บท 15: Battle Damage
Every step Stain got closer, Todoroki's heart beats faster and faster. At this point, it was like a drum in his ear. He was anxious, waiting for him to anything besides walk. Even then, he wondered what he was going to do if Stain continued to walk. Truthfully, compared to his comrades, he was quite fresh. But Stain hadn't seem to have any injuries at all as well. They were on a level playing field, but he somehow still felt he was at the disadvantage. It was probably because of Tenya and Burnin. They were still alive and obvious targets for anyone to want to go after. If he made it obvious that he was protecting them, he would probably go after him but it was more likely he'd just do it anyone, to give himself the advantage.
That meant he needed to keep Stain at bay. At least until backup arrived. But the constant tremors told him that, even with Midoriya, finishing Blade would take a while. And that meant he was on his own.
"Todoroki, you have to get away." He heard Tenya mutter. Not an option. Plain and simple.
"He'll just follow after us-"
"I meant just you! Go! This is my fight!"
Todoroki had wanted to argue back, but seeing Stain's full body after he finally stepped past the shadows silenced them both. Todoroki could finally see a small bit of damage had been dealt by Midoriya earlier. Still, it wasn't much. A frustrating thought, to say the least.
Suddenly, wind breaks through the area and forces him to cover up. He notices that it's coming from the direction Midoriya had went and sees a huge cloud of dust covering the sky. The sky? Then he remembers. The helicopter! They were broadcasting the whole thing, weren't they? That meant more heroes had to be on their way. But how long they were taking, he honestly wondered what would need to happen in order for them to appear. Two heroes had been killed, Tenya and Midoriya had nearly died. He had nearly died. Burnin nearly died and used a final attack that should've honestly been a beacon to anyone that something big was going down, and that had failed. Then Kakashi appeared out of thin air, as quick as lightning, and supposedly had killed Blade until, well, he didn't. Todoroki honestly wasn't sure what was happening anymore with those two, and once he started to see Kakashi use fire and water, he practically gave up entirely.
He knew Kakashi was hiding things, but damn. Nothing like this ever came to mind.
It was when Stain stopped moving entirely that Todoroki finally tensed up and crouched down. If he was going to attack, he was going to be ready.
But Stain doesn't attack. His attention had switched to the lone helicopter up above, watching them. Slowly, he backs away, as if shrinking into the shadows. It looked like he was trying to get away.
Todoroki didn't want to let him, but he had Tenya to watch after as well as an unconscious Burnin. Besides, Stain was stronger than him. It wasn't like he could take on and beat the man on his own, even if he was a little bit injured. It wasn't smart.
"...huh!"
He turns, confused as he hear the sound of an engine reeving. He has to cover himself from the amount of debris that had been kicked up when a blur raced past him. He hadn't even been able to turn fully and see what it was. But he was sure it was Tenya. He could finally move.
As Tenya raced forward, memories flooded into him. He could see the unmoving forms of Native and Manual. He remembered the visit of his brother. They way he looked on that bed. They way it made him feel. Then he remembered Stain's speech to him and his own failure as the hero he was trying to become.
'I was blind. Blinded by fury and hate.'
"Fool! Still you charge full of hatred! I'll see you dead before I leave!" Stain bellows, sending the rest of his throwing knives.
Tenya kept running, even when some of them had cut him. He felt stinging from his cheek and cracks in his armor but his adrenaline caused him to not even outwardly react to it.
Stain's eyes had widened in surprise. He probably wasn't expecting Tenya to not try to dodge or slow down. Tenya wasn't going to stop. As long as he wouldn't be hit somewhere that would kill him, he wouldn't stop. Not until he ended what he started.
'What a fool I've been. I can't call myself a hero. But,'
The engines on his calves rattle and shake violently, the red flames turning into blue. The ground beneath his was but a blur and scarred behind him as he raced forward with blinding speed.
'Even so! I will defeat you as a hero would!'
