Capítulo 2309: 51
Chapter Text
"So…" Izuku began, inclining his head towards his current — if temporary — ally, "why are you with the League, anyways?"
Harrow — or Ruka, that is, — came to a halt, her head jarring towards Izuku's direction. "Do you want me to rip your throat out?" A large ethereal claw sprouted out from a nearby wall, it's sharp claws aimed straight for Izuku.
"Alright, alright!" Izuku put his hands up. "Sorry. Just trying to make some light conversation until we get there, you know?"
Ruka grunted, continuing at her previous pace. The semi-transparent arm disappeared. Izuku followed, though somewhat a little ways further behind than he had previously been.
In the meantime, Izuku set his mind on his bugs. The few he left with Eri confirmed that she had stayed put. The few bugs left in the room with all the fighting, thankfully, showed Togata still kicking about, just holding on.
"If you really want to know, it's because Sensei took me in when I was younger."
Izuku blinked. "What?"
Ruka scoffed, continuing. "He fed me. Gave me shelter. Cared for me. Made me into what I am today." Izuku saw her hands, her real ones, clench. "And it's your fault that he's in Tartarus. You took him away."
Izuku gulped, deciding not to delegate a response to Ruka's remark. They both stayed silent for the rest of their journey.
They finally came upon their destination. Eri had all but sprung up at the sight of Izuku, causing a contemplative look to come upon Ruka's face. Izuku immediately took notice of it.
"We're still on a truce, Ruka," Izuku said. "Eri is off limits."
The villain's eye twitched. "Fine. Then stand back if you want me to do what you got me for."
Izuku did as what was asked of him, ensuring that Eri stayed behind him in the process. Meanwhile, Ruka readied up four separate arms that sprouted out from the ground. Each arm was muscled, excessively so in fact, with bulging veins that had Izuku unsure if they were there just for show or not.
The fours ethereal arms rammed forward, collapsing the wall and revealing the ongoing battle between the steadily tiring Togata and an unchanged Overhaul. The opening of the hole didn't seem to have alerted either of the two combatants, and Izuku was somewhat glad for that.
Izuku made his way towards the hole's opening, but stopped himself besides Ruka before doing so. He turned his head to address the villain.
"Remember, Eri is off limits," Izuku said. "Touch her, and I'll hunt down Twice and Toga with the bugs still up on the surface. They'll have to surface from their tunnel eventually, after all. And I'm sure that they wouldn't enjoy an army of insects greeting them."
Izuku didn't wait for a response, jumping through the hole and into the raging battle. He sent the bugs that were currently following him to join in on the fight. As is, with them and what few bugs had still survived Overhaul's machinations, there were enough to possibly create two clones. Izuku would have to make due if he needed them.
However, the first thing Izuku did was approach the unmoving form of Nighteye. The hero had been completely forgotten by the other two in the room, and was currently laid face down in the side of the room currently devoid of fighting.
As Izuku came up upon Nighteye, he was relieved to find the hero still breathing, if unconscious. A quick look at Nighteye's back revealed various pieces of rock jutting out from multiple places. Also, Izuku hadn't noticed it before, but the man's left arm was completely missing.
Izuku didn't waste anymore time observing Nighteye and instead began to gently drag him towards the hole, careful to ensure he didn't hurt him anymore than he already was. After around half a minute, Izuku finally reached the hole. He slowly raised Nighteye's form and placed him beside Eri, still facedown.
Izuku ruffled the girl's hair. "Watch him, alright? Tell him not to move if he wakes up." Eri nodded. It would have to do.
Izuku walked by Ruka again and shot her a glare. "No touching Nighteye either, got it?"
Izuku jumped through, and he finally aimed to join the battle in earnest.
The room was large, much larger than Izuku had anticipated. He watched Overhaul and Togata exchange blow after blow as he neared their fight, rocks shooting everywhere and bloody bits spouting from Overhaul as he healed himself of injuries.
However, despite Izuku's commitment to aiding in the fight, he never reached it. The ceiling collapsed, rock and concrete giving way and creating a large hole. Through it came the draconic form of Ryukyu and the large, hulking villain that had greeted them at the gates.
The two giant forms fell, causing the ground to shake once they had hit the floor. It was enough to disrupt the ongoing fight between Togata and Overhaul for just a bit before the fighting began yet again.
Izuku looked back at the hole, finding the slowly descending forms of Uraraka, Tsu, and Hado coming forth. But there was another presence he noticed as well. Izuku saw himself. His own face, cheerfully smiling, peering down at the carnage from above. He instantly set bugs — above ground ones, that is — on the figure.
"The hell are you doing, Toga!?"
