Misadventures at the Dojo Part 2: Wildfire

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwk8xqNSM&t=791s)

Deep within the woods east of Kyoto, far away from civilization, a broken a bloodied corpse clad in a strange, full-body plastic suit lay on the forest floor. Within the suit was the appearance of a man whose quirk was clearly a mutation type quirk. From top to bottom, his entire body was clad in a thick, black, and rocky exterior. The sun lay low in the sky, drawing deep shadows over the forest.

Next to the corpse stood a tall, almost beastly man with blue skin and a pair of horns rising up from his bald head. The man wore no shirt, for it had been torn by his own quirk use. He reached down and with a sickening heft of his arms, he tore a leg off from the corpse! As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he lifted up the human leg and bit into it, tearing through the rocky layer of skin.

Slowly, the man chewed and swallowed, before grimacing: "Blegh. Tastes like raw coal."

How the man knew what eating raw coal tastes like is a mystery, but soon his skin began to writhe, gaining a thick, coal like carapace of its own! Admiring his new form, the man looked down and tightened his hand into a fist- yet something unexpected happened. The moment his fingers brushed past each other, they burst into flames! Soon the fire grew and engulfed his body...

When he realized he had lit himself on fire, the man activated his true quirk and willed his new black carapace to recede into his body.

However... The man held his nose up to the air before reforming his carapace: "...Smells like barbequed Drekus. Is old Drekus family recipe. However, Drekus is not hungry right now."

He pondered to himself how to extricate himself from this situation, even as the forest around him began to burn...

...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwk8xqNSM&t=342s)

(A couple hours earlier)

Elsewhere in the woods, a group of four girls were heading deeper into the forest. Behind them, an old but sturdy dojo could be seen peeking out between the trees- the Mitsurugi Dojo. Leading the group on their expedition was Mitsurugi Chihiro. She knew the wilderness in this area like the back of her hand, from its hills, to its shallow rivers, to the domains of the wildlife that lived within. In some sense, these woods were like her hometown, unlike the winding streets of Kyoto that seemed equal parts familiar and foreign to her.

While the shortest of the four girls led the way, the tallest brought up the rear- she was Atsushi Orochi. Despite the uneven footing of the forest, she put on display the grace and poise of a wealthy heiress, walking evenly and calmly. A happy, almost smug smile clung to her lips. The reason being that atop her delicate scarlet horns was a small gathering of tiny sparrows. The sparrows took her horns as a stage and sung their little hearts out. Their delicate and bell like cries was of great entertainment to her, so she put in effort to ensure they weren't scared off.

To the left and right of the group respectively were Sally McCarthy and Nyoro Hoge. Weary after a minor incident from earlier, the two occasionally stared daggers at each other. Sally was concerned that Hoge would sneak off to do something strange and revolting. Hoge was concerned that Sally would stain her reputation with baseless rumors. Of course, their staring contest wasn't the only thing on their minds.

Out in the summer heat, Hoge couldn't help but murmur a feeble complaint: "Ugh. So hot..."

The fact that her body tended to overheat easily in warm weather was one of the many inconveniences of her quirk.

Sally on the other hand glanced back at the other 'deviant' named Orochi and couldn't help wondering out loud: "Those birds... Aren't they going to poop eventually?"

The moment she heard those words, her elegant and lady-like demeanor turned rigid, which in turn startled the sparrows into taking flight. Preferring not to dwell on the topic, Orochi brought up the purpose of the girls' expedition: "So, we came out here to hunt a boar, yeah? How do we want to do that, exactly?"

Sally confidently held up her hand, with a black gun barrel having grown out of her palm, pointing up to the sky: "Hehe- I"m glad you asked. My quirk was practically made for this. Why don't you just leave everything to me!"

Seeing her classmates smug confidence, Orochi happily nodded along: "You're right. Your quirk IS perfect for this. I might just take you up on that- after all, it'd be easy for me to take a boar down... but I don't think anyone will want to eat it afterwards."

Hoge took this moment to chime in: "I lack any plans to take down a boar (or at least any that would leave the carcass intact). Sneaking up on it is easy, but killing it is difficult. Although I suspect the most experienced person here is Chihiro-chan."

Having heard her name and listened to the conversation, Chihiro glanced back: "Mm. I just cut the boar's head off... Just watching me would be a bit boring for you all however, so I'm thinking of simply guiding you instead of fighting."

A few wheels turned in heat addled Hoge's head, leading to a simply and rough plan: "So Chihiro-chan leads us to the hunting grounds, and then McCarthy-san shoots the boar. If the boar runs, I'd like to trying tacking it down. And Orochi-san... can carry the boar back?"

