0 (Yako, MaruMaru, Last Rite, Yamata, Reaper, Ferals)
Intro: A thorn-coated flower
Many years have passed since that day. Seasons came and gone, but some constancies in her life refused to change.
They were eternally stuck with her, like an everlasting limbo. The limbo brought with itself coldness, so cold no one could withstand it, but, oddly enough, endured its freezing breeze.
Since that day, her heart filled with innumerable regrets, and pains she refused to let go. She endured it all, ostracized, and left to fend for herself, but in a strange turn of Fate, people still came to her.
They were a thundering crimson and a serene river flowing. Strangely, they never left her; they were always there for her.
Then came her friends. They cared for her. One saw her as their sensei.
One had her as a close confidant.
There were some she still couldn’t see clearly through, but they considered her their friend, so it should suffice for her little heart.
Yet, they saw her as many things, but she… failed to see past her reflection. The shadowy thing that Reaped their lives, killed them out.
Could she ever repay those sins?
She had yet to live up to their friends' vision of her, and no redemption left for her, but this was her struggle to bear. This pain was deserved.
Until the day she met their expectations, and the shadows that followed her all vanished, she would carry this pain, all this goddamn pain, deep inside of her…
(Mitsurugi Dojo)
Chihiro awaited for some of her “guests” to come. Ever since the sleepover she felt that her friends’ wounds were healing.
It was a long path ahead until those wounds were scarred, but every little step was an advancement toward healing.
Hoge sat beside her on the table. She poured a cup of tea for herself and Chihiro, as they awaited for the other two girls to arrive.
Chihiro side-glanced at her pupil. Hoge showed no signs of worry, her body was not flickering, and her posture was steady. Hoge trained hard to become a “ninja”, but was not able to fool Chihiro’s eyes. Her shoulders were a little tensed, sometimes her breathing was not at a perfect pace.
Hoge was stressed out ever since the grades were revealed, and the night when the Sandatsu attacked Shiketsu and its aftermath, Hoge was tense and nervous.
‘Not being the perfect student pained you much.’ She lost to Orochi in quirk ethics. It must’ve meant something Chihiro couldn’t understand. ‘It’s hard to say even if we will get a week of peace nowadays.’ Maybe Hoge feared for her future, or the stormy clouds on the horizon, it was hard to say.
“Hi.” Sally entered the dojo. She looked a little brighter than before, it was good in Chihiro’s eyes.
Chihiro hoped that they, and Orochi who had yet to arrive, could brighten each others’ day a little, despite what happened lately.
The air around them was awkward, even Chihiro could feel it, they needed something to break the ice.
“Soo… should we get to the cleaning now?” Sally questioned, trying to break up the awkward atmosphere around them.
Hoge and Chihiro nodded.
“Okay, let’s start with the equipment.”
“What about cleaning the floor?”
Sally and Hoge talked over each other. They turned to stare each other in the eyes. “We should clean the floor first, Hoge. You know, it will be harder than cleaning the equipment.”
There was more floor than sparring gear to clear, Sally was sure of it.
“We are in a dojo, McCathy-san. Cleaning the equipment is more important since they are used in sparring often.” Hoge spoke with a fake smile, an absolute stance to not reveal that even she doubted that her argument sounded wrong.
Only a few people even frequented the dojo… and Hoge refused to let Sally be right in her assessment.
Chihiro smiled coyly. ‘It’s good to see they are working well with each other.’ Chihiro turned her gaze to the trees outside.
A crimson-pale shadow stared at the dojo from afar. Chihiro waved at her. The shadow got out of sight. She grew skittish lately, but she cared about Chihiro and the dojo, even from afar.
Chapter 1: Gloomy Star
Sandatsu made a portal towards a certain Dojo. There was a target… someone he wanted to find. Maybe she would join him, and understand his point, or maybe she wouldn’t. In the latter, he would reap her. From behind him, two Ferals appeared.
They were itching for a fight, drunk in bloodlust. He wanted the real Feral with him, but his gut advised against that course of action. Something bad would happen if he brought Feral, so the two clones would suffice, even if they were far weaker than the original.
“I wonder, how will you react?”
Chihiro felt a disturbance in the forest's wavelength. Something amiss was there. Something massive, like a dark star, was there, awaiting down the path to the Mitsurugi Dojo.
She knew who was waiting there. She could not forget the “presence” of someone so easily, especially when it became so dense it almost choked her by standing still down the hill.
This time she felt he would not let her go so easily.
Chihiro looked at Sally and Hoge, who tried their best not to argue while cleaning the dojo. “You two, run away,” Chihiro spoke in a deadpan tone, it drew the attention of the other two girls immediately.