Fighting amongst Ryukyu and the others continued against the large villain. Togata was still going off against Overhaul, but it seemed as if Hado had joined her fellow third year in his fight. Meanwhile, Izuku stood in the midst of it all, standing still and focusing his bugs up above.
"I'm just helping!" the now melting form of Toga cheered. "Now you have some reinforcements against that nasty Yakuza man."
His bugs saw the Compress clone dash past Toga and into the pit below.
"And what about him?"
Toga shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know?"
"Uh huh. Just get outta here before I swarm you, Toga. I won't be as nice next time."
"Roger that, Izuku! But I'm going to watch this first, if you don't mind. Those clones are showing quite the initiative."
"What ini—"
The bugs near his body sensed the attack before it connected. Izuku ducked under the open palm, narrowly dodging the gloved hand of Compress.
"My apologies, young Midoriya," Compress said as he recomposed himself. "But I need to ensure my compatriot succeeds in her endeavors."
Izuku narrowed his eyes at the man, his bugs sensing the movement and revealing the meaning of his words. Along the side of the room's wall, up its rocky interface, a multitude of ethereal hands were steadily making their way up. Passed from limb to limb and in their grasp was Ruka, who herself carried a small metallic case in her hands.
Izuku shot his gaze from the escaping Ruka to the Compress clone who stood mere feet away. Izuku knew that there wouldn't be a way for him to try to stop Ruka without Compress interrupting his concentration. Unless…
"Ah," Compress began. "I see that you've figured out our plans. Now, I'd—"
"Uraraka," Izuku's bugs said, grabbing the attention of his friend. She was just on the verge of returning to her fight with the large villain after having been thrown across the room, but the bugs stopped her in her tracks.
"Midoriya?" Uraraka asked. "What is it?"
"Ruka — Harrow, I mean — she's escaping. I can deal with her, but I need some help here with Compress first. He's just a clone, so…"
Thankfully, Compress didn't seem to notice, and was still monologuing without a care in the world.
"So, if you'd be a kind— Gah!" The boulder came tumbling through the air and smashed into Compress. The rock didn't stop until it collided with the wall, bringing its passenger with it.
"Thanks Uraraka!"
Izuku went ahead and called upon the plentiful amount of bugs that inhabited the surface. They swarmed through the hole (and there wasn't a hint of Toga or Twice in sight) in the thousands, aiming right for the steadily climbing Ruka.
The villain noticed the swarm long before they reached her, and a variety of limbs came about from the wall and covered her body, encapsulating her in a dome. The bugs collided with the barrier, which held firm against the onslaught of bugs.
The attempt seemed to trigger something in Ruka. Faster than should have been possible, her cocoon of limbs shot down the wall and landed on the ground with a thump. The entanglement of limbs then dissipated, withRuka running out and aiming herself towards Izuku.
The bugs swooped downwards, but they were nowhere near fast enough. Ruka moved with surprising swiftness, her ethereal constructs pushing her forward with unprecedented speed.
Before Izuku was able to react properly to his approaching foe, a large dome made of limbs sprung up around him. Not long after came in Ruka, entering through an opening in the dome that closed just as quickly as it had appeared.
The clone smiled at him with gleeful anticipation.
"I thought you were supposed to be weaker as a clone!" Izuku exclaimed.
"It's simply a bad matchup, boy," Ruka said. "Your bugs aren't fast enough nor strong enough to counter my limbs."
Izuku growled. "And what about the truce we had?!"
"Never said anything about the drugs, little bug." She patted the case in her hands.
A twitch, a glimmer of something more and a connection made clear.
"She's only a clone, Izuku. Remember that."
And it was gone just as fast.
"Really?!" Izuku hissed. "After all this time and that's all you're going to say?"
Ruka narrowed her eyes. "The hell are you on about?"
Izuku shot her a glare, his mouth opening to reply.
"Nevermind," Ruka muttered before Izuku was able to respond. "The fact of the matter is that you're in my way."
Izuku took a breath and took a proper look over the villain. Ruka stood across from him with four ethereal arms posed and ready to strike. In her own hands — her real hands — gripped tightly in her grasp was the metal case from earlier.
Right… the quirk destroying bullets. There's nothing else they can be. Overhaul must've dropped them.
"And what are you going to do about it?" Izuku asked.
Ruka scoffed. "Your bugs are outside. Your friends are preoccupied. And I have all the power I have to restrain you. What do you think I'm going to do?"
Four separate arms sprung out from right under Izuku, two grabbing his legs while two grabbed his arms.
An uncanny smile appeared on Ruka's face. "Now hold still, you pest."