"Recipro Burst!"
The kick was so fast that not even someone as agile as Stain could react to it. It hit him square in the chest, forcing the air out and causing him to launch back. Somehow, he was still on his feet. It wasn't enough to take him out. A damning thought, to say the least.
As he took in breaths and let his engine rest, he thought of his next move. At the moment, his engines were stalled. But that had to hurt. There was no way Stain could walk away from it normally. It was clear to him when Stain tried to walk but stumbled somehow and nearly didn't catch himself. So it did hurt. That meant he still had a chance. He just needed to wait.
Just a bit more time.
Footsteps pad up to him and he turns to see Todoroki. Having ran a bit to catch up, he was a bit out of breath. But it seemed he was looking more at Stain than at him.
"Part of me wants to take him down here. But with Burnin's condition it's probably best to tend to her and let him get away."
"No." It wasn't what he wanted.
Todoroki looks at him, face adjourned with a mix of confusion and anger. "No?"
"No."
"Why? Don't you care about-"
"I do care. And that's why I'll fight him until he's beaten." Not only did he feel guilty, he felt responsible. All this destruction and utter chaos these two caused were on him. "Heroes have all come to Stain with the intention to take him down. We've come the closest. For all of those before us, we can do it. We can beat him."
Todoroki looked like he agreed but his face still looked conflicted. He looked like he still don't fully agree with this. Tenya could admit it was risky. It probably wasn't a very smart thing to do, but he felt like he didn't have a choice. He just had to.
"There's nothing you can say. I won't change my mind. You can either help me or get away." He says quickly, not wanting Todoroki to waste his words. Todoroki's brows only furrowed before he turned to look at Stain.
"I can't exactly let you go on your own, can I?" He knelt down and places his hand on his burning hot exhaust pipes. Before he could question what he was doing, his ice spread about it and he could feel the immediate relief. His quirk was like a muscle. Coolness relieved the pain.
"Rev up, and get ready. I'll play distraction and you finish him off." He says once he's standing up.
Tenya couldn't help the smile that crawled on his face. "Thank you, Todoroki."
Ice begins to form on his right side as he gets his body in battle mode. "Don't thank me yet."
He felt pressure like never before. It made his skin crawl and his breath hitch in his throat. The feeling made him queasy, and his stomach lurched quite a number of times. Yet, he was able to keep down his lunch. His eyes finally caught the source and he saw Stain grinning so intensely that the mask around his face was now but a broken rag, slipping off his face and revealing his full face. The lack of nose and the pure ferocity made him scarier than even when he came to face him on his own. His heartbeat numbed down to his ears and all his senses focused on the man in front of him.
Stain's mutters we're incomprehensible. They were mix of words, leaving most unfinished as they were frantic. He took a step and he took one back. Somehow, Todoroki didn't move. His mind didn't try to question how. He wanted to run, but he grit his teeth and stood his ground as the Hero Killer took another step. Sweat pooled down his face. He had to get rid of his fear. He wouldn't be able to fight if he was scared. To become a better version of himself.
"You dirty hypocrite! Now you pretend to do this for others?! Do you think that I can just believed you changed in a couple of minutes?! Rubbish! No one can change the way they are in such little time!"
Anger overrides his fear and he takes a step forward, moving toward the danger. His instincts scream for him to turn but he ignores it.
"You were right about me, Stain! And you're right about society! Everything you said, was right! But you're actions are wrong! People can change. If given time, anyone can change! But you kill those who don't fit what you think that a hero is! You give them no chance to change! That why you'll lose. Someone will come that will beat you! You'll never win doing things like this!"
Stain let out of shriek of rage and dashes forward madly. Tenya half lunges before he realizes, panicked, that his engines were quite ready for use yet.
But Todoroki had noticed this too, and ice in the form of spikes blasts out of the ground and toward the Hero Killer.