While Chihiro nods quietly, Sally couldn't resist making a comment: "Sounds like everyone but the class rep has a job, then. There's no way the boar will get a chance to run after all!"

Orochi took the lead in moving the conversation along before Sally's line of thought developed any further: "It sounds like a good plan- hauling a boar is easy-peasy. Since that's settled, how about we talk about something even more fun? Maybe some love talk? It's all girls here, so that's only normal right? Everyone knows Hoge and Inigo have been going out- got any heart thumping stories?"

Hoge felt Sally and Orochi staring at her intently- even Chihiro stealthily tucked her hair behind her ear as if to listen in better! Hoge pushed up her glasses and turned her head away from the group as her figure started to blur. Quietly, her voiced murmured out: "Who? Me? And that dummy? No way. Impossible. Not in a hundred years. Not even if he drops on his knees, proposes marriage, stops hitting on every girl in sight, and... Anyway, I don't know what you're talking about. What about McCarthy-san? She's been eyeing Abrams-san like a snake eyeing an pigeon egg."

Feeling the groups gazes turn on her (and noticing Chihiro tuck away the hair on the other side of her head), Sally's face lit up into an adorable bright red. "The hell is that supposed to mean!? I mean, sure I steal a glance here... and there... B-but just look at him! He's so cute. And kind. And thoughtful. And- And anyway there's nothing between us yet. He's just helping me get used to this place."

While Hoge let out a sigh of relief after successfully diverting attention away from herself, Orochi narrowed her eyes like a cat that just found a toy: " 'Yet'? I take it that means there will be something between you two soon?"

Having realized her mistake, Sally took a page out of Hoge's book: "N-No! I just misspoke! Don't you know I'm still learning Japanese! And what about you, Orochi? Since you brought it up, I'm sure you must be very experienced!"

With a straight face, Orochi met the question head on: "Me? No luck, sadly. We've got some people in the class that are hot, but there's not any chemistry. I've got nothing like that going on outside of 1-D either. Just friends."

... after a short pause, she put on a wistful smile: "And besides, a relationship would be hard with my quirk. I couldn't even kiss them without poisoning them. I don't think a lot of people are into that."

Sally couldn't help but question something: "A kiss should be fine though, right? It's just skin contact. It should be fine if you're careful."

Hoge gently offered a retort: "I don't think she's talking about that kind of kiss."

Sally briefly stopped moving while the wheels turned in her head, not unlike a computer that just encountered a fatal error. She stopped talking and started facing the other direction, leaving the group to observe her crimson read ears.

Finally, Orochi set her eyes upon Chihiro (who had her head tilted to the side as if questioning what Hoge's words meant): "Everyone else had a turn, so I suppose it's Chihiro's turn. Got any love stories for us?"

Not unlike a deer in headlights, Chihiro paused to confirm the group was actually asking her: "I don't have any love stories. I'm not suited to that kind of thing anyway."

Unsatisfied, Orochi pressed for more: "Bah, I think you'd be cute as a maiden in love. You just need more confidence. But whatever, you've got no stories- how about a type? If you actually found Mr. Perfect what would he be like?"

Chihiro paused and brought her hand up to her chin for a time, as if seriously pondering. Finally, she pushed out a reply: "Assertive, confident, and trustworthy. Someone that can hold up the sky if it falls down and won't shy away from responsibilities... M-maybe someone tall and strong, and distinctly 'manly'."

Realizing that she'd started to ramble, Chihiro quickly corrected herself: "... But there's no point in talking like this. Comparing real people to an ideal is impolite."

Off in her own world, Hoge started to mutter to herself: 'Ah! See! Fufufu, I knew it all along. It has to be someone manly and dependable! And strong and tall and make you feel like a little baby bird so fragile in his massive hands and yet always completely certain that you will never come to harm. Those hands are not for crushing your hollow bones but for shielding you from the rain.'

By the time Hoge realized she was talking out loud, Sally had long since learned how to blend 'disgust' and 'embarrassment' into a single facial expression. Doing her best to repair her image, Hoge switched to talking seriously with a light cough: "S-sorry. I got distracted. There's... no one like that our age in the hero program is there? Maybe Ōtani-senpai in General Studies? He's a baseball ace. And he doesn't leave messes behind."

Orochi couldn't help but laugh at how... expressive.. Hoge could be: "Pft. Ah, I don't know who that is, but I suspect that even if he's in good shape, he probably can't beat Chihiro in a fight- not sure I'd call that 'strong'. Though I guess that's kind of unfair to, uh, 'Ōtani-senpai'? But seriously, how do you know about that? Were you in baseball or something?"

