Cusp of Breakthrough
"..."
"...ng me?"
"...you even hearing me?!"
The voice sounded to him as if he were underwater.
"I said..." Mio pressed her foot against him. "We're already here, you idiot!" and kicked him off the van with all the strength her tiny body could muster.
"Did that mushy piece of shit you call brain finally rot away completely or what?"
Sandatsu was slowly trying to get up.
The mission this time was about making preparations to counter the incriminating evidence the terrorist group had. To do that, chaos and distrust were needed. Mio's role was that of forging evidence of corruption within the Japanese branch of the World Heroes Association and the police force.
The objective was to flood the stream of information with fake news, or rather, forged news, as these were real with tangible evidence, but they were perpetrated by enforcer agents to generate mistrust of mainstream media so the general public would dismiss the information that the terrorists had.
Sandatsu had been tasked with the termination of a known yakuza group. The goal was simple: it was supposed to be a massacre that would become the main focus of every news and media outlet. A big, shocking tragedy to keep the public from focusing on other things too much.
They were going to drown that incriminating evidence in a sea of manipulated information and events.
Mio slammed the van door before the young man was completely standing, leaving him in an alley in front of the headquarters of the yakuza, a traditional Japanese mansion.
Sandatsu came to his senses. He looked down. What he thought was his usual cape was actually a writhing mass of dark mist that cloaked his body.
The young man looked around. He was inside a building. A modern one that, judging by the decoration, could have been a newly built government office. The design of its sleek and elegant architecture merged well with the tame gray, black, and brown colors that covered everything. The only things missing, aside from any furniture, were people and windows. And, with every light turned on and not a clock in sight, knowing the time of day was impossible.
Sandatsu moved towards the gate. He was still wearing the same blood-stained clothes from his fight against the woman with the flaming sword.
He could barely keep himself on his feet. Rather than walking, all he did was keep stumbling forward. Shambling like a zombie
He touched the large wooden gates of the yakuza headquarters, and they instantly fell apart down to the individual wooden planks.
"Yo, what the fuck?!" shouted a tall, balding man with scars all across his face. He reached for the gun in the holster under his jacket.
He started to walk, still looking around, not searching for anything specific. His mind felt muddy. His eyes landed on a nearby door, not unlike those in any office building.
His breathing had become ragged and erratic, as if he were going to have a panic attack. His shoulders went up with every one of those exaggerated breaths.
Sandatsu reached for the doorknob.
"The hell are you doing her-?" before the yakuza was able to finish, the blood-covered intruder grabbed his face.
Sandatsu released a blast of embers that burned the man's face. His screams caused more people to come from inside the mansion.
Without letting go of his still-screaming victim, he pressed forward.
No matter how many doors he opened, there were only hallways, stairways, halls, and empty rooms.
Pained vocalizations were starting to escape from his mouth, accompanying his heavy breathing. He could barely keep himself from screaming in panic.*
"Yeah, I have arrived," he said before hanging up and putting his phone in a small back pocket.
The bearded western man stood on a rooftop, looking at the mansion. There had been reports of gunfire and screaming coming from that building. The fact that it was a yakuza den made Roland come to the conclusion that it was possibly a turf war between two groups. This was her last patrol for the night, and because there weren't many heroes around at this hour, he decided to deal with it himself. After all, his psychokinesis would be perfect to deal with large groups and immobilize them.
He jumped down, slowing his fall with his mind, and approached the entrance.
He let out a chuckle after seeing the gate.
'What is this, a castle siege?' he thought.
But his mood took a complete turn when he stepped inside.
A few meters after entering, he found his first two corpses. Both men, with their necks broken, lay around like ragdolls.
Psyking steeled his resolve. He needed to remain focused and composed. This couldn't be farther from a turf war.
ReapRIP: Guys?
ReapRIP: Are you there?
He knew that there had to be more victims since the first two didn't have any external injuries and there was a larger trail of blood leading deeper into the house, as if someone had dragged multiple bodies across the floor. Psyking followed the trail, knowing that at the end he'd possibly find not only the remaining corpses but also the culprit. He moved carefully, using his psychokinesis to support most of his weight and avoid making too much noise. He could already see his destination at the end of the hallway: a courtyard.
ReapRIP: What's going on?
Roland could barely contain his rage and disgust. Just as he had entered the courtyard, the hero had spotted the culprit. The remaining bodies had been tossed into a pond to the left of the garden, and there was someone sitting on top of it, mumbling incoherently.
ReapRIP: Please
ReapRIP: Someone
"...lease..."
"...Someone..."
Roland could barely hear what that person was saying. The figure was covered in several large pieces of cloth, making a huge yet crude cape. Some of them looked like the curtains he had seen inside the mansion, but it was hard to tell as the villain was almost completely covered in blood.
Sandatsu looked behind. One of the lights at the end of the hallway flickered and turned off. He did the best he could to run away, but it felt as if there was resistance to his movements, like being underwater.
The darkness was getting closer as more and more lights turned off behind him.