Izuku struggled in his restraints, thrashing and jerking his limbs the best he could in an attempt to dislodge the ghostly arms holding him in place. All the while, Ruka slowly approached with a murderous look in her eyes. The metal case had found itself on the ground, all but forgotten by the villain.
It wasn't long before Ruka stood in front of Izuku. "Finally, I have you," she sighed. "Too bad it isn't the real me doing this. I'd love it."
Ruka's hands rose and found themselves tightening around Izuku's neck. The arms keeping Izuku restrained disappeared and he found himself falling backwards onto his back. Ruka remained on top of him, pinning him down as her hands continued to constrict his throat.
Izuku's costume did little to reduce the effect; while it might have been able to protect against small arms and knives, there wasn't much it could do about someone constricting the area around his throat.
"How does it feel? To hurt? To feel pain?" Ruka asked. "I felt like this when Sensei was taken. Taken because of you. But it was much, much worse. It's too bad that I can't show you how bad it was."
Izuku struggled in his position. His limbs were now free, but that did little to his opponent. The fists did little as they impacted against Ruka's sides, she merely shrugged the attacks off.
"It's useless; you're trapped, boy. You're going to get what you deserve. There's nothing you can do. You're out of options."
She was wrong. There was one thing Izuku hadn't tried. And it was a viable strategy, especially since the person on top of him was only a clone. Izuku's arm reached down towards his leg, which he subsequently folded closer to himself. His fingers brushed against just what he was looking for.
Ruka didn't see it coming. And before she knew it, the knife was embedded in her torso.
Izuku himself had the firsthand view of Ruka's eyes widening in pain and terror, her hands loosening their grip as she rolled off Izuku.
A harsh cough found itself escaping from Izuku, his airways clear and finally able to take in air again. It wasn't long before the dome of arms dissipated, and the sounds of battle became clear once more.
"You… fuck…"
Izuku caught a glimpse of the melting clone, its eyes or fear and pain, before it melted into an amorphous puddle of goop.
Izuku gulped. He reached over and took back his knife, looking at it with an uncertain look. He knew that he hadn't killed anyone. The Ruka before him was merely a clone. And he knew that he had killed before with his bugs, no matter how unintentional it was. But this instance felt different. He eventually shook his head, attempting to push the thoughts away.
"Can't I just catch a break from all this madness?" he asked himself.
A glint of metal caught his eye; the metallic case. Izuku reached over and undid the case's bindings. Inside he found four darts, bullets in all the sense. A fifth was missing, but by this point Izuku already knew what had happened to it.
A cry from afar pierced the air. Izuku's head shot up, and the first thing he saw was Eri, clutching tightly onto Togata's cape. Somehow, she had found herself in Overhaul's arms. And not too far away was Togata, battered and bruised and barely able to crawl, his hand reaching out towards his foe.
"Of course I can't."
Izuku was already in the air before his tiring body could tell him otherwise. He'd finally activated his pack, actually having space to use the thing for once. At the moment, he was trailing after a steadily rising Overhaul that was utilizing a spire of stone to make a break for the hole in the ceiling. To make things worse, the Yakuza leader held Eri in his arms. Not only was Overhaul about to escape, but he was about to do so with Eri. And Izuku wasn't going to let that happen.
Bugs flooded through the hole above and set their sights on Overhaul. As per expected, the man went into an instant panic and began flailing around, halting his progress. The villain used all his available limbs to swat away at the swarm, huge masses of bugs suddenly turning into nothing but eviscerated bits. Fortunately for Izuku, the man's carelessness led him to having his arms free. On the other hand, that left him letting go of Eri, who began to plummet to the hard ground below.
"Shit!" Izuku shot forward, his arms stretched before him. He caught Eri with a grunt, her body and momentum causing Izuku to buckle in the air. However, a few seconds of stabilization later and Izuku and his passenger were safe in the air.
"You alright Eri?"
The girl furiously nodded her head in response. She buried her face into Togata's cape. And then she muttered something that Izuku didn't quite catch.
"I was going too…"
"You were going to what, Eri?"
An almost inhuman screech rang through the air. Overhaul had finally fallen from his spire, landing on the ground with a rumble. However, that seemed to do little to stop him. The villain kept on reforming himself over and over, taking huge swaths of bugs with him every time. His head shot up, and Izuku caught the murderous glare aimed right at him.
"Okay then. We're going now," Izuku said, beginning to rise in the air towards the hole. "You can tell me whatever it is you're trying to tell me later, okay?"
"No! I… I'm..."
