The places and the screams and the wounded were nothing more than an amalgam of blurred memories that collided and merged and scattered like ashes in the wind.
I blinked, suddenly lucid.
I discovered a little boy crying in my arms and was surprised to see a hero in a yellow suit pick him up.
A large white tarp had been stretched across the street and other heroes were treating and comforting the injured.
A strange feeling of unease came over me.
I pushed the clinging child away, forcing him to pry his claws off my clothes.
A woman with purple hair and yellow gloves came running towards me.
- Hawks!, she shouted, We've just seen him-
She was panting, hands on her knees, unable to speak. Then she raised her hand and pointed to the south of the town.
Lightning crackling on my skin as my only warning, I leapt high into the air before my hellfire carried me over the city, refusing to look at the wounded who moaned and those who stopped moving under the sheets.
The streets flew past my feet at breakneck speed.
The sky above my head was still the same nightmarish mass of grey.
Suddenly I saw a flood of feathers crossing a street perpendicular to my position.
My flames died instantly as I dropped back behind the wave and landed next to Hawks, one of his feather a hair's breadth from my throat.
His jaws clenched and his expression hardened.
- What the hell are you doing here?
The tsunami of feathers shot into the sky, whoever he was chasing managing to escape.
- There's more than enough people on the rescue side.
Hawks clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his eyes scanning the street and the windows, his wings outstretched, ready to send him flying out of range at any moment.
A thin cut, like what a knife would have done, traced from his cheek to his ear.
I caught a movement behind a curtain and opened my mouth, but already a wave of feathers shattered the glass and rushed in.
- Whoever you're up against, you're not to kill anyone. Do I make myself clear?
I blinked for a second, taken aback.
- Why do you-
Suddenly, Hawks and I looked up at the rooftops.
A hooded man in body armour was pointing a Kalashnikov at us.
He pulled the trigger.
I was about to jump, but Hawks suddenly pulled me towards him, his wings wrapping around us.
They suddenly flapped and propelled us across the road so fast that the scenery became a blur.
The whistling of the wind drowned my ears.
Hawks landed as hard as he'd taken off, his shoes crunching on the tarmac.
I broke free of his grip as he scanned the street.
- No killing, he said calmly. Have I made myself clear?
I blinked, a cocktail of adrenaline and chakra coursing through my veins, dulling my rationality.
- Did you-
My knife left my hand instinctively.
There was the sound of bins clattering and plastic bags being torn apart.
A hooded man dropped his gun and staggered backwards, one hand on his pierced throat.
Then, almost simultaneously, the gun fell onto its stock and then onto its side, the entire magazine emptied on the man.
Hawks, his head tucked between his shoulders, grabbed me by the collar of my jumper and pushed me further away with a flap of his wings.
I pushed him away violently.
- Stop dragging me around like this
Hawks raised a threatening finger at me, eyes flashing, wings quivering, and suddenly I had the feeling I was looking at the unstable sixteen-year-old Hawks I'd glimpsed at the Heroes Awards.
- I said no murder
- He killed himself, I said. I had nothing to do with it.
His eyes narrowed.
- Your bullshit's gonna splatter all over me, kid. Everything you do isn't just about you, it's about me too now
He barely knew me and he was talking to me like I was some fucking maniac who was going to kill everyone and-
And I suddenly felt like lashing out.
- They're fucking terrorists, I spat. People will be happy if they die.
- That's not the-
Hawks fell silent, pinching the bridge of his nose and inhaling sharply.
- That's not the point.
- You talk to me as if I'm a consummate murderer, I snapped. But I've got principles, damn it !
Why can't anyone see that I have principles too ?
- Listen, Hawks continued. You and I understand each other, don't we ? You know that the Commission...
He glanced over his shoulder as if he expected to see them emerge from a dark alley and arrest him for even thinking of disparaging them.
- You know what the Commission is like, don't you ? Your brother was on it. He must have told you some things.
I blinked, the implicit admission surprising me by its unexpectedness.