......After racking her brain for a good excuse, Hoge realized she'd only dig her pit deeper- she directly came clean rather than continue making things worse: "No, I just do a lot of chores around the school. I can't just let a mess sit there and fester. Plus, it let's me know which people in the school are or aren't reliable. For example, after seeing the piles of trash some of them leaving lying around, I know a number of support students I don't want making gadgets for me- really, who leaves a half finished gadget on the table with a plate of food right next to it?"

Sally had a picture in her mind of an electrician who worked while gnawing on a drumstick, and had to begrudgingly nod along- she'd never hire the guy again if at all possible. Orochi was of a similar mind- leaving unfinished gadgets out and about like that was irresponsible. She couldn't think well of someone with that kind of habit. Even Chihiro, who didn't understand electronics all that well, thought it was a bit improper.

In the end, the four had somehow transitioned from light-hearted and romantic gossiping to a more critical and heart-rending kind. If the results of Hoge's findings and her classmates reactions were spread through the school, who knows how much emotional damage would be dealt?

Even as they chatted, their journey deeper into the woods continued...

...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYb7tci8Rps)

Elsewhere on the streets of Kyoto, near the edge of the city, the underground hero titled 'Spring Dragon Hero: Seiryu' and his recently acquired sidekick, 'the Flame Strike Hero: Honoken', were chasing yet another wild lead on the villain Karma. Sadly, he found himself drawn into an entirely different kind of trouble.

Honoken couldn't help but notice his reluctance: "Hey Yuusei, We're going to have to abandon that lead. We're the closest heroes and there's an evacuation order. They say a huge fire suddenly started up."

Taking a heavy breath, Seiryu didn't disagree: "You're right. We should hurry before someone gets hurt- I can catch that filthy thief any day, but we can only save people now. I'll search from the sky. Honoken, take your motorcycle and search the streets for stragglers- also we're working right now. Call me Seiryu."

Honoken, who had already mounted her motorcycle, looked over at Seiryu and saluted cheekily: "No problem Yuusei, I'll head out right now! Good luck~"

As he watched his cheerful sidekick drive away, Seiryu transformed into a blue, western-style dragon and took to the skies. Before anything else, he realized that something was wrong- peering at the wildfire from the skies, he noticed that the shape of the fire was blatantly unnatural. it didn't spread the way a normal fire would. Clearly this fire was man made, possibly even the product of a villain.

He landed once again and immediately reached for his phone, calling Honoken again: "Change of plans Honoken. I got a look from above, and there's no way this fire is natural. I'm heading in to stop whoever caused this before it spreads any further. The last thing we need is the whole mountain catching fire. Do what you can with evacuation, and remember to keep the police in the loop-"

"Understood, Sei-" Beep. "...ryu. Didn't even wait for me to finish... Rude... I was even going to say his name right this time... Well, whatever, time to play telephone with the cops... Remember kids, don't ride motorcycles while talking on the phone!" (Naturally, Honoken was riding her motorcycle while talking on her phone.) In spite of her casual tone, her strict training at Shiketsu was on display. Not a single second was wasted, nor was a single breath spent on anything but saving more lives. She trusted Seiryu to handle the villain, and he trusted her to make sure there wasn't any casualties and to rush over to him when the evacuation was complete. Since her motorcycle wouldn't work well in a burning forest, she'd just have to fly after him with her quirk- Seiryu was pretty easy to spot by air, so catching up shouldn't be too hard.

...

Unaware that an evacuation order would soon be issued in their area, Chihiro, Hoge, Sally, and Orochi continued their quest for a boar. Although the sun had drooped low in the sky due to their gossip break, Chihiro had already led them to the place in the forest where the beasts lived. She stepped back to let her friends enjoy their hunt and took in the fresh forest air. Orochi had hung back with Chihiro, content to chat rather then hunt. Sally excitedly prepared for her performance, her quirk already having produced a rifle barrel- she calmly kept the barrel pointing towards the ground as she scanned the scenery for her prey. Hoge similarly scanned the horizon, if only to show off the observational skills of a proper ninja.

Sadly, no boars showed themselves. In fact, even the birds, squirrels, and other small critters were strangely absent- something not lost on Chihiro: "Sorry, but something seems wrong. Maybe something dangerous wandered over- the forest is... off. I'm going to go check."

Hoge tried to call out 'Wait, we'll come with you', but Chihiro had already vanished into the depths of the forest- clearly she activated her quirk.

Orochi noted that Hoge seemed a bit down after Chihiro didn't even check with them: "Don't worry, I'm sure she just wanted to be quick about it. With how fast she is we couldn't keep up even if she wanted to bring us along."

Even Sally, in her own way, decided to read the mood: "Hmph, rather than worry about her, I'll keep looking. I bet she'll be surprised when I already have that boar by the time she gets back!"