ReapRIP: Anyone
The mutterings of that villain weren't the only unsettling thing about fighting against him. Grabbing him with his telekinesis was becoming increasingly difficult as his speed kept on increasing, and every time Psyking got a hold of him, he quickly ripped off the restrained part to keep on moving, regenerating them in seconds.
On top of that, the psychokinetic hero had to use part of his quirk to help himself maneuver to dodge the fiery blasts that the enemy was sending at him.
This guy had multiple quirks.
The villain's speed increased even further as he kept sprouting arms from his back, using them for increased mobility. It reached the point where he became too fast to follow with his eyes, appearing in front of the hero in the blink of an eye, catching him off guard.
Psyking, despite having a wealth of experience as a hero behind his back, was overcome by a revolting sense of fear and couldn't stop himself from using a lethal technique against that monster. He stopped multitasking and focused all of his raw psychokinetic power into a devastating blast.
ReapRIP: @MeowKay where are you
ReapRIP: I don't know where to go
ReapRIP: Please
Psyking looked at his opponent with disgust and fear. His attack had not only destroyed all of the arms he had but also most of his opponent's upper body, which was nothing more than a skeleton slightly covered in naked flesh.
And it was still standing, stumbling towards him, and doing its best to keep on talking despite not having regenerated his lips yet.
"B... big cat... please..."
The villain turned into a ball of flames, setting not only himself on fire but also igniting parts of the mansion as the embers spread.
Sandatsu was cornered. Everything around him was pitch black. The darkness seemed endless.
He turned around, just to see a flaming sword coming at him. He wasn't fast enough to dodge, yet the blade disappeared right after the tip touched his chest. The darkness was gone. He was now in an endless white space, with light coming from all angles at the same time. He looked around. Nothing but a blank void.
He then looked down at his chest and spent a few seconds staring at the point where the sword had struck him.
He was about to cry.
The boy felt pressure building up inside his chest. And then his ribcage exploded, like a bottle of soda, popping open and sending his heart flying along with a torrent of blood.
Sandatsu stared at his heart, lying there in the middle of that darkness, still beating slowly.
And then he screamed. Releasing all the pent-up panic and anxiety while trying to stuff his heart back into his chest.
Sandatsu tried to get out of the water. He had made his escape after setting the building on fire, throwing himself into the Kamo River to avoid detection. He tried to get to the shore. His vision was even more blurry, but he could distinguish lots of small, black shapes around him.
Crows. Everywhere. Perching on branches and utility poles. Staring at him. They had no shadows. He could hear them whispering. Was he still hallucinating?
He finally lost consciousness. Falling face first on the shallow water at the edge of the river.
"What's this?" said Karma, looking at the machine Drekus was setting up.
"Drekus thinks having different meals would be good for mental health." The muscular blue man was wearing a hair net despite being bald and an apron with the words 'Kiss the Cook' written on it. The word "kisses" had been written over with a marker by him, changing it to "kicks.
"I mean, I definitely agree. But where did you get the stuff to prepare kebabs from?" Karma had left the hideout for a while to get some extra clothing. She had been fighting off boredom by dressing up Feral in all sorts of outfits. The two girls got along, as Karma felt it was like having a mix between a pet and a severely autistic sibling.
"Drekus took it from a street vendor. Very cheap; only took Drekus around two slaps before the owner decided to make it a gift."
"You can't just go out on your own, you know?" said the thief. "And where is Hitomi-chan?"
"Hitomi-chan came with Drekus but hasn't come back yet. Drekus heard this loud scream coming from the city, so Drekus thinks she probably wanted to investigate."
Sandatsu woke up. He could still feel the water, but now he was on his back. And the first thing he saw was the underside of a pair of breasts. Judging from the angle, he was resting his head on a girl's lap.
The girl looked down after feeling Sandatsu's movements. She had dark blue hair, purple eyes, and sharp teeth, which she flashed as she smiled at him.
The young man was too tired to do more than just stare back.
The girl lifted Sandatsu while leaning down herself. She was strong.
And her lips were incredibly soft.
Sandatsu's mouth tasted like metal. The girl was having a nosebleed while giving him a kiss.
The look on her face was that of absolute ecstasy.
The battered enforcer felt a sharp pain as the girl started to bite his lips and tongue. Her sharp teeth were easily digging into his flesh.
"You know you two aren't supposed to go out without me!" said Karma "that can get me in trouble you know?"
"Drekus is sure that Drekus' kebab will be worht the risk"
Their discussion was interrupted by Feral entering the hideout. Her mouth was covered in blood, and she carried a charred cape, or what remained of it at least. She walked past her two comraes and went straight towards her room.
"See? Drekus knew Hitomi-chan would be fine. She's a chip off of the old Drekus!"
"Wait, you two are family?" asked Karma.
"Everyone Drekus shares a pizza with is Drekus' family"
Karma looked at the blue skinned man, amused by his answer, before shifting her attention to Hitomi.
"So, where did you go, Hitomi-chan?" said Karma.