“What?” Sally questioned, while Hoge tried to understand what Chihiro meant.
“Sandatsu, he is here,” Chihiro said. As she went to her sword, she immediately drew it out of its sheath. Chihiro had no hesitation, her movements weightless, it was like she was unbothered by the words she said.
The color drained from Hoge’s face. She wanted it to be a joke from Chihiro, but Chihiro was not the type to make those types of jokes, and besides, her sensei was in a battle stance, ready to start a confrontation with any movement that could give her the initial advantage.
Sally was also surprised, but contrary to Hoge, she immediately loaded a bullet in her arm, would it help against a threat like Sandatsu? No, but Sally refused to stand still and do nothing. Much like Hoge, she took Chihiro’s words at face value.
“Good thing you can hear me. So, get out of the dojo, unless you want me to rip you out of it. The other two… don’t even think about running away, it will make things worse for you.” Sandatsu chirped.
He appeared out of nowhere, as he pleased. Chihiro picked up her smartphone and angrily pressed the contacts, all contacts that were able to fight, she selected all of them and tried to send a text message, but somehow, it failed to send the messages.
“Sensei, it is for no use,” Hoge said as she looked away, ashamed of not doing “enough” to help with the crisis at hand. “It is not working. Whatever he did… he cut off our phones’ signals.”
Hoge and Sally stared each other in the way one last time, and both sprinted away from the dojo. They knew Chihiro looked at the sheath of her sword one last time. ‘I don’t think I’m going to need you anymore.’
Chihiro runs in the opposite direction of her friends. They ran away from Sandatsu, she ran towards him.
She refused to run away from this challenge. She would gain them some time, even if it was a single second.
Sandatsu was already waiting by the entrance of the dojo. He raised his hand and waved at her as if complimenting a friend.
Chihiro’s eyes widened, she breathed and felt the forest breathe with her. Like a floodgate opening, she unleashed her quirk. She drew energy from the forest, from her enemies, and the two lookalikes behind him.
With no time for preparation or small talk, Chihiro did not hesitate in her stance. She went full speed ahead, the energy flowed through her body like a flood, and she felt her breath become light and her heart race.
Sandatsu had no time to react as a deep cut was made on his hand, almost severing it from his arm. “Wow.” He spoke with small amusement. Was Chihiro always that fast?
Chihiro became a blur to him, as she continued to attack, not stopping a single moment. Deep gashes were opened by her sword’s blade. Sandatsu grew arms on his back and tried to catch her blade, but each time he felt he was close to getting it, his hands failed to hold Chihiro.
The Ferals yearned to join the battle, they wanted to fight at any cost, but stood still, paralyzed by Sandatsu’s presence. They didn’t dare to attack or join the fray without his input,
As for Chihiro, she knew it was a matter of time before she reached her limit. She continued to draw energy from the forest. Her body continued to accelerate, but it came close to a point where all gains were diminishing greatly by the second.
Was this the limit of her quirk? She had to believe. She never went so fast before. Despite her blows, Sandatsu refused to move. He stood still, he endured it all.
Chihiro felt a dismayed at this. He knew she was stalling, and he would let her run off steam before doing something. He was underestimating her. Chihiro’s pupils shrank.
“Are you done or-” Before Sandatsu could finish his words, his jaw was split asunder, his body pushed back by the sudden blow. His body automatically healed, but he was surprised at the sudden blows.
He began being pushed back by Chihiro’s cuts. He could no longer just stall for time. He could win this without a sweat if he so wanted, but his target was doing her best, so Sandatsu ought to entertain her.
This time he used his arms to block blows, he used them to withstand the impacts, his eyes scanned around him in an attempt to find Chihiro, a black-tar-like substance secreted from his skin, it quickly hardened. Chihiro’s attacks were no longer as effective.
Chihiro felt the muscles of her arms and legs start to strain and tear under the pressure of her movements and speed. Cold sweat ran across her face, her muscles aglow and burning.
Sandatsu felt the deterioration in her speed too, by the small, but steady, decrease in Chihiro’s speed. She bit through the pain to continue attacking, uncaring if her body would be ruined as long as she brought time for her friends…
Sandatsu smiled and raised his hands. “You want to buy time for them, am I right?” Two energy beams exploded out of his palms. They cut through trees in an instant.
Hoge looked and watched the energy beam coming towards her, then she rolled out of its way, while Sally heard trees breaking and snapping. She calculated more or less the angle from where they broke and threw herself on the ground as the beam went above her body.
In an instant, many trees were cut or blasted away, revealing the position of the girls. “You two, retrieve them for me. No killing and no mauling.” Sandatsu was not there for them, so he didn’t want to hurt those two too much.