Not long later, Chihiro still hadn't returned, but their phones delivered an alert- a wildfire had broken out in their area! It was an evacuation order, declaring that the forest they were in was too dangerous to be in. The three girls quickly put two and two together, realizing that the 'something' Chihiro chased after was more than likely that wildfire.

Sally was the first to say something: "{Fuck} isn't this bad? We should get Chihiro and leave. Does anyone have her number?"

With a very stern expression, Hoge waved her head back and forth: "I tried that already. She's not responding. Something feels off. The way she took off is unusual. I... think I'm going to go after her."

Orochi immediately opposed that: "No you're not! If she needs to, she can outrun a wildfire, but you can't. You'd only make things worse- you of all people should be level-headed enough to know that! We contact the police and let them send a Pro-Hero to look and we leave the forest first. Anything else is just being reckless!"

Meeting Orochi's glare head on, Hoge tried to retort: "Of course I know that! But if it was that simple, why is she still out there? There's no way she got lost! She-"

But before Hoge could finish, Sally cut them off: "HEY! Look at the alert. It's not just a disaster warning- it's a villain warning now. This isn't just a wildfire."

Gritting her teeth, Hoge made her stance known: "I knew it. I knew something was wrong, and I'm going after her."

Orochi struggled for a bit, debating if there was anyway to convince her otherwise- what if Chihiro was running from the villain? If they met up and the villain changed targets, what then? Chihiro could run because she was fast, but Hoge or Sally escape? But what if she was stuck fighting instead of running? What if the villain struck her down before a Pro-Hero could arrive? What if the villain wasn't even there, and they'd just sprint headfirst into a disaster for no reason? Orochi glanced over at Hoge and was surprised by the contradiction- knees shaking, sweat pouring, and yet her eyes were like steel. Hoge wasn't being overconfident. She was scared out of her mind but chose to forge ahead anyway.

Finally, Orochi slammed her palms into her own face- overthinking wouldn't help here. All else aside, she couldn't stop Hoge from leaving, so she might as well protect her: "Fine, then I'm coming with you."

Sally on the other hand had ignore them- she had already started walking deeper into the forest: "There's no time for blabbering. If you're not coming then I'll just go save her myself!"

Though each had their own misgivings, the three girls ultimately chose to forge ahead.

...

As for Chihiro, she had long since encountered the source of the wildfire- a towering behemoth of a man with rough, black stone for skin, clad in crimson flame. The man boldly rushed forward, competing with the wildfire as if he couldn't spread that flame fast enough! Chihiro, however, took the initiative to stand before him. The man stopped his charge as his fire began to spread, growing out from beneath his feet and overtaking the forest around him.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwASqLmA23E)

If there were anyone watching the incident, they would see quite the bizarre sight. On one side was a young woman, a girl really, her back was straight, her breathing was calm, and her expression was placid and peaceful- around her was a vibrant, emerald forest, with humble ferns and proud, towering pine trees. The only thing that stood out was the sheathed saber in her left hand. Opposite to her was a hulking, almost inhuman beast of a man that resembled a fiery golem- his breathing was labored from competing with the flames for air and his back hunched over from fatigue. Around him was a blazing inferno that overtook humble ferns and proud pine trees alike. An inferno that would leave nothing but char and ashes in its wake.

The man, an infamous villain known as Drekus, spoke first: "Child. Why do you stand there, before Drekus? Hurry and leave. Fire is no place for child."

As the fire rapidly crept towards her, Chihiro replied: "I cannot allow you to pass. The way ahead leads to my home. Please leave."

Drekus narrowed his eyes, noting the seriousness in her bearing: "Drekus must pass. Drekus reach large pond and put out Drekus fire. This is shortest path."

Chihiro gripped her scabbard tighter- this man, Drekus, wasn't wrong. Although going by a map, it would look like a detour, heading towards the dojo would actually save time traversing small cliffs and hills. In that sense, it truly was the shortest path. However, that didn't mean Chihiro could simply nod her head: "I don't know how this started, but please seek another path. You will not continue down this path."

Feeling that the girl in front of him couldn't be reasoned with, Drekus resumed his advance: "Worry not, child. If child house burns down, Drekus will build new house."

Chihiro however felt that Drekus was the one that couldn't be reasoned with- therefore even as the flames overtook her position, she unsheathed her blade: "So long as I breath... You will not pass."

Drekus scolded as he approached: "Child should not play with sword! Drekus will take it away."