- So you must know the way they groomed me. And that's why I understand you, Shoto. I really do.
He seemed sincere.
But the anger monster in my chest rumbled because he was lying.
- But none of that fits into the world of Heroes. Heroes are wonderful and brilliant, okay? That kind of... stuff, it's not compatible with Heroes. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if someone filmed a hero killing a villain in the middle of a town? And I'm not even talking about the social upheaval that would ensue if it became known that it was you who did it
All my wit died in my throat.
- But they're the ones who want to kill us.
I only replied with the same degree of lethality, the one I'd honed all my life until it became my first instinct.
Soothingly, Hawks continued.
- I know, and I agree with you. But people aren't like us. They won't understand.
I swirled my tongue around my mouth seven times, even though I knew Hawks was right.
- Please, Shoto. I'm asking you to act like a Hero.
I looked at Hawks twice to make sure he'd said what he'd just said.
'Because you're not a Hero
- You think I'm a villain ?
- I think you're becoming one, yes '
And the fact that this guy - who was practically a stranger to me - who had seen the same videos and read the same newspapers and listened to the same debates about Shoto Todoroki his uncontrollability and borderline villainous behaviour as everyone else - believed in me, stunned me so much that for a second I was speechless.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
I could smell the burning mall in the wind and hear the groans of pain from the wounded as insistent in my ears as the chakra vibrating under my skin.
- ...right
Hawks smiled, a different kind of smile to the one he usually had, a smile that seemed wider and brighter.
He placed his hand on my shoulder.
- I'd expect nothing less from you.
He withdrew his hand, his eyes returning to the rooftops.
- I'll take this part here.
He pointed to the outermost part of the city and where I felt the greatest concentration of energy.
- And you take this side. If there's a problem, say my name and they (a few feathers hidden under his sleeves showed the top of their heads) will hear you and come to your rescue immediately.
His wings fluttered softly and his feet gradually lifted off the ground.
- And don't forget: if you have to choose between saving civilians or capturing villains, the civilians come first.
I nodded.
- All right, then.
Hawks floated gently.
- Don't die on me, I don't want an angry Endeavor on my back
And the next thing I knew, he was tearing through the sky like a rocket, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
Sharingan slowly spinning in my eyes, I turned my head towards the rooftops to my left, where I could feel six men slowly organising themselves to surround me.
The second lightning sizzled above my skin, bullets rained down.
I jumped onto the wall of a building and ran over it, the cement exploding and cracking behind me with a delay.
I spotted the sniper's position, leaning against a chimney on the building parallel to the one I was standing on, his sniper rifle on a tripod.
My kunai instinctively slipped into my palm, but I forced it back into my sleeve.
I could hear the civilians in the bombed-out building huddling together.
The pierced windows began to explode one by one behind me.
I saw a boy's head peek out from behind the next window before I reached it.
Without warning, I turned sharply to the left, using the building beneath my feet to propel me, feeling the wall crunch under my shoes.
Legs bent to provide a smaller target, I shot across the alley.
I saw the surprised shooter freeze for a second before rushing to unhook his weapon from its mount.
A chakra-enhanced kunai sliced through the air, hitting the warm barrel and passing through the entire assault rifle from end to end before the mercenary had time to stabilise it.
The weapon, sliced in two, collapsed in the man's hands.
The kunai grazed his shoulder, sending a spray of blood into the air, and slammed into the roof behind him, sending tiles flying in all directions.
I landed on top of the man, my legs on either side of his body, sending him staggering backwards.
He struggled and tried to push me away, but without noticing, a second kunai was already in the palm of my hand.
Then the skin of his hands began to vibrate, as if a million insects were swarming under his skin.
I jumped back as jet-black spikes erupted from his skin.
The roof, the chimney, the street below: everything was riddled with sharp, aimless spikes.
I fell back from the edge of the roof, a volley of spikes slicing through the air just above my face.
Chakra at my feet, I spun around on the gutter and clung to the wall of the hut we were standing on.