Like loyal puppies, the two Ferals rushed at their targets. Sally was the first to be pinned down and dragged. She didn’t react, so the Feral allowed her to be dragged to Sandatsu. Sally loaded the biggest bullet she could without damaging her arm.
She bid her time until that Feral look-alike dropped her guard. This was a life-or-death situation, Sally couldn’t afford to let herself act brashly, for her sake, for Chihiro’s… and Hoge’s, she needed to keep her cool and use her ammo wisely.
Hoge tried to turn her quirk to its maximum effectivity, but for a moment, she felt Sandatsu’s eyes on her. A portal opened right before her. She was taken off the ground effortlessly, held by an arm.
Chihiro’s blood pressure dropped as Sandatsu jumped in a portal, to deal with the most problematic of the bunch if they were to run away. Chihiro tried to draw even more energy from the forest, but she was already at her maximum output, and her body was only getting slower by the strain placed on her by her quirk.
“You, take care of her. Now, it is just you and I, Chihiro-san.” Sandatsu smiled as he drew Hoge towards the other Feral, who welcomed Hoge in a bearhug, pinning her in place.
“Once again, you dropped your guard.” Sandatsu heard a sound behind him. His body locked in, his muscles tensed while thick, cold sweat dripped down his nape.
“Divine Rapture.”
A crimson thunder roared. A slash cut across Sandatsu’s chest, all the way through his neck to his left eye, in a single motion.
Sandatsu felt his body start to swell, cancerous swells ran rampant across his system, his flesh torn asunder by a malignant growth. His heart raced as the memories of the pain he felt ached in his flesh. He felt it all before, in that damned water plant. A crimson ghost had come back to haunt him, but he grew stronger.
His heart raced with excitement despite the pain deep down in his flesh, he had a good quirk to reap, those flames of hers were special, and maybe was time to “upgrade” [Embers] with something better.
With a maddened smile, he gritted his teeth and activated his quirk, [Rewind]. All the damage was undone in a second. Momotaro’s eyes widened.
She jumped back, but Sandatsu grew an outstretched arm to her. Momotaro barely avoided being grabbed. She felt Sandatsu’s fingers start to lock around her arm, but she pulled her arm out before he could get a firm grip, ripping some of her skin and breaking a few. She whined in pain but knew that being held by Sandatsu would be a fate far worse than a few wounds.
In an instant, Momotaro was punched by Sandatsu, her body went flying against a tree. Its trunk broke as Momotaro crashed against him, her back cracking due to the impact.
“I didn’t mean to do that…” Sandatsu complained. He wanted to reap her quirk, not send her away. That quirk could have its usages, but his body acted without his permission. Was a part of him still scared about that woman?
Chihiro’s breath became unsteady as she watched Momotaro being swiftly dealt with.
Chihiro held her breath and placed her everything in a single blow. She advanced against Sandatsu like Lightning, all her strength and speed placed in a single swing. She attacked him from behind in an ascending arc, an attempt to split him in twain.
Sandatsu felt his body being trashed in a single swing, just as bad as Momo’s own attack, but easier to heal and deal with.
Chihiro felt her body withstand a great strain brought by her own attack, for a second, she stood still. Long enough for Sandatsu to grab her, and extend a dark tendril to Momotaro. “We wasted too much time here. I hope you are ready for a little talk after this warm-up.” Sandatsu laughed as a portal opened.
“Drop me, you sewer crocodile!” Sally whined in an attempt to not appear as a threat, to get a good opportunity to shoot.
Hoge’s eyes widened as she saw Chihiro’s state, panting, with a few filets of blood running across her arms and legs, staining her clothes red. “Sensei…!”
Chihiro struggled to free herself, but it was to no avail. The ferals jumped into the portal with their hostages. As Sandatsu stepped him, halfway through the portal…
“Get real, damn bastard.” He felt two feet heavy as boulders landed on his back, throwing him deep into the portal.
Chapter 2: The Night Comes, and Soon the Rising Sun Follows
One Feral saw people come out of the portal. Much like the two that accompanied Sandatsu, she too was a clone of the original, one far weaker than the original, but that somehow managed to survive that long.
Her fellow clones exited the portal without a single problem, but Sandatsu was thrown on the ground with explosive force. He tried to recover his composure, but his attacker acted faster than him.
Powerful jaws chomped on his arms and tendril, and ripped them apart, his arms taken straight from the socket. Chihiro was thrown away, and so was Momo. Orochi looked at Sally and Hoge. Hoge’s eyes communicated something.