Yet the moment he reached out to grasp the blade, Chihiro vanished from his sight, leaving only a whisper in his ear: "Spring Blossom Slash"

In that moment, Drekus stumbled as pain flashed in his mind and a chunk of coal was stripped from the back of his right leg! However the wound was too shallow- the hard coal was like an armor that guarded him against the blade. Realizing that Chihiro had attacked him, Drekus turned to face her. She on the other hand was surprised he could still stand after having his leg cut. She may have aimed shallow to ensure she didn't inflict any permanent or life-threatening damage, but most people wouldn't be able to stand anymore. Clearly this man wasn't normal. Once again she prepared to attack Drekus, hoping to end the fight quickly, but this time Drekus observed closely. He had a wealth of combat experience, and while he knew nothing of the bladework Chihiro practiced, he had his own wisdom. The way her eyes moved. The direction her feet pointed. The twitch of every muscle and the shifting of her weight. It told him everything he needed to know.

Chihiro once again dashed toward Drekus's right side, but this time stopped just short of him and turned on the spot, spinning like a lotus floating down a river that just encountered a rock. As a result, she suddenly appeared by his left side- it was another of her techniques titled 'Autumn Lotus', and it was a tricky feint. Drekus however met her blade head on, his arms held up like a stone shield, right where her strike landed! Once again, chunks of coal were ripped from his flesh, but this time his arms pushed back against Chihiro's blade, disturbing her balance. He shoved out with his arms, not bothering with any kind of proper form. As the fist approached, she barely managed to leap backwards, avoiding his fist, but what couldn't be avoided was the flame. It was only a glance, but a small flicker of flame blossomed on her shoulder. Once again drawing on her quirk, she pulled at the cloth with one hand and severed the burning section with the blade in her other hand, saving herself from immolation before the fire could spread.

Having learnt her lesson, Chihiro abandoned any hope of catching the man by surprise. She rushed past him and sliced out just as he came in range, and the moment she was out of reach she turned back around and rushed right back in. Drekus on the other hand kept up a solid defense, shifting his body just enough to minimize the impact of Chihiro's attacks. Again and again this repeated, becoming a competition of endurance. Would Drekus run out of armor, or would Chihiro run out of stamina? For Drekus, it was truly a rather troublesome situation. He didn't have the speed to retaliate- if he tried he would only open himself up. He had other quirks better suited to the situation, but if he tried to use them he'd just start burning to death. Chihiro on the other hand found the situation even more troubling- after all, the wildfire had completely overtaken the area already, forcing her to mind the flames even as she attacked. The fire quickly ate away at the air, leaving her less and less to breath in. Meanwhile, with the death of the forest, she was losing her supply of energy to fuel her quirk. If she had to rely purely on the energy drained from Drekus, she wouldn't have enough speed to deal with him.

Again and again the exchange repeated, and before long Drekus was covered in thin cuts that tore through the coal, exposing the muscles below. The only reason he wasn't leaking blood was because the inferno covering his body immediately burnt the wounds shut. However, he wasn't worried- he was winning the war of attrition. Chihiro had already slowed down to half the speed she was at before, and she had already suffered a dozen burns. Her outfit was mere tatters, let alone the seared skin that was now exposed to the blazing hot air. As the wildfire spread, her quirk was only getting weaker. Her only consolation was that Drekus's breathing was only getting heavier over time. Perhaps she could rely on draining his energy to restrain him.

Again and again the exchange continued, but Drekus no longer took any injuries... Chihiro's hope of victory was slim at best, and although her resolve was still firm, resolve only offered so much aid. Once again, she rushed past Drekus and swiped out with her blade, but this time he had intercepted her by attacking rather than blocking! He had finally determined that her speed had dropped enough for him to go on the offensive. Unable to escape in time, Chihiro could only hastily pull back her blade, hoping to block the attack- she succeeded. Even so, the strength of that punch didn't lose out to the likes of Bobby or Kaylee. In spite of blocking it, she was still tossed backwards, the sheer force that passed back through her arms made her body creak in protest. Drekus didn't waste this chance- he stepped forward and punched out again, hoping to end this battle then and there!

As he pushed down with his fist, Drekus's right shoulder suddenly exploded into a plume of of fire- something had impacted his body so hard that the coal became dust on the wind and burst out in flames. As he recovered from the sudden attack, Chihiro had already retreated once more, holding out her blade with unsteady arms. She observed Drekus, and saw a small, dark object fall from his shoulder- a chunk of lead! Immediately, she knew that her classmates had chased after her. She felt relief. She felt shame. She felt disgust at herself for feeling relieved, and yet some small part in the back of her head felt joy in knowing they chose to look for her in the middle of a wildfire- her, of all people.

Sure enough, not far behind Sally's gunshot was the sound of Orochi rushing over, treating the burning debrief like thin air as she barreled straight through. She saw how the fight had paused due to their arrival, and hoped to take the chance to withdraw: "Chihiro, get out of there! This is too dangerous! Hurry and run!"

Hearing her friends words but not taking her eyes off of Drekus, Chihiro somberly replied: "If I run, the dojo will burn. I won't run- so don't wait. Leave without me."