He's undeterred. Movements swift and precise, he weaves through the ice as if he knows where they will appear and once he clears it, he leaps at them. Todoroki fires off a blast of flames but Stain twists his body around the attack and used the movement to pull his blade and strike with it.
Todoroki's eyes had widened upon seeing the approaching blade that would slice his head off. But Tenya was able to snap himself out of whatever daze he'd been in and stepped between the blade and Todoroki, taking the hit. He tried to take it with the brunt of his armor, but his timing had been off and imbedded itself into his shoulder.
Pain shot through his body. Stain's body never stopped moving and the blade had come out his arm and he had to stop it with his hands as Stain tried to drive it through his chest. Blood seeped off the blade from both his hands. His black gloves had no protection, even from the damaged sword. A grunt and a hiss escaped his mouth.
"Insolent brat!"
Try as he might, he could barely even hold the sword back. He was in too much pain and the sword was slowly sliding off his hand, further imbedding itself. Soon, he wouldn't be able to grab with it.
Todoroki rotated around the two and nearly released his fire before Tenya was forced to let out a scream.
"There's no point, kid. Just wait your turn. Even if you attack me, the momentum will just drive this blade into his heart."
Todoroki realized Stain was right. The flames on his left side began to die and he lowered his arm, not sure what exactly he should be doing. What was right for him to do?
His attention is taken away by a large crash several meters away from them. At first he sees nothing but rising smoke and feels the temperature in the area rise exponentially. It was a familiar feeling.
He saw flames first, then a huge bulking man and he knew who it was. His father; grinning.
Endeavor looked on as the Nomu remained unmoving. This had been the last of the Nomu that had terrorized the city. Surely this should give him substantial credit. With every step, the title of number one was getting closer and closer.
He felt a presence land beside him and turned to the old hero that was surprisingly useful in helping him fight these things. But his eyes were focused on the destruction in front of him. He turned his attention there as well, noting the destruction to be particularly bad. The Nomu hadn't gotten past residential and market districts. What could have caused all this?
His eyes then met his son's. His eyes shifted and he saw someone he had been particularly searching for. Stain, the Hero Killer. He saw Burnin a couple of meters away from them, looking badly injured.
Almost as if luck, his sidekicks strode up to them, the ones who he hadn't told to stay to speak with police and keep them posted.
"Contain the area." He ordered immediately. "That is the Hero Killer. He must not escape. Also, call the police to this location." He took a glance up, seeing the stationary helicopter. It had large lights, but they weren't pointed toward them. It was pointed toward somewhere else, a bit father away. It seemed like the damage went that way.
He wasn't the only one to see it though. "You and your sidekicks can handle this. I'll go and see what over there." Before he could say anything, the old man had taken off. He had a gut feeling he couldn't shake. He had a feeling that this is where Midoriya had gone off to so urgently.
Stain watched as other heroes slowly began surrounding his position. "Fake heroes...Fakes! Fakes! Fakes! You think any of you can beat me!" The pure ferocity made even Endeavor pause. It felt like he was going do die. He finally recognized the power that Stain held.
The sidekicks fell to their knees at the power of his killing intent. Todoroki stumbled, his eyes wide with fear. Tenya was scared, but he had been the only one to move forward.
'I have to protect everyone!'
Stain dragged his sword along the ground, grinning when he noticed Tenya had actually moved toward him. "It's time! False hero, you die here!" Stain was no longer rational. He could no longer see past Tenya as he raced forward as fast as he could go.
Tenya felt himself break his limits. His engines whirled to life with a purpose, and the ice melted instantly from the heat the exhaust generated. He shattered the ground beneath his feet as he raced to meet Stain and the burning red from his exhaust turned a deep blue.
"Recipro..."
"Die!" Stain yelled, and swings his blade.
"Exteeeeeeend!"
Almost as if time had slowed down, Stain's sword had swiped past Tenya, slicing his cheek as Tenya's foot fully connected with his face. His face caved in and nearly at the speed of sound smacked into a wall blocks away.