Any Doton Jutsu would be great in this situation.
If only Doton wasn't my worst affinity.
The spikes continued to rain down.
I drew a second kunai and held them both upside down.
My chakra cloaked both weapons, a thin layer of blue light shimmering over the two blades.
Lightning crackling on my skin, I ran along the wall until I changed sides of the house and came up behind the mercenary.
I ran onto the roof, my arms at my sides, my eyes glued to the mercenary who hadn't turned yet.
Then I ran over a broken tile: a shrill sound of chalk on a blackboard rang out and the man turned abruptly, alarmed.
He raised his hands in my direction a second too late, and I easily cleared another meter.
His spikes exploded from his hands.
I raised my two knives and sliced through each projectile without stopping, the black mounds falling around me like hail.
The mercenary stepped back in surprise, one hand fumbling in his waistcoat for what I assumed was a pistol.
He opened the largest of his pockets and one of my knives passed in front of his outstretched fingers, forcing him to halt his movement at the risk of losing his hand.
He lifted his head towards me and I brought the flat of my foot down hard on his knee.
The mercenary twisted forward - as if he'd just been broken in two - and landed on his good knee at my feet.
I raised my knife, blood pounding furiously in my veins as I realised what I was about to do.
I forced myself to deflect my kunai at the last second, the blade slamming into the mercenary's shoulder.
The man let out a scream, reared back and I knocked him unconscious with a hard headbutt to the nose.
He fell back against the roof, sluggish, his face covered in blood.
The second I stretched my fingers towards him, a volley of bullets whistled in my ears.
I ducked behind a red stone chimney, my back to the wall, my body compressed into a smaller target.
The bricks shattered, sending sharp pieces of stone flying in all directions, a cloud of greyish dust rising above the rooftops.
I spotted the gunman to the north of my position, the body of the other mercenary lying between him and I.
I could feel two others slowly approaching from the adjacent roof to my left.
Probably to pick up their comrade.
Just as the gunman went down, another volley of bullets strafed my position from the northwest, forcing me to stop.
The sixth man ran down the street to my right, presumably to reach a roof further away so that the three of them could cover my entire range of movement.
So my only option...
I leaned forward slightly, my eyes on the first shooter, sharingan spinning so slowly you'd think it was standing still.
By simply changing the scenery...
I whistled, my chakra amplifying my voice and carrying the sound further than usual.
The first gunman raised his head.
He met my gaze, hand on the barrel, mouth ajar.
For a split second, his eyes turned red.
Then, without ever taking his eyes off me, he started loading his gun again.
He lay down on the roof and got into position.
Then he shot the second gunman in the arm.
The man screamed, slipped and fell in the street.
There was the sound of rubbish bins crashing together.
The other two mercenaries stood still, then decided to retreat.
The first gunman pointed his barrel at them and fired.
One of the men's ankle simply exploded.
He let out a scream and not even his balaclava could hide the pain I could read on his face.
The second man lifted his bonnet and opened his mouth.
He spat out a yellowish liquid and suddenly the air in front of him solidified.
The bullets hit the solid wall but did not penetrate it.
The first shooter, calm, continued to fire with precision.
Mercenary Number 4 pulled his wounded comrade back, deciding to abandon the rescue of the first man. With a hand on his shoulder, he whispered into his walkie-talkie, casting suspicious glances around him.
In the adjacent alleyway, I saw Mercenary Number 6 make a sudden U-turn and run up the street towards the genjutsued mercenary.
As agile and silent as a shadow, I let myself fall back upon him.
My shadow covered his face and the mercenary raised his head.
His blue eyes widened as I kicked him in the head.
The man parried with both hands, his knees shaking and his legs slowly buckling under the pressure.
Then, suddenly, his clothes exploded and two huge, growing bear paws replaced his arms.
My senses alert, I used his hands as a springboard to propel myself into a backflip.
One of his outstretched paws continued to extend like a sleeping snake uncoiling to strike.
I tilted my head back, his claw brushing my face.