Orochi felt a tinge of anger overcome her concern and yelled out once more: "Like hell! You're coming with us! If you keep fighting, you'll die for it! Get the hell over here!"

Hearing Orochi getting closer and closer, Chihiro's body shook and she yelled back, this time with more emotion that she'd used in years: "If defending my home will kill me then so be it! I won't give up- not as long as there's even a single drop of blood left in my body!"

It was then that Orochi finally arrived at Chihiro's side, and she finally got a good look at her. Her clothes only burnt scraps, and her body was covered in terrible burns- legs, arms, torso, warped and crimson flesh covered her body, even reaching up the side of her face. Her hands were in the worst state- the fire had practically stripped the muscle off of her fingers, and yet what little muscle remained clung to the handle of her saber like a vengeful ghoul, unwilling to relent even in death. Blood trickled down her lips, and her arms shook like leaves- clearly lacking the strength to continue lifting the blade. Yet despite it all, her eyes locked onto Drekus unwaveringly, refusing to budge even an inch- refusing to let the man take even one step towards her home. Orochi's eyes followed Chihiro's gaze out of instinct, and found that Drekus wasn't appraising herself or looking for the sniper that just shot him. He was returning that unwavering glare with his own.

Finally, Drekus spoke, in a slow and guttural tone: "Drekus was mistaken. Those eyes are not the eyes of a child, but of a soldier. Drekus will now fight seriously."

Without waiting for Orochi to convince Chihiro of anything, Drekus once again charged forward towards Chihiro. She in turn forced her body into her stance and prepared to meet his measure: "Leave! There's no need for you to be dragged down with me." And without waiting for a reply, she pushed off against the ground and sped towards her opponent.

As Chihiro ducked under Drekus's fist and slashed at his waist, another explosion appeared- this time on his face! Along with the crack of the gunshot came Sally's voice: "If running isn't an option then we'll just win! I don't believe we can't take this freak down!"

As frustrating as it was, Orochi acknowledged that there was no stopping this fight- she took this chance to brandish her claws and rush towards Drekus: "Fuck! You'll hear from me when this is over Chihiro!"

Chihiro in turn doubled back to continue her assault, only to be greeted with a despair inducing sight- Drekus's coal-like skin receded into his body and immediately regrew! By changing to another quirk and back, he had refreshed his quirk and repaired all the damaged sections of his 'armor'. As a result, Orochi's claws could only dig into the hard, black armor that was his skin, unable to deliver any poison. Meanwhile, Drekus completely ignored Orochi's attack in favor of reaching out- he grasped Orochi's head in his rocky grasp and lifted her up from the ground!

Orochi screamed out in agony and clawed at his hand as her Hydra heads tried to bite down onto his flesh, but Drekus ignored her and maintained his grip. She managed to keep him from crushing her skull with his grip, but the flames covering his body quickly spread to her own. In spite of the pain, she held on, ready to retaliate the moment she got a chance! She didn't wait long, for another bullet impacted Drekus's arm, exploding a layer of coal while Chihiro slashed out from behind, forcing Drekus to dodge away. Orochi dropped escaped from his grip thanks to Sally's sniping efforts, allowing her feet to touch the smoldering ground once more- however, she hadn't let go, nor had her hydra heads. When Drekus leaned over to dodge Chihiro's blade, Orochi took advantage of that and lifted him off the ground!

With a hearty cry, Orochi lifted Drekus over her head and smashed his back into the ground! Hoping to press her advantage, Orochi maintained her grip and turned her body, pulling on Drekus's arm to toss him again. However, his arm was like an immovable iron rod! She tried to hold on to his arm (to keep him from standing back up), but no matter how hard she pulled she couldn't stop him from flipping back onto his feet. Orochi immediately released his arm and tried to back up, but Drekus had already kicked off from the ground and caught up to her!

As Drekus launched his fist at Orochi, he met great resistance- Chihiro hacked down on his wrist and Sally fired another lead slug into his forearm, however even as the coal was stripped from his arm, Drekus's couldn't be stopped! As if he was charging through a pile of dried weeds, his fist impacted with Orochi's gut, sending her flying with a sickening crunch of broken bones! In spite of it all, she lived up to her name of 'Hard to Destroy Lizard Hero'. She pushed her body up with her arms while he spine was busy snapping itself back into place and puked up a mouth-full of blood. Though there was a bit of terror in her eyes, she looked up to see Chihiro narrowing dodging one blow after another as her blade danced across Drekus's skin. The pain hadn't even faded when Orochi charged back into the fray, not even noticing the blurry shadow that briefly paused behind her.

