ‘Better if I am ambushed alone than letting you into this mess, kiddo.’
Kaylee opened her mouth, ready to protest, but quickly stopped. She swallowed dry. Feral was out there; if she and Saurus stopped to fight Drekus, there would be no rescue for Rosethorn and her friends.
With a heavy heart, Kaylee flew away. Drekus sprouted wings to give chase, but Saurus was already upon him, faster than he could react.
“No.”
Saurus grabbed Drekus by his waist and then moved into a suplex.
Air left Drekus’ lungs as he felt his back and spine make weird sounds when it crashed against the ground. The asphalt cracked and opened under the pressure of Saurus’ attack.
The blue giant gritted his teeth and broke free of Saurus' grasp, which loosened enough to let the giant slip out. ‘Starting a brawl this early in the fight would be a bad call.’
Saurus held a defensive pose as Drekus got up, analyzing his foe. His physique was large and bulky. He could withstand his primal strength with no problem.
Drekus was unfazed by the suplex he received, ready to throw hands against Saurus. ‘I don’t have to hold back that much.’
Immediately, both the Top Two Hero and the blue giant rushed each other, with no attempt at dialogue or words.
They clashed, holding each other in a wrestling display.
Two unstoppable forces were fighting; the asphalt cracked and gave way under the pressure of their strength. They stared into each other’s eyes, their wills reflected in both their spirit and their power.
The only way one could proceed was by defeating each other, their will unwavering like the power they displayed, one to protect fellow Shiketsu alumni and students caught in the crossfire, the other to protect his family and sister, let her sate her thirst.
Saurus changed his transformation, his arms thickening and muscles swelling to meet the strength needed to overthrow Drekus.
Drekus acted in a bid to halt or stop Saurus’ transformation; he threw all of his weight forward. Saurus smiled and moved in backward, following Drekus’ push. The Cretaceous King loosened his grip on Drekus and threw the Blue Giant against the ground, using his own momentum and weight against him.
Drekus crashed, but it was not enough to stop him. The Blue Giant rose faster than before. Saurus jumped back to avoid the attack, but the Blue Giant grabbed him by the tail. “Drekus got you!”
Saurus was thrown against a building, and his body crashed against it, breaking the walls and windows with a loud impact.
Knowing his foe would not let Drekus intercept his ex-intern, Drekus rushed Saurus, who spat some blood on the ground. “This fight is only starting.”
An armor started to form around Saurus' body.
(With Orochi and the ambulance)
Orochi widened her eyes as Rosethorn’s blood splattered against the left half of her face and Feral’s claws reached her face. “Should... double tapped.”
Feral spoke between painful, bloody gasps. Purple eyes moved to focus on the much taller mutant. Sound died inside the hydra-girl’s ears.
Slitted pupils shook. Orochi felt something primal within her. Rage she had not felt in a long time. Despite the paralyzing fear and the shock at Rosethorn’s damage, her body acted without the input of the mind—something was hijacking control.
Her rightmost tail moved on its own, biting on Feral’s neck, and its venomous saliva amplified to its maximum output. It bit deep into her neck, breaching flesh and scales and drawing blood. The hydra threw Feral away; her body kicked and bounced against the street with the strength released by the hydra.
Yamata’s fixation changed from Feral to Rosethorn, who fell against her chest, holding the deep gash made by Feral’s claws.
Once again, she froze. Fear flooded her system despite her hydras' best attempt to keep control.
Orochi was at the crossroads of life once again.
Do or die.
She had no time to think; she needed to act now.
The second of her decisions stretched indefinitely in her mind, and her brain raced against the time. She saw Feral get up, wiping off the blood on her neck. The damage done to her was temporary; it was a matter of time until she regenerated, and when she regenerated, she would resume her chase.
Orochi bit the bullet, and tears flowed from her eyes as she noticed that help would not come in time.
Before her teacher could properly react, Orochi moved quickly to the ambulance’s door, giving Rosethorn to one of the EMTs, who acted just as quickly as her when he saw Rosethorn’s injuries.
“Take her out. Hit the accelerator. Get out of here as fast as you can—I will buy time.” The EMT opened his mouth to protest, but Orochi pointed at Feral; she insisted on fighting despite her injuries, and it was a matter of time until she got back on her feet.
“Orochi… no.” Rosethorn protested weakly. One hand moved to hold her damaged shoulder, the wetness and heat of her blood spreading through her fingers.