Izuku flew up and through the hole. He finally found himself above ground and back into the streets. "Great! We're out!" Izuku cheered. "Now we just need to—"
Small sparks of light caught Izuku's eyes and caused him to stop, his eyes trailing to their source. Eri's horn had grown in length, and multicolored lights and sparks had begun arcing all over her body.
"Eri? What's wrong?! Are you hurt? Is it your quirk? If it is then can yo—"
A sharp pain suddenly raced through Izuku's mind. An endless barrage began to assault Izuku's mind. Flashes and sounds, smells and emotions, all coalescing into one, cascading into an endless spiral—
—the children, just shoot—gave me a dying man—you carved out his eyes—the start to betray teammates for fame—arm into the ocean—
Izuku buckled in the air, his control fading as he crashed into the street. He instantly began clutching at his head, the shooting pain appearing all over.
"Izuku! Calm down! You need to get out of my—"
—hundreds of thousands of years of brutish, messy, violent incidents, billions of events—You're not a killer—I'm sorry it worked out this way—or a malediction or a curse—Hey Shitcrumb!—butterflies circling around like eagles—
Memories. They were memories. But—
—Such sad, small words—nothing we can do except fight—Do it—everyone was working together—so very small, in the end—
"Sorry! I'm sorry!" a voice shouted. It brought Izuku back to his senses, just barely. The pain was lessening, but everything was beginning to blur. Eri stood in front of him, but made sure to keep her distance.
A roar rumbled from the depths of the hole, the ground beginning to shake as Overhaul began to rise once again.
Izuku's body wasn't responding; he was stuck, limp, paralyzed, even if the pain was receding. And, if anything, Izuku was honestly surprised that he was still conscious. There was just so much racing through his mind.
"ERI!!" The sounds grew closer.
"Shit! Shit. He's coming and I'm stuck like this!" A swarm of bugs had found themselves surrounding Izuku like a storm — he hadn't even called for them. But that didn't matter for now. Overhaul was coming, and he needed to do something. Anything.
"Eri."
"Yeah?" Eri questioned. Despite the swarm, she was utterly calm. If anything, the tears in her eyes displayed her overwhelming sense of guilt rather than any fear or disgust. Her body twitched every so often, evidence of the lack of control she had of her quirk.
"I need you to do a favor for me, okay?"
He didn't have much time. He needed to bring Overhaul down soon, before his body completely gave up on him. He'd have to take a chance.
"Where are you, you little pest!?!" Overhaul stalked the streets with an aura of fury. He continued to sport the four arms he'd repurposed from his two underlings, using them to overturn rubble and cars in search of his target.
"Stop hiding and face me!" he yelled. "Bring me Eri!"
A blur of gold and green entered Overhaul's vision, and for the first time he had finally gotten a glimpse of his opponent.
Izuku lazily hovered in the air, his body completely limp. His arms laid at his side, and his head slumped forward. The only hint of movement was from the swarm of bugs that buzzed and surrounded his body, their flying forms contrasting with the gold and green of Izuku's costume.
The sight had Overhaul erupting into a disgusted frown. "So you're the one who's been sending those disgusting things at me. Disrupting my fight with the little upstart of a hero. Defiling me with those revolting minions."
"I am."
The reply sent a shiver down Overhaul's back. "Sickening. Both you and your power. I suppose it only makes sense that you surround yourself with such filth," Overhaul gestured to the swarm.
"Filth?"
"Yes. You and your bugs are one and the same. And you, are just like all the others. As is, I will gladly carry out my wish to squash you like the pest you are. But I must first ask, where did you leave Eri?"
The swarm buzzed, the individual bugs' movements becoming erratic. And then they spoke.
"I don't… understand. What do you want? What do you think you'll accomplish with all this?"
Overhaul scoffed. "You don't understand. Nobody understands!" His arms shook and collided with the ground in anger, causing the road to crack under their strength.
"This society that's overtaken our world, dictated our lives, it's been run by a sickness! Abilities that appeared out of nowhere! Such things need to be erased from existence! And Eri's the key! She can affect our own evolution, revert humanity back to before these mutations occurred!"
"That's your reason?" The swarm buzzed. "Seem's petty. Or maybe the ramblings of a madman. Not sure which." The bugs stimulated a laugh. "And I'm not telling you where she is. Why should I?"
Overhaul roared, his body shooting forward. "A brat like you has no right of holding on to such an asset!"
Izuku's body dodged upwards, flying through the air and taking the swarm with him.
"I… We've faced worse than you." The words seemed to come from everywhere all at once. "Much worse. Monsters beyond what you could imagine. You're nothing compared to them."
"You're just a kid," Overhaul yelled, looking at his target from the street below. "You think that I believe that? And what's with this 'we' stuff?!"