This time around, Orochi decided to change gears. This beast of a man was too strong and too experienced for her to get a clean hit in, so she wouldn't bother trying. Taking advantage of Drekus's attempts to punch Chihiro, Orochi held onto his forearm and refused to let go! It was enough if he could burden his movements and give her allies a chance to strike! Drekus in turn pulled her off of the ground and flailed her around, attempting to shake her off. However, Drekus was only met with another shot of gunfire to his back, a saber slashed into his thigh, and Orochi's furious hydra heads biting down onto shoulder in search of flesh that they could poison. Eventually, Drekus loosed a furious roar and grabed ahold of Orochi's arm, tearing her off of his body by force. His body quickly turned as his arm trails behind him, and Orochi's eyes widened- 'was he about to-'

With a herculean snap of his arm, Orochi was sent barreling into the air as if Drekus were playing shot put with her as the ball! Along with Orochi's own cry, Sally's voice also cried out- as Drekus had thrown Orochi directly at her! However, this maneuver also left Drekus wide open, leaving Chihiro to strike with full force. With the last scraps of her stamina and all the energy left in her quirk, she took off, blade in hand, like a bolt of lightning! Drekus in turn once again refreshed his quirk, and his coal-like skin briefly receded and returned as a flawless defense- he felt a lethal threat from this attack!

Chihiro's blade streaked across his vision like a flash of silver light... and yet Drekus didn't even feel an impact? Amidst his confusion, he spots a slight smile on her lips as his legs give out- Drekus had fallen onto the ground! As he lay upon the ground, the extreme fatigue and the blazing heat accompanied him as his mind faded into oblivion...

Standing behind him was a blurry figure- that of Hoge! In her hand was a short, bloodied, katana- yet that blood wasn't his, but rather Orochi's! From the moment Orochi and Sally arrived, Hoge had already been watching and observing. She knew she had no place in a brawl like this, but she couldn't just sit still either- not even if her body felt like heatstroke was a foregone conclusion by this point! When she saw Drekus recede and reactivate his quirk, she knew it was a huge problem for the other three, but for her it was an opening! But the question was how to capitalize on it. Bash the back of the man's head in with a rock? Putting aside the potential manslaughter charges, there was no guarantee such an attack would even put Drekus down. Instead, she settled on Orochi's poison. Drekus had the sense to avoid letting the obviously snake themed girl land a clean hit on him, but Hoge felt she could deliver that poison in Orochi's place! The only thing she didn't expect was that Chihiro would suddenly cooperate like that, putting on a dramatic feint to create an opening for Hoge to drive her own blade into his back.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGOAex5mSgw)

Content that Drekus was no longer moving (and not having the ability to confirm his state considering he was still on fire), Hoge looked around. Chihiro was in an awful state- covered head to toe in severe burns. She only stood standing by leaning on her katana that was now plunged into the ground. Sally had managed to duck out of the way of the cannonball named Orochi, the worst of her injuries from needing to jump face first into the flaming forest floor. Orochi's clothes were in nearly as poor a state as Chihiro's, but otherwise she seemed rather healthy. The two of them were making their way over to Chihiro. She herself had gotten away with some minor burns, a feeling that was definitely heatstroke, and more than a few singe marks on her own outfit. At this point, the real issues were evacuating before the last bits of oxygen burnt away and they all died of asphyxiation, as well as finding some way to transport the still burning villain... At this point, Hoge's nose crinkled in disgust and frustration- at the smell of burning flesh. Drekus's quirk seemed to have canceled itself, leaving the flames to ravage his body. Hoge seriously considered the logistics of leaving the villain here at this point and just letting him burn to death.

Having condemned Drekus to a fiery death, Hoge moved on to more important things, like checking in on Chihiro. Seeing the blurry figure in front of her (and in this case the blur wasn't purely due to Hoge's quirk), Chihiro knew Hoge was with her now. With the relief of seeing Drekus had been defeated, her heart eased up, and some words couldn't help but escape her lips: "Hoge. Thank you. Thank you for helping me. I know the dojo isn't this important to you, but you helped me defend it anyway."

What entered Chihiro's ears in return was a gentle voice: "Baka, I was defending you. I won't let you just die like that." Hoge failed to mention that she strongly considered using Orochi's poison on Chihiro and just having the group run away.

Yet their little heart to heart wasn't over- Chihiro's flame scarred lips trembled, and her dried up eyes let loose what little tears they had to shed. With a weak and frail voice, she voiced her actual worries: "I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have dragged you all into this. From the moment I left on my own, I knew there would be no stopping you. You're all too brave and too kind to run away on your own. I should have just left with you and the other two. Living people shouldn't be weighed against objects, not even the dojo..."