Tenya's body rattled. He'd never had gone that fast before. His engines stalled, but it didn't matter. It was over. He'd won. He'd won putting his life on the line to protect those around him. Fatigued, he dropped to his knees and nearly feel over from a spinning headache before Todoroki caught him.
"You did good." He said with a small smile.
Tenya couldn't hold back his own smile, despite his exhaustion.
Endeavor looked on in the distance, vaguely impressed but more angry that he couldn't claim this as his. While he wanted to, he still had pride.
Todoroki helped him down to sit on the ground and he looked toward the sky with a smile on his face. He wonders if his brother would be proud of him. He was on the path to truly call himself a hero.
'Please rest easy, brother. I won't drag the family name. I promise.'
XxX
Kakashi's eye keeps twitching and moving. He's wondering how he's going to defeat this technique. The only way he comes up with is driving his Chidori through, but he wasn't sure if the Chidori currently on his hand was strong enough to completely destroy the golem. The golem was huge, an easy target, but it had no weak points like a human body did. There isn't a fatal spot for him to tag. And even if there were, it's possible he would use more earth to grow it back and he'd wasted the last chunk of his chakra.
The way this battle would be won depended on if he could hit Kakkō with this Chidori!
"...Mud?"
The small mutter from Midoriya kicks him back to the present and he sees it too. Mud is forming on varies sets of the unmoving golem. The Sharingan shows him it's because of chakra but no more insight. Somehow, his Sharingan was both helpful and useless.
Suddenly, tendrils of mud shot from the spots of mud on the golem. Both of them are surprised, but only Kakashi has the instinct to react. Swipes of his hand and expertise and dodging keeps him from being hit while Midoriya is grabbed in multiple areas of his body and whipped up toward the golem.
"...Urgh!"
Midoriya has to pry his eyes open despite the wind rushing at them and sees himself getting closer to the giant and feels the tightness of being wrapped up.
'I-I can't move!'
'Dammit, Midoriya!' A big part of Kakashi is annoyed.
Kakashi leaps up to try and save him but multiple tendrils shoot out to deter him. His Sharingan shows him the path to take, almost as if it were slowing down time. The Chidori fizzles out, saving him chakra and he pulls out two Kunai to defend himself instead. He can tell that the man could feel his chakra and knows another Chidori will finish it off for good. He can't let it happen. He won't.
The tendrils reach him but meets his blade instead of his flesh. He slices through about ten of them before one is able to get past his blades and latch onto his wrist.
It's tight, and he thinks about breaking free briefly but is thrown about the air rapidly, following after Midoriya who's still captured.
"...urgh!" He forces his hand open, the Kunai drops and his chakra flares. Lightning flashes and runs up the line of mud. Lightning explodes in every direction as it makes contact with the man body. It dissolves the restraints on Midoriya, allowing him to break free before the lightning can injure him.
Kakashi follows a second afterward and both are free falling, but Kakashi is calm, despite the pain his body is in. Using lightning throughout one's body wasn't ideal. He begins to try and figure out how exactly he will get himself down. A Body Flicker, maybe?
His senses scream and he looks quickly at the golem and sees it's giant hand coming at them in a large side swing. It'll hit Midoriya before it hits him. But Midoriya sees it as well and powers up to one hundred percent once more, aiming another finger.
"Smaaaaaaaaaash!"
The flick of the finger causes enough wind pressure that the hand is broken off and crashes into a set of buildings, surprising Kakashi.
'Midoriya did that?!' Kakashi tries to look deeper with his Sharingan. There was something he was missing. Did this thing have weakpoints? Probably. When he thought about it, the power that came from him all of sudden didn't make sense. But if the golem wasn't at full power because he forced chakra out then it made sense why it wasn't that strong.
Still, where did Kakkō lie? Was he inside the body? Or outside?