‘We should run away! Use the opportunity to get out!’ She scoffed and waved her head. This was their best spot, her best shot at killing Sandatsu. She would not waste it. She also used the opportunity to see if she should save them immediately.
The Ferals were paralyzed, they wanted to fight but didn’t move, as if they awaited orders from someone. The third Feral, however, moved herself out of the way, putting distance between herself and the fight.
Sandatsu cracked his shoulders. The arms were not a problem, he could regenerate, but the attacker knew that, and she had already made a plan on how to deal with him.
Yet before Sandatsu could get up and regain his bearings, his body began to get pounded mercilessly with a flurry of blows. Sandatsu was used to get hit by heavy hitters, but something felt different this time around.
Those fists, and other things, that attacked him were different. He felt his body, his arms being punched through with the sole intention of causing mutilation. A style that ill-befitted a hero, and fell in line more with a beast.
A beast who knew well to choose vital spots in its flurry. “ENOUGH!” SAndatsu ordered, and a shockwave exploded out of him, it served to place some distance between him and his attacker, but her “tails” dug into the ground.
It held her in place, it didn’t allow Sandatsu’s shockwave to get her too far away. Sandatsu got up to stare at her. Crimson hair, purple-slitted eyes, and a face so uncaring and apathetic it would fit a robot.
Orochi was before him. Claws and hydras dripping red with his blood. Hoge and Sally stared at her with surprise in their eyes, taken aback by the sudden brutality of Orochi. Both Chihiro and Momo tried to recover their composures and get back to the fight.
Sandatsu opened his mouth to speak, but Orochi had none of it. She was already upon him again.
[Bloodthirst] + [Evolution] + [Black Layer] + [Conduit] + [Burst Strike] + [Branching Grasp]
Sandatsu activated a combo of quirks. He went to meet Orochi head-on. He grew multiple arms, each with great strength in them, further enhanced by clawed tentacles and black armor brought by [Black Layer].
They moved at Orochi in perfect synch. The hydras moved away from Orochi. Spikes grew from their scales and even coated their mouth and teeth, it made their mouth similar to lampreys as the scales continued to grow.
Their very noodle-like bodies resembled a grinder. They moved in different directions towards the arms of Sandatsu. While he had more arms, he lacked something that the hydras had: brains and self-awareness.
They used their individuality to attack and shred the arms and tendrils of Sandatsu, grinding them down and shredding them with their “mouths”. Sandatsu’s eyes widened, he thought about dealing with the hydras, but he failed to see an opening to attack them.
Their movements were chaotic and almost random, but somehow, the hydras had perfect teamwork, as if their mind were one.
Orochi attacked him with a flurry of punches, but something was wrong. Her scales exploded outward, their form was similar to a boxing glove, but with hundreds of spike-like scales coming out of the “glove”. She landed a hit on his abdomen, almost tearing it all off. Another blow landed on his chest, this time, she punched straight through him.
Sandatsu tried to counter her with his two “real” arms, but the hydras moved faster, they used their bodies and spun on their axis to act like a grinder, and they shredded his arms. ‘How? My arms weren’t even in your field of view…’ There was more to her quirk than he wanted to admit.
Maybe he should’ve taken an interest for her quirk earlier, to have a better plan on how to deal with Orochi.
The two Feral, plus one that was already there on standby, watched the fight, the two that went with him had their mouths salivating at the thought of fighting. They were made as reinforcements when he went to kill his mother, he never thought it would come the day they would be so helpful.
If Sandatsu was given breathing room, he would not need help, however, Orochi refused to give him any. She was like a machine made to fight. He barely had any time to think while dealing with her.
Her eyes had no emotion in them. Orochi was in for the kill, for the chance to kill Sandatsu once and for all. Sandatsu found nothing he could use to get under her skin. He was getting fed up with her.
“You three! Come help me, now!” Sandatsu shouted to the Ferals. The first two ferals rushed immediately, while the last one stared at Orochi a little bit, accessing the situation before joining the fray, although following behind the two bloodthirsty Ferals.
Sandatsu jumped back to get some breathing room. The hydras moved a little, they got in place to intercept each of the three Ferals, as Orochi stared at her prize: Sandatsu.
Hoge and Sally stared at each other. The Ferals dropped them, they could do something now.
Hoge first analyzed her situation. They were in a factory of sorts. She saw a camera with a red light. It meant that it still had energy. ‘Maybe I can find something to help us escape or call for help.’ Hoge stared at her situation.
Running away was the best option, but she doubted Orochi would run away. She saw the intensity of her fight and the brutality of her moves.