Hoge patiently waited as Chihiro's voice cracked, her voice turning into a mournful sob: "But I couldn't do it! I couldn't abandon it! Even though I knew it was wrong! The thought of mother and father getting even farther away, I couldn't take it...! Hoge, to be honest- wanting to atone, and to make things up to people is a lie. I do feel guilty, but I know what I did isn't something fixable. I came to Shiketsu because I couldn't bear the loneliness anymore! I wanted people to have expectations for me! To need me! To want me around! I wanted a place for myself with other people in it! But in the end I only put people in danger again...!"

Chihiro saw the blurred shape of Hoge's face- saw her tears, and her lips forming words, but she couldn't hear them anymore. Before her vision blacked out, Chihiro spat out one last sentence: "Someone like me doesn't deserve to be with others..."

By this point, Sally and Orochi had already made their way over and heard Chihiro's outburst. The trio felt some amount of understanding dawn on them. Hoge thought to her friendship with Chihiro, and how similar the two of them were in certain ways. Sally thought back to her conversation with Chihiro not long ago, and the way Chihiro stressed that Sally was fortunate to still have expectations placed on her. Orochi mused that a small detail she noticed suddenly made sense- Chihiro seemed like a martial arts addict, but any time anyone in 1-D asked for anything, Chihiro would drop anything and come, even though it would clearly cut into her training. Even Orochi's desire to give Chihiro a long lecture on responsibility faded away- clearly Chihiro had deeper issues than that.

What none of them expected, was that another figure heard her outburst too. With an exasperated tone that concealed a great deal of concern, they called out from above: "What are you kids doing in here? Everyone should have evacuated?"

Aside from Chihiro, who had somehow slipped into unconsciousness while still leaning on her katana, the other three looked up, and Orochi immediately felt her heart relax- this figure (for all his flaws) was extremely reliable: "Yuusei! Enough of that, her injuries are serious. Get us out of here first and yell at us later!"

Naturally, this figure was the Spring Dragon Hero, Yuusei Atsushi, as well as Orochi's older cousin. In his dragon form, his large reptilian eye paused on Chihiro- he grimaced. That was indeed terrible. He needed to get her to a hospital immediately. Then his eye turned to the burning, blue, behemoth of a man collapsed onto the ground. With no time to worry about the particulars, he moved his head over Drekus's body and spat out- drowning out the fire in a small turret of saliva. The girls were happy that wasn't them, but frankly felt no pity for the villain- he should be happy the fire even got put out at all after all the trouble he caused.

From their lack of empathy, Seiryu quickly gathered that this fellow was the culprit- in fact he even recognized him. This was an internationally wanted villain by the name of Dr. Isaac Ivanov. Secretly, Seiryu was stunned that a group of freshmen managed to take down such a ferocious figure. Although students engaging in vigilantism wasn't a good thing, it was good that he didn't need to choose between rescuing the girls and tracking down a villain. Balancing saving a few lives in front of him and dozens of lives later on due to a spreading fire would have been a headache- no one likes having those kinds of 'trolley problems' thrust upon them. After returning to human form and making arrangements for an ambulance, he returned to his dragon form and tersely guided Orochi and her friends into carrying Chihiro onto his back. Then he grasped out with his claws, grabbing Drekus to carry into custody- however a blur of brown and green sped by and snatched up the blue-skinned villain!

"KARMA!" "THAT BITCH!": Orochi and Seiryu alike were both outraged at the sight of the infamous Night Parade villain running off with Drekus.

As if in synch, both Atsushi's had their expression turn dark and murderous, and their bodies shook in anger. It was as if their bloodline had some pre-disposition of outrage at the mere sight of the fleeing figure. If looks could kill, surely Karma would have been riddled in wounds at this moment. Both wanted little more than to run over and put the smug lizard villainess in her place, but ultimately restrained themselves. As a student, Orochi knew full well that engaging a S-Rank villain was pure idiocy. As a hero, Seiryu knew full well that abandoning these girls to pursue Karma wasn't an option. Swallowing his rage, he took to the skies and headed back towards the city. Honoken busied herself with lighting back fires to help contain the wildfire, believing the incident was settled due to Seiryu's previous call...

However, the struggles of the pro-heroes cleaning up this colossal mess was worlds away from the worries of the freshmen. As the ambulance promised that Chihiro would recover under the aid of their best doctors, Sally, Orochi, and Hoge were left to pray for her swift recovery (and that their 'vigilantism' wouldn't have any serious consequences.) They road along in the ambulance, due for their own medical care, as well as a meeting with the police to explain what they were doing in the middle of a burning forest. Would they tell the story in its entirety, letting Chihiro take the blunt of the blame? Would they band together to bend some details, hoping to avoid any blame? These thoughts and more floated through their heads as they road the ambulance into the setting sun.