"Argh!" Midoriya pained scream broke him out of thoughts and he disappears in a black blur, reappearing behind Midoriya and grabs him. The next thing Midoriya knew, he was on the ground, safe. For now.
But he couldn't hide his worry seeing Kakashi's heavy breathing as he fell to a single knee. He didn't see Kakashi get hit that badly.
"W-what's wrong?"
Kakashi couldn't get the words out. His breaths were too fast, but he knew the problem. The pill was wearing off. Only a little of its boost remained, barely enough to keep him standing. Somehow he needed to find a way to end this quickly. He didn't have much time.
"That pill is wearing off, isn't it?"
Kakashi had to struggle to raise his head toward the voice full of amusement. It was Kakkō, sticking out the chest of the golem halfway, and that damned smirk on his face.
"This is the end, for the Leaf brat and the Hero! But don't worry, I'll make sure to send both your heads back home! It's the least I can do!"
His voice was up and down. It seemed he was becoming unstable, especially with the look in his eyes.
Midoriya knew, right now, that he was the only would who could stand up to the man. Kakashi looked worse for wear, weirdly. The man said something about a pill but Midoriya didn't understand. Now he didn't have time to try to.
'All For One: Full Cowl!'
8% of his quirk channeled throughout his whole body and he left a crater in his wake, leaping up to meet the golem.
'I have to get him outta there! He could destroy the city!'
But Kakkō noticed him. He wasn't nearly fast enough using partial of his power to go unnoticed. His grin stretched. "Don't you know I see you brat?!" The golem opens it mouth, on command, and earth spews from it.
Midoriya can't hide his surprise and his arms shoot out in front of him to try and block. Thankfully, it's never able to get the chance to hit him. Something slams into him and forced him away. He opens his eyes and sees Kakashi's tired face.
"Keep going!"
He yells and latches onto his wrist before spinning them around. It's very fast and he can barely keep up with the speed before Kakashi lets go and he's sent soaring through the air. He picks up what Kakashi is trying to do and powers his entire arm this time.
'All For One: 100%!'
Parts of his arm glow red as he reers it back.
'Detroit...'
"You think you can hurt me, boy!" On command, his other giant arm swings to meet the young hero.
Midoriya ignored his scream and feels the power whelming inside about to burst.
"Smaaaaaaaaaaaaash!"
A scream that can be heard miles away escapes his throat as the power, the pain, and his adrenaline escape his body all at once. His fist smashes into the golems' and it disassembles as if it's blocks. The wind from the clash drive buildings to the ground, pushes cars away, and causes glass to crack and shatter.
"Ur...urgh!" Kakashi grunts as the wind pushes him away and forces him to close his eyes.
He lands somewhere quite harshly, but nothing broken. He's glad. It takes a while for him to open his eyes. He had to find the strength first. He finds a disheveled room that looks like some sort of office as documents are scattered everywhere along with desk and computers. His vision is in and out, but he uses the nearby desk he's up against to get up. He hears distant cracking and stumbles as he walks toward where he came through. There's a Shinobi sized hole in the glass that makes him sure.
His hand is cut as he stumbles through the opening and finds that the buildings is tilted. He isn't ready at first and begins a painful slide down. He's able to catch himself with a small bit of chakra afterwards. Finally, he looks up into the sky and still finds the giant earth golem still standing, the top half of its body surrounded by smoke.
'Dammit! Midoriya didn't take it out?'
He tries to get to his feet. Pain shoots through his rib area and he stumbles forward. Using one hand for holding his ribs and another for pulling down his mask, he throws up a good amount of blood.
That's probably not good.
He uses his sleeve to wipe away the remains before resetting his mask, feeling woozy a small bit. He's able to get to his feet again after that, though slow and looks around again. The smoke is clearing up. He opens his pulsing Sharingan eye and he can see through the smoke a bit better.