Hoge moved towards the upper areas of the factory in search of a control room, her presence vanishing from everyone’s senses. Sally regrouped her senses and stared at the brawl. She couldn’t help them by standing there. Sally too moved to the upper areas of the factory, but contrary to Hoge, she wanted to keep an eye on the fight.
Sally knew that realistically, she only had one or two shots able to damage Sandatsu or either of the Ferals. She would make her bullets count.
Yet, Momotaro and Chihiro were nowhere to be seen.
(...)
Momotaro rested against a wall, her left arm was damaged. Her breath was unsteady as she suppressed the pain in her left arm. Momtoaro stared at her arm, she couldn’t dual wield in that state, or join the fight in any meaningful manner.
Her eyes trailed to Chihiro. Maybe it was time to break the glass after all this time.
Chihiro was before her, on the ground, gasping for fair while bleeding from her arms and legs, clear signs of overextending herself against Sandatsu. They both were not in a good state.
Momotaro couldn’t use her quirk to heal herself any further after a divine rapture, it would overload her own body, but Chihiro…
“Hey, Chihiro-chan,” Momotaro called Chihiro, who raised her eyes to meet hers. “I doubt that friend of yours can deal with those Feral lookalikes and The Reaper at the same time.”
Her words were rigid and raspy, Chihiro looked away ashamed. It was her fault that it ended that way. They were in a dead end.
Momotaro saw right through Chihiro’s thoughts. “No. We are not in a dead end. Not yet. You know it.” Momotaro chastised Chihiro. “There is something we can do. Something only you can do.”
Momotaro spoke and raised her good hand towards Chihiro. A flame burned on her palms. “Just like you did in the forest, if you let it out, if you let yourself out of the cage, we may be able to win.”
The flames on Momotaro’s hand burned bright. Chihiro’s eyes widened in horror at the proposition made by her friend. “It’s the only way, Chihiro. Accept those flames, all the energy I can muster through my quirk right now. If I use it on myself, I will surely die.”
The flames were like a raging inferno concentrated on the palm of Momotaro’s hand. It was too much energy for Momotaro’s body to handle. “But you… your quirk and mine always had a great compatibility. I’m sure you can use this energy to its fullest, Chihiro.”
“Momo… my quirk… I killed my family. I killed everyone in the dojo. I can’t. What if I kill you? My friends… No, I can’t…” Chihiro trembled. She saw the ghosts of those she killed long ago. Her heart quaked with despair. There should be another way to do it.
She didn’t want to use her quirk. “I’m a demon. I… I… I!” Chihiro couldn’t bear to face those she killed, how much hatred they must feel towards her? How much hatred would they feel at seeing her using such a murderous quirk again?
Momotaro’s eyes softened, and she took a deep breath. She was the last one alive from the dojo, and her situation was not great. She was bleeding from her arm pretty badly, besides the broken bones.
Chihiro’s breath was unsteady, her eyes refused to focus on Momo, staring straight past her. Her chest inflated and deflated at an unhealthy pace.
Chihiro was not thinking straight. She was overprotective of Momotaro as the last student of her father and mother. She needed to cut the cord now, lest Chihiro slowly hung herself with it.
“Chihiro. Look at me. Do I hate you? Do I hold you accountable for what happened?” Chihiro’s eyes trembled further, as silent tears started to form in her eyes.
“As the last student of your father and mother, I can say it with my heart: We wouldn’t blame you. We never would think of you as a monster. You are no demon, Chihiro.” Momotaro's voice echoed in their surroundings.
Chihiro’s mind struggled to stay afloat. It was all her fault, all her fault once again.
Before she could dwell further into such thoughts. Momotaro called Chihiro once again. “CHIHIRO! We need you. Your friends need you. Only you can save them.” Momotaro looked at Orochi.
She was doing well, but Sandatsu used a move. He unleashed a destructive beam out of his hands. Orochi stood her ground with her arm stretched forward. She withstood the beam as she used her arm to block, but her scales, her skin, were slowly torn out of her arm.
Chihiro looked at Momotaro, mortified. “Momo-kun… do you… really think they wouldn’t hate me?” Chihiro spoke in a shy voice, drowning the tears and anguish in her voice as best as she could.
“I don’t think so, I am certain of it.” Chihiro didn’t believe those words, she thought they were lies. No one could forgive her… but just this once, she embraced that flame, and took Momotaro’s hand.
Chapter 3: Thousand Fathoms: Counter Zero
Sandatsu continued to release a powerful beam against Orochi, her arm outstretched to withstand it. The Ferals were caught in the blast of it, but he didn’t care at all about them. For long seconds the pulse of energy continued.
Orochi pushed against his beam, each step brought her forward, and closer, to Sandatsu. As the energy finally died down, Sandatsu stared at his foe.