Then its hand closed over a piece of my torn mask as I landed on the ground a few meters away.
Long brown hairs had sprouted from his skin, swelling his mask and uniform to the point where they looked ready to crack under the pressure.
The half-bear pulled his mask away from his face, revealing a gaping maw full of fangs and saliva.
He let out a thunderous roar and I could feel the people in their flats moving away from the windows.
The three-meter monster got up on all fours and charged.
I put my kunais away and in one smooth motion drew my sword.
I tightened my grip on the hilt and bent my knees, my eyes locked with those of the beast.
Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill it-
It opened its mouth, ready to tear me apart.
My chakra hummed under my skin.
Wait, wait, wait...
The ground shook with every step the beast took.
Then, suddenly, it leapt.
I leapt forward, brushing the beast's hair in a controlled roll.
Its jaws closed like a trap where I had been a second before.
It roared, its claws crunching on the cobbles as it forced itself to stop.
He turned to charge me again, but I was one step ahead.
My blade sliced his left paw in half.
The bear, still on the move, continued forward.
The point of my sword tore a gash from his armpit to his right side.
The bear, driven by his momentum, rolled several times, stifled a groan as he fell.
The paw that had swirled in the air turned back into a human arm.
I spun on my feet, keeping the crushed bear against some rubbish bins in my peripheral vision as I moved away from the spray of blood that painted the road in all directions.
The arm landed halfway between us.
The beast, leaning against a gutted bin bag, was losing mass, steam rising from its skin as its hair disappeared from the right side of its body.
Then the man, his face half human, half animal, gave me an intense look over his amputated shoulder, which reeked of blood.
He let out a grunt and struggled to his feet, staggering as if he were about to collapse.
He shook his shoulders as if to steady himself, snapped his neck several times, and ignored the disappearance of his limb with remarkable composure.
I could kill him.
But I waited respectfully for him to regain control of his Quirk and for his body to return to that of a bear.
I owed at least that much to a man who looked death in the eye without fear.
I bent my legs, both palms on the sword.
His blue eyes had taken on an unreal hue.
- Come on, I whispered
He let out a roar and took off.
He ran, almost limping, veering to the right and stepping on his own cut ar-
He grabbed his arm in the puddle of blood and stood up to a height of three metres.
I jumped back, startled at being within reach of fangs and claws, and-
It threw its severed arm at my head and blood rained down on me, temporarily blinding me.
The monster let out a hoarse groan.
I angrily wiped the blood from my eyes with my forearm and instinctively threw myself against the nearest wall.
The half-deformed man was already on the roof of the small house I'd been standing on.
He limped and squeaked away, one hand on his bloody stump.
The adrenaline drowned out my thoughts.
My body started to move on its own.
The next thing I knew, I was on top of the mercenary, my sword at his throat.
Someone shouted.
- Behind you !
The man turned and raised a hand to stop me.
Claws sprang from his fingertips, deflecting my sword.
Sparks flew as both collided, then his fingernails snapped.
The man groaned in pain.
I dropped the sword and fell to the ground, striking his windpipe with the flat of my hand.
The man fell to his knees, one hand on his throat, gasping for breath.
I caught a glimpse of the silhouettes of the other five men gathered on another rooftop, further away, the bloodied face of the sniper who had been violently torn from his genjutsu, the horrified expression of the man whose nose I had broken, the clear terror in the eyes of the man with the broken ankle.
- Twelve !, one of them shouted.
The mercenary on his knees lifted his head to my side, probably feeling the breath of wind brushing his face.
Then my chakra-laden foot hit his chin and his head came off his shoulders.
I blinked, the magnitude of what I'd just done and where I'd done it hitting me hard as his head described a parabola over the city.
Fuck.
*
Author's note :
A nice 3,300 words chapter.
Tell me what you thought about the fight scene, if anything was unclear/difficult to picture so I can improve future scenes.
If you want to support the story/read way ahead of schedule, then go check my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG (Shoto is doing very funny stuff).
See you in the next update everyone !