The golem is still standing, but barely, unlike what he had believed. Its other arm was gone along with the majority of its mid section. That also meant Kakkō was no longer still feeding it chakra. But he can't tell where he is. He doubts Midoriya killed him, but the thought does run through his mind. That attack was powerful and the recoil could've been even worse. He could honestly say that Midoriya was the most impressive person that wasn't a Shinobi.
He didn't feel any shame for admitting that.
He takes a seat on the glass before letting himself slide down, saving his strength. He touches down on the ground and begins using his Sharingan to search for Kakkō, pulling about a single Kunai and holding onto his ribs with his left hand.
His walk is long and tense. Paranoid and injured, makes him more aware of how easily he can be killed. His eyes keep flinching. There's a lot of sound surrounding him. Things are snapping, falling, and breaking. It's unnerving, wondering if it is intentional or not.
But it ends when he finds Midoriya laid out, unconscious. His arm is broken along with three fingers on that same arm. It looks painful, but Kakashi can't say he really cares. Midoriya did it to himself by joining his fight. His eyes, then, catch part of a Jounin uniform and he stumbles to it.
He picks it up and puts it to his nose, taking small sniffs to get the scent fully. Even with his injured nose, with only a single smell to focus on and that smell being relatively close, he's able to find out where the man is.
His hand tightens around the Kunai and he follows the scent, walking up on a unmoving body a couple of meters away. The smell of his blood stings his nose but it's a welcoming stench. He walks toward the body, completely on guard and ready to have to defend himself by any means.
The body doesn't move as he walks upon it and he hesitates to stab him once he settles in front of his feet. His instincts are telling him to just throw it but personally he wants the kill to be personal. Up and close.
Still, eventually, he lets go of that hesitation and steps over him, raising his Kunai up.
Kakkō shoots up and his retractable blades comes at him. He brings his Kunai up to block. He isn't fast enough and it slides past it and drives through his chest.
His eyes widen. The Kunai drops.
Kakkō grins as Kakashi's blood drops onto his face.
"So much talent. And to fall just because he couldn't put aside his crybaby feelings. You've killed my comrades too, so I've been waiting to kill you as well. This world has softened you if you thought you could get close to a sleeping Shinobi."
As he speaks he slowly gets to his feet and about the time he's down speaking, he is. He drives his blade down more and Kakashi's forced onto the ground, his vision blanking over and over again due to shock and blood loss. Only his instincts were keeping him awake.
"But I guess the leaf doesn't fall far from the tree, right? You're all a bunch of emotional pansies."
Kakashi screams echo in his ear. The Hatake can no longer hold in the pain. The blade reaches deep in the ground beneath his.
His other retractable blade unsheathes itself, moonlight reflecting of it. "It's time to end this little dance. You were a good partner. Part of me will miss ya'."
"Stop!"
He does and turns to the familiar voice. He finds Midoriya barely standing on his two bruised and bloody feet and one of his arms holding his broken one. The rest of his body was covered in dirt, scratches and blood, most of it coming from his old slash would.
"What do you think you'll do in that condition? You might've gotten lucky, but this isn't some fairy tale."
Midoriya was struggling to keep his body up, and still had the strength to move forward. Though stumbling, he was moving toward the two Shinobi.
Kakkō was impressed. "You've got gut, kid. But it ain't nothing to me." Midoriya's launches back from a kick and tumbles violently until a collapsed building finally stops him.
"Now, where were we?" He asks, turning his attention back to Kakashi.
There's a Chidori waiting for him.
Kakashi ignored the pain of moving up the blade after being impaled and a Chidori rips through his chest. Kakashi feels it. This time, he can feel everything. The bones, the muscles, the blood. It's real this time. Finally, he got his target.
Kakashi watches blood run from his mouth as his face is frozen in pain and shock. The blood hits his cheek as his Chidori slowly dies, leaving his bloodied hand in his chest.
"No..." Midoriya mutters in disbelief, his pupils dilating. He no longer felt pain. He scrambles to his feet and runs to Kakashi. "Stop!"