Her left arm and chest were burned, her skin melted and her muscles revealed. This type of pain normally would stop anyone. It was not to say that Orochi didn’t feel the pain, she felt it, and quite well, but she couldn’t let pain stop her from fulfilling her duty to society.
Killing Sandatsu.
She clenched her bloody left fist. Scales grew from within her flesh, and they traveled all the way to her chest and then bloomed like flowers. Her entire left arm and chest were coated in crimson scales. The damage reverted.
The ferals were on the ground. The two brash ones were barely alive. The third one… she managed to avoid being blank-shot by the laser, but she still had many third-degree burns across her body. Orochi stared that one in the eyes.
Her motivation to fight was lukewarm, she barely was placing any will in that fight. Her eyes felt different from the other two Ferals, and the original one. The two clones she faced had the will and hunger of the original, but this one… felt off.
It was as if she didn’t want to fight. “Do you want to fight me?” Orochi questioned, her eyes moved to watch Sandatsu recover himself from his energy blast.
Her little knight (middle hydra) stared the Feral down. She tried to play it off as if she didn’t understand her words, but the hydra saw the glimmer of intelligence behind those eyes. She clearly understood what Orochi said, but tried to play it cool, and not raise any flags to herself.
“Okay. I will spare you, but first, open a path for my friends to run away, and then, vanish from here. Capiche?” Before Orochi got an answer, she kicked the Feral-lite out of the way. Her body went flying against a wall and bypassed it.
“This is getting boring,” Sandatsu complained as he prepared to use Hijack’s quirk. Orochi felt something was amiss, and braced herself for impact. She felt herself lose control of her body and her hydras, she felt herself lose strength as the Reaper made his way to her. Her heart raced. She did not have a plan in case he went serious.
Cold sweat ran down her spine. Sandatsu was getting close to her… but he didn’t approach any further.
“Shura’s Dance!” A flurry of steel erupted from behind Sandatsu. Flames followed steel in a storm of slashes. They cleaved through his Black Layer, they hit him in his flesh. He lost his concentration and control of [Hijack], and a blurry form started to attack him.
And they didn’t stop. Sandatsu winced in pain as the flames wounded him deep, deeper than the flesh. It was Momotaro’s quirk. He turned around to finally reap that pest, but suddenly, his attacker vanished.
Before he couldn’t even blink, more slashes appeared on his body. From his waist to his neck, even to his eyes. Blood erupted from every cut.
Orochi watched mesmerized. “Take that!” Chihiro shouted, as she executed a cross slash on Sandatsu’s chest, it drew him forward, as the cut made by her swords made it hard for him to regenerate, somehow.
Chihiro stood there. Two swords in hand. Her katana, and another katana Orochi didn’t recognize. Chihiro looked at Orochi. Her red iris shrank like a ring around her pupil, while a far bigger blue ring filled her eyes.
Chihiro was different, she felt bolder. Orochi smiled at her friend and picked up her red marbles. The words Hiro said to her echoed in her mind:
“Those are hypermetabolic enhancers. They will make your metabolism work so fast it will generate enough heat to enter self-combustion.”
“So, they will make me hungrier. Gotcha.” Hiro stared her in the eye. Orochi laughed. “So, what happens if someone else besides me eats those bad girls?”
“They will pass out and may need saline solution due to getting too dehydrated, and too hungry.” Orochi nodded. She had a curiosity about those enhancers.
“What happens if someone like Kaylee eats it? Someone who can compete with me on physical performance?”
Hiro scoffed, as a chill ran down his spine. “Their body will start to break down to keep up with the metabolism’s extreme pace, most likely.”
Time to test Hiro’s theory. Orochi downed one marble and gave the other to her right hydra. Her body went aflame.
She felt her muscles expand as flames came out from every part of her being. She felt euphoric and feverish. Chihiro nodded at Orochi’s resolve. “Let’s do it, Orochi-san.” They moved towards Sandatsu.
A crimson comet and a white falling star went against the night itself.
(Interlude)
Hoge fought against a bunch of goons and dispatched them out of the factory. Turned out that placed had a bunch of trashbags lying around. Throwing them out of a window was easy.
They never saw her coming. She managed to reach the control room without any problems. She watched the cameras. The two Feral lookalikes started to rise again, but an albino girl went to attack them, wielding an obscene large sword, and a style far too similar to her own sensei…
On another camera, a Feral opened a path to the outside by ripping a door off and the walls around it. It ran away immediately.
On another camera, she saw Sally, still like a corpse, she awaited the moment to attack, and make herself useful.