Feral looked at her. A crude parody of the smile of a maiden in love on her face. "I met a guy. He's close to becoming an ideal partner, so I decided to go cheer him on..."
"Holy fuck, she was right," said Mio when she spotted Sandatsu entering the empty parking lot.
"Who?" asked the boy. His voice was more raspy than usual.
"That freak you call mother," said the short senpai, getting back into the van. "She told me to wait for you here. How did she even know where you'd go? Gives me the creeps."
Unlike other times, Sandatsu didn't sit on his back. Instead, he chose to sit at the front, beside Mio. His mouth was bloody, his clothes burned, and it looked like he had trouble just breathing and moving.
"Ugh... And here I was thinking I got lucky and you had died in a ditch somewhere."
"I need you to find someone for me," said Sandatsu, ignoring Mio's words.
"Fuck off, you mongrel. Starting with the demands already And you can't even say please?"
"Honey, I'm home!" said Roland, closing the door behind him.
It had taken him almost an entire day to get back home. He had to give a lengthy statement to the police, and drop by the hospital for a check up because of the smoke he inhaled during the fire. Fortunately his health wasn't in any danger, and he had already phoned his wife, telling her that he'd be late.
Despite being a western man, his house was of a purely japanese style and aesthetic. A proof of his love for the culture of this country.
Even if the smoke hadn't caused him any real complications, his throat hurt a bit. He poured a glass of cool sweet tea from the fridge and after drinking it he called out his wife again.
He expected her to come welcome him right after getting home, given how worried she seemd when he called her.
Roland's body froze. He couldn't talk or move at all.
"Yes... You were the one I fought, now I'm sure"
Without his command, Roland's body turned to face the person who had spoken. It was the same villain that had evaded capture back at the mansion.
It looked like he was having a hard time moving, and was leaning on his wife to walk. Despite helping the criminal walk, Roland saw tears falling down his wife's cheeks. She had been put under the same effect as him, and it was that guy who was controlling her body.
When he was passed out at the river, the reaper felt as if he was on the cusp of a breakthrough.
The fear he felt battling that sword user was caused by the extreme disconnect he felt between her and him. And the reason behind that gap was simple: overwhelming skill.
He wanted that for himself. Maybe this is what pushed Hifumi to try so hard? The drive to better himself? All he had ever done until now was follow orders, without individual desires or goals.
He felt that fear had been a blessing.
Roland couldn't see anything. The darkness of the mountains after dusk was something normal city dwellers often underestimated. But he could still feel that guy's presence. He was standing somewhere in front of him.
However, the psychokinetic hero had no more fight left in him. He was a broken man. And even after what the villain had forced him to do, he still wasn't able to say a single thing. The tears had stopped flowing some time ago.
Sandatsu looked at the man from a distance. Now that he wasn't feeling like his mind was breaking apart, he noticed that he had barely absorbed any quirks during his assault on the yakuza. He felt that he had gained better control over his own quirk, and now he had the perfect chance to test it.
He moved closer to the hero until he was right in front of him. After the deed had been done, he had trouble keeping him under control, even if he was under the effects of the blood puppet. But after a few hours, he had stopped resisting. His rage had been extinguished, and all that was left was despair.
Sandatsu put his hand over the face of the hero. The skin started to come apart.
"I hope you can find your wife in the afterlife and apologize to her," said Sandatsu. The kind and confident smile on his face didn't fit the cruelty of his statement.
The thought of reducing his control over him to hear his final words crossed his mind.
He allowed Roland to speak, but the man remained silent.
After a minute, all that remained of the hero were parts of his clothes and an unraveled mass of organs, muscle fibers, and bones.
Sandatsu lifted the remains with psychokinesis before burning them to get rid of the evidence.
"Hey man, did you hear about what happened with that hero, Psyking?" said Jugo.
Hiro didn't bother looking away from his book.
"Apparently he killed his wife during a domestic dispute, and he even assaulted the officers dispatched to check because of the noise complaints!" Jugo showed him the article on his phone. There were even pictures, presumably taken by bystanders, of the hero throwing a police officer away using his quirk.
"Let's hope we can be better heroes than him," said Hiro before focusing again on his reading.
Sandatsu entered the classroom. Many of his classmates were talking about different events that had taken place over the weekend. A building of a known yakuza group burning down, Psyking's situation, leaks about corruption within the World Heroes Association. In just a couple of nights, the entirety of Kyoto had been struck with countless tragedies, both big and small. He wondered how many of those stories had been tampered with by Mio.
Chihiro was at her desk, getting ready for class, when Sandatsu approached her.
"Hey Chihiro, you mentioned that you lived in a dojo, right?"
She looked at him and nodded.
"I was wondering if I could come visit some day. I've become interested in learning more about swordsmanship recently."
The mention of using blades was what made the girl speak.
"Are you interested in learning how to fight with a sword?" she said. Her voice was slightly deep, but still feminine. Her tone was cold and monotonous.
"Almost," said Sandatsu. "I want to know how to fight against someone wielding a sword."