The EMTs took Rosethorn in with heavy solemnity. Hiro tried to get up to get some sense into Orochi’s head despite his condition.
“Facing Feral is suicide! You need to get in, Orochi!” Hiro screamed, his throat drying up from the exertion he placed on it.
Orochi was scared; who wouldn’t be in the same situation? But she realized what needed to be done.
If she ran, Feral would seek her again, more victims would be hurt because of her, and that monster and no Rosethorn would come to help them; her teacher had done enough.
‘If that’s the price...’ Then Orochi would gladly pay, so no one else got hurt.
“That’s okay, Hiro. I chose this fate.” She smiled weakly as the ambulance took off. The last thing Hiro saw before the doors closed was her smile.
A hopeful smile as tears fell from her eyes.
Her heart raced like an engine, her tears fell without any control, and her hydras straightened themselves. They acknowledged that the fight was now deadly. They needed their best.
Feral laughed, a bloodcurdling roar-like laugh. “So… weakling… decides to fight?”
While Sandatsu’s praise was something, Orochi's was not. She got close to killing Hitomi once, but that was it.
The damn girl was paralyzed when she saw her. How would she be worth fighting for? Worth hunting?
Orochi stared at Feral. Her adaptations still hadn't kicked off; if she could win that fight, the moment was now.
The Hydra girl advanced.
Feral readied a claw swipe, aiming at Orochi’s chest, her only weak spot when they met months ago. ‘A cut or puncture won’t work against you; I need to fuck up your organs.’
While her foe was weak, Feral refused to waste more time than needed. To Feral’s surprise, Orochi’s hand deflected her claw swipe quickly.
She sweated and silently cried, but her determination should not waver, not when she needed it the most.
Feral was met with a hook to her chin, and Orochi released all of her strength, uncaring if she broke bones or tore her muscles up.
The villain felt the damage spread not only through her jaw but the rest of her head. She answered with an attack on her tail but was intercepted by one of the hydras.
Orochi watched as her venom did not work on Feral. She had already adapted to that long ago. With that in mind, the hydra ripped her tail out.
Vorpal, Hunter of the Wicked Dragon
The villain widened her eyes in surprise. She was met with a barrage of punches, two hands bashing her head, and three hydras assaulting her body with vicious headbutts and bites.
Feral tried to kick, punch, or even headbutt Orochi, but her attempts were intercepted immediately. She tried to rationalize why the failure of a foe could attack her and, worst of all, do so well against her.
Blood filled the villain’s lungs, her muscles were shredded by the strength of the punches, and her ragged breath became even worse under the unrelenting assault.
For Orochi, the reason was as clear as day. Rosethorn utterly destroyed Feral; the S-class villain was barely up after the last hit, and only through a dirty blow did she bring her teacher low.
Feral was hurt; her explosive strength and resilience were nullified. The cold sweat helped Orochi keep a clear mind as her muscles and bones burned, realigning and mending themselves with each successful attack.
Feral’s movements were sloppy, open, and undisciplined. It worked perfectly with overwhelming violence and brute strength; once those things were taken away, Feral was not that good of a melee combatant anymore.
Feral stared into Orochi’s eyes, and despite the fear and tears, a small spark burned in her purple iris. ‘How long can she keep up with that?’
With a wide grin, Feral stopped her attempts at counterattacking and opened her arms, welcoming the attacks.
With each attack, the closer she got to unconsciousness, the more blood filled her lungs, and the longer she endured, the higher her adrenaline.
Too lost in bringing Feral down, Orochi could not notice her blows weakening against Feral; she could not see that the villains tried to heal, enduring the attacks.
“Take that,” Feral said, speaking through the blood filling her mouth. Her hand moved to crash against Orochi’s chest, but it was not enough to pierce, forced back by her quick regeneration.
Her left hydra bit on Feral’s hand, while the right hydra bit on the other hand, and the middle one bit on Feral’s shoulder to hold her in place.
The villain decided to take a page out of the Top Ten Hero; she smiled like a beast and jumped. Both of her feet landed on Orochi’s chest.
Orochi was forced back by the attack, ripping a chunk of her foe’s hand and shoulders in the process as Feral broke free from her hydras’ hold, staring in abject horror as the villain began to heal.
“Not so feisty now, huh?” Feral grinned.
“Yeah, not so feisty now.”
An energy blast collided against Feral’s left side, and her body was thrown to the ground, causing a nasty burn on her side.
The hydra girl looked up. Hope filled her heart. Help has arrived. “Kaylee!”