She saw the big fight on a camera. Sandatsu— The Reaper, was placed on his backfoot, and was losing. Hoge knew right there it was his weakest moment. That place had a faint internet connection. Maybe if… she connected her phone to the control center and started to stream the camera footage straight to her phone, and from her phone to the internet.
[The Reaper is GETTING HIS ASS HANDED TO HIM]
The perfect name for a stream. Hoge only hoped that the title would hold.
(Interlude End)
Sandatsu barely had any time to recover himself, as more cuts were made on his body. Chihiro ran circles around him, and worse of all, he could not even see or react to her attacks. Her speed had reached a level she never attained before.
Her body would break down the moment she used that type of speed, but she felt Momotaro’s quirk deep inside her, the enhancement to her speed and durability made her far stronger than she was before.
Strong enough to use inhuman speeds with no repercussions to her well-being. As long as Momotaro’s ki remained in Chihiro, she could keep this speed. Much more than Momotaro’s ki, Chihiro felt connected to her, as if her memories flowed into her muscles and brain.
The way to dance with two swords, how to use her techniques, and how to manipulate her crimson flame.
Orochi’s hydras threw scales at him, releasing their scales like a rain of razors. They dug into himself as Orochi cut the distance between them. Her left fist crashed against his body. Sandatsu thought that he would be able to just endure it without further repercussions, but he was wrong.
He felt every single bone of his chest crushed to smithereens as his organs were liquified due to their strength. Sandatsu tried to heal immediately, but from behind him, Chihiro opened his back like it was a fish.
Much like Orochi, she intended to kill him there, no matter the difficulty. His organs started to slip out of his back, he barely had time to breathe as he focused on healing himself.
“Now, Bastard!” Orochi verbalized her command to her right hydra, who chomped on Sandatsu’s mouth and held it tight. It pushed the marble out of this mouth using its tongue.
Sandatsu felt a wave ripple across his being. It was as if he was set on fire. He felt [Bloodthirst] go out of control alongside [Null-Need], and even [Evolution] went crazy. He felt his body try to heal, try to get faster, without reason.
[Comeback] started to waste energy, it tried to rewind on its own, but there was nothing to rewind. Sandatsu’s eyes widened in terror, as he started to lose control of his body and reaped quirks.
“WHAT YOU DID DO TO ME?!” Sandatsu roared to Orochi, but she didn’t give him any answers. She answered with a bone-crushing punch to his face, and Chihiro matched Orochi’s pace.
Sandatsu’s flesh became softer, and his body weaker, his stamina diminished as his body burned, something was happening inside of him. He gritted his teeth. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” He roared again.
A shockwave was unleashed out of him, far stronger, enhanced by Orochi’s hypermetabolic enhancer. Chihiro was thrown against a wall but maneuvered in mid-air to better distribute her momentum. She landed on the wall, like a spider hero of a forgotten era.
Orochi went for a more simple route. She used the same ball strategy of the tournament, she lowered her area of contact with the shockwave, and better withstood it, barely moving.
Yet, the factory took a big hit, its structure started to crumple by Sandatsu’s shockwave. Orochi’s eyes widened, as a devious plan brewed in her mind. “Chihiro! I leave Sandatsu on you! I need to do something!”
Chihiro nodded and advanced against Sandatsu as Orochi retreated.
The white falling star rushed to Sandatsu as the shockwave died off. He held his head in an attempt to regain control. He deactivated [Bloodthirst]. He thought that in such a way, his body would regulate the energy it wasted, and allow him to regain some of his fighting power.
Instead, it only grew worse, as his body now tried to take energy from a source now inaccessible to him. Chihiro appeared before him, her swords waved against his body. Sandatsu grimaced and jumped back, black tendrils erupted from him, as his body became a mass of tentacles, claws, and teeth.
He attacked wildly, with no concerns for who he hit with his attacks, as long as he hit something. Chihiro couldn’t dodge all those attacks, as they were too many, and had no direction on which they attacked.
She didn’t care. She felt her hot blood coat some of her skin and clothes. She didn’t care. She needed to end things now.
Chihiro navigated through those attacks, dancing across them as she parried and slashed tendrils with her katanas. Sandatsu tried to move or dodge, but Chihiro was faster. Her blades cut through his dark tendrils and armor. The more resistance they placed against their blades, the greater Chihiro’s strength became, as Momotaro’s ki resonated in her.
Explosions ruptured on the factory, as flames started to engulf the place. Orochi was wrecking the place up, in hopes of burying Sandatsu there.
“Your armor, your justifications, it can no longer protect you!” Chihiro roared, as she prepared her katanas. Her words no longer felt her own, but a mix of herself, and Momotaro’s will.