But it's too late. Kakkō goes limp and lands on Kakashi. The blade drives deeper and Kakashi gives a weak grunt. He takes the man by his shoulder and slowly turns him. When he falls, the blade comes out and weakened, Kakashi falls to his knees. A patch of blood begins to seep through his shirt and he grabs onto it to apply enough pressure to at least slow down the blood. He's lucky it's on his right side instead of his left, where his heart is.
Multiple beams of light hit Kakashi, throwing off his vision for less than a second. He looks up and sees flying things and can spot people through the bright light.
"Stop where you are! Do not move! I repeat, do not move!" A booming voice commands.
Kakashi can hear blaring sirens quickly approaching the area and determines he's got around five minutes before they show up. He's heard those sirens before. Police were going to show. If he was being watched the whole time, they knew who killed the man.
'How much do they know of my other kills? Did Edgeshot escape?'
It was a likely thought. Him being cities over made keeping the earth wall up harder to do. It was likely he escaped once he was out of range. Escape was unlikely, and staying hidden was nearly impossible. He didn't know any cities good enough to find a place to hide away and didn't know what type of technology they could employ to find him. Not to mention the fact that he needed serious medical attention and that he was likely to pass out in a couple of minutes due to chakra exhaustion and fatigue. Without medical treatment, he would die when he passed out.
Without warning he looks when he hears approaching footsteps. Tenya, Todoroki, the number 2 hero(he didn't remember his name), and an number of got her heroes were approaching him.
Thinking quickly, he turns his gaze to look Midoriya dead in the eye and once again, forces open his Sharingan eye. Midoriya's body stiffens as his eyes briefly reflect the Sharingan. The mental strain forces Midoriya to collapse. Kakashi can feel his awareness waning alongside his consciousness. The strain in his eye is burning and it feels like something in his brain is shutting down slowly.
Just as he falls unconscious, he feels someone catch him in their warm grasp, and somehow he feels safe.
XxX
Ryukyu feels his body relax under her. It isn't of comfort. She knows he's out cold. She hadn't seen him like this so close before. In the hospital, she'd been kept a good distance from him. But now, he was right in her arms. He was warm, too warm for her liking. Sweat stuck to him, she could feel it from his wet clothes at they stuck to his skin awkwardly.
She slowly dropped to her knees to let him down on the ground softly. She didn't know if the blood was coming from him or not, but once she let him down she saw the patch of blood on the back of his shirt. She turned him around, working to stop the bleeding, seeing as it was still flowing, sliding to the ground. When she no longer heard his breaths, she panicked but found out that his breathing had just steadied into soft breaths. It brought her relief. She didn't know what she would do if he died, just like that.
She turned as she hears a loud crash. The golem tumbled over and crashed into the broken cement, crashing through and toppling electric poles and wires. Traffic lights feel to the ground and shattered underneath the giant monstrosity before breaking apart into many differently shaped pieces.
She saw an old man fly down and land beside a very injured boy. She hadn't noticed him. He seemed more hurt than Kakashi.
It wasn't long until police and medical teams surrounded the area for miles. Further evacuation had begun from any civilians that had been trapped in buildings. None had been killed, a few had been hurt. The buildings along the alleyway had longed been cleared. That was a relief. They wouldn't have lived had they not evacuated when they did.
A flash of lightning illuminated the sky before thunder surprised her. She looked up at the sky as the first raindrops of a storm hit her in the face. Medical teams came to take every participant of the fight away. She refused to leave Kakashi's side.
"Ryukyu, let him go. He needs medical attention."
Detective Tsukauchi stepped past the medics, drenched in rainwater. No doubt he couldn't be saved from the rain as people had to be saved, survivors had to be found, and bodies had to be found and properly dealt with.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I know what you will try to do, but he means no harm."
"He killed someone. He needs to be properly dealt with."
Tsukauchi should've known it would take more than that to convince her. It was obvious that Kakashi had killed before. Everything he'd