His arms deconstructed and reformed into tentacles, much more slender and long than his previous arms. They shot through the air and towards Izuku. They all missed their target, though made gaps in the swarm.
Izuku and his swarm flew off in the other direction. Overhaul followed.
"You don't understand!" Overhaul yelled at Izuku's retreating form. "I'm destroying the world! Dismantling its very structure!" The villain reconstructed again and reformed back to having his extra limbs, using them to aid in his travel.
He grabbed a nearby car and hurled it at Izuku's flying form, only to miss. "I'm turning things back to the way they used to be! And a mere hero like you isn't going to stop me!"
Swarms, much smaller than the larger one ahead following Izuku, began to dart towards Overhaul. Every once in a while Overhaul would use his power and deconstruct a swarm into a fine red mist. Other times he'd deconstruct himself for cleansing, only at the cost of losing any progress he'd have in gaining on Izuku.
"Your power is even more repulsive than others'! Bugs? It's proof that I'm right!" Overhaul began running through the swarms that got in his way, getting more and more angry as each one touched even an inch of his skin.
"I'm going to kill you, you hear! And it's going to hurt!" Overhaul turned a corner, and he nearly tripped on himself as he skidded to a stop.
Izuku had stopped, and floated at the end of the street.
"That's it? Resigned to your fate?" Overhaul slowed his speed and began to advance on his target. The swatted away the occasional swarm, but was content by this point to let some touch him. He planned on making Izuku suffer, after all.
"Overhaul. You said that you wanted Eri?"
Overhaul chuckled. "What? Finally decided to hand her over?"
"Yes, actually."
"I applaud you for your common sense." Overhaul smiled. "But you are still going to be killed, you know. You can't be allowed to— Hey!"
Overhaul felt a hand around his leg. He looked down and saw a shivering Eri, her body twitching as beads of sweat raced down her head.
Overhaul only had a moment to react before he felt the pain of being forcefully separated from his underlings, reverting him back to his base form.
Eri, despite her efforts, finally collapsed to the ground. Meanwhile, a panting Overhaul had collapsed to his knees, his breath heaving.
"That's your plan, hero?" Overhaul wheezed. "You think… that you're safe?"
A sudden burst in swarms rushed at him. Overhaul was barely able to stand, but he didn't let that stop him from raising his hands and letting out his power on the incoming bugs. However, he didn't get every single one. Some had touched him once again. And something was different this time.
The swarms dissipated. A sharp pain struck itself on Overhaul's neck. The villain reached for the spot and pulled.
Izuku had flown closer, hovering until he was basically right in front of Overhaul. His own voice spoke, but it was drowned out by the millions of bugs that spoke in at the same time.
"How does it feel? To be rendered powerless by your own creation?"
In Overhaul's hand was something all too familiar to him. The quirk destroying bullet that he had plucked from his neck rolled off his hand and fell to the ground.
"No!" Overhaul screamed. "No! What have you done!" With what little strength was with him, Overhaul lunged for Izuku.
However, Izuku — anticipating the pounce — steered his body just out of the villain's reach. The result was Overhaul collapsing to the ground in a heap, a look of fury aimed right at Izuku.
"Me?" The swarm asked. "I merely carried out your will. Weren't you the one saying that quirks were a scar upon humanity?" Suddenly, the swarm once again surrounded the villain. But this time, they left him tied up in strings of spider silk.
Overhaul bared his teeth, his eye's holding an essence of disgust and utter hate as he struggled to break out of his restraints. "You don't understand what you've done! I'll kill you! I'll kill you for doing this!"
Izuku ignored the villain's yells. He flew his body over to a shivering Eri, arcs of color flashing all around her. It was clear that her quirk was hurting her, her lack of control causing her body to be in pain.
Izuku spoke with his own voice despite the struggle he found himself in doing so. "Th...thank you, Eri. You— you did good. I'm... proud of you."
Izuku switched his view over to his bugs. The heroes were approaching, finally. Among them was Aizawa. He would be Eri's saving grace.
"Don't worry, Eri."
Izuku relented his control of his flight pack. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, his body and energy completely spent. Memories of another's life ran through his mind, overcoming almost all of his thoughts.
"It'll be— It'll be over soon. You won't hurt anymore, Eri. Help… help is coming."
His mind splintered yet again.
"Sorry, Izuku."
"My mind… It hurts… I need… rest."
"Then rest."
He allowed his consciousness to waver, finally giving in to the darkness.
Notes:
And there we all go! The raid on the yakuza is now complete. I hope I didn't disappoint! Anyways, see you all in the next chapter!
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