Her heart raced in her chest, and Chihiro felt herself breathe tightly. Her body was coated in sweat as she wrung every last drop of energy she had in her body. She would finish it now, while Sandatsu was weakened.
From behind her, Chihiro felt that remnants were gazing at her back. For a moment, doubt entered her mind. However, many hands fell on her, pushing her forward. Chihiro knew who those remnants were. She bit her tongue.
“ASURA DANCE!” Chihiro moved blindly fast. She became a storm of slashes, a storm that deprived Sandatsu of his dark armor and tendrils. Sandatsu’s eyes widened as his “evolution”, his form was laid bare by those swords.
Chihiro prepared herself for the finishing move. “DIVINE…” She jumped high. “RUPTURE!” She fell upon Sandatsu, all her strength, her speed, and momentum placed into a single slash.
Sandatsu felt a crushing pressure hit his body, as he was almost cut into twain by her attack, such an attack almost damaging his entire body in one go.
He felt danger. He felt as if he couldn’t win this fight. He opened a portal. “You won’t do it, you asshole.” From afar, Sally shouted. She made a makeshift nest for herself.
She placed a bunch of trash to help her dissipate the recoil of this shot. Chihiro and Orochi placed themselves on the line and went past their limits. She should follow suit to not fall behind. She shot the biggest bullet she could shoot from her arm.
She heard her bones crack and break, her muscles torn, but the shot was delivered. It flew into a perfect line to his head. Parts of his cranium and brain matter were scattered to the flames. He used all the energy left of Comeback to regenerate that damage.
Sally winced in pain, it almost knocked her out. Keeping consciousness was hard. “McCarthy! Jump out of the window at your left side! There are a bunch of trash bags there! It will lessen your fall! The factory will collapse soon! Chihiro, go to the exit! Just run straight and then take the first right! Someone opened a path to the outside!”
Hoge roared to her friends from the control room. She doubted Orochi would give up the fight, in fact, she was in the middle of making her way to rejoin the fight against Sandatsu.
Hoge decided to sacrifice her phone to continue the stream. Whatever happened, she was sure Orochi would hand him his ass.
Thus it was Hoge’s turn to run away, as even the albino girl ran away after dispatching the Ferals.
Epilogue: In this Flame, I Found Purpose
Chihiro breathed heavily. The place was up in flames and collapsing. Sandatsu held a knee, as he tried to catch his breath.
Orochi ran towards her. “Chihiro. Get out. Now it is me and him. You have done enough.” Orochi said as she cracked her shoulders and fists. Chihiro opened her mouth to argue, but Orochi made her resolution.
Nothing she could say or do would dissuade her friend. “Take care,” Chihiro whispered and ran towards the exit.
Sandatsu looked Orochi in the eyes. Both their eyes were emotionless. “You… this place is collapsing. Are you willing to risk your life to take mine?” Orochi wasted no time and went against him.
Her arms grabbed him, her hydras chomped on his legs. “This? A small price to pay. If you die, then so be it. I will break you under pressure now!” Sandatsu grew hopeless. He tried to use Bloodpuppet, but it didn’t work on Orochi.
Her body was burning itself, it evaporated his blood faster than it could stay in her system.
She headbutted him, and scales grew on her forehead, forming a species of spike-crown towards her horns. Sandatsu gritted his teeth so hard it crushed them.
He grew arms and punched Orochi as she held him down. She felt her scales break and flesh bruise before it was ultimately healed. She giggled. She giggled like a child.
If she died, so be it. They both wouldn’t make it past this day. She would rip that demon lord out of his throne. She dropped him and started to retribute his attacks in kind.
In that burning state, her strength was far greater. Her muscles are one hundred percent with explosive strength, they broke down to be rebuilt stronger. Her punches sent deadly ripples through him.
Sandatsu focused his entire mind on making enough drugs in his system using [Drugs] to survive, he focused himself on enhancing his body’s defenses to withstand Orochi’s blows.
He placed his all into a single attack. He punched Orochi in the face with all his arms. It was enough to make her disengage, even if her hydras took away chunks of her legs. He made a portal.
He saw Mio, Desolator, and Feral on the other side. Jumped in…
A hand grabbed his head. An armored claw. “I rip you from your throne. Reaper.” He was pulled back to the burning factory.
Orochi slammed his head on the ground with all her strength. An explosive shockwave exploded outward. The crumbling factory fell down on their heads, as the stream ended with Orochi slamming Sandatsu’s body on the ground.
After hours, Orochi emerged from the rubble. The Reaper escaped again, by making another portal underneath him the moment she pounded his body on the ground.
Orochi fumed with anger. The Reaper’s death was close, and yet she left it slid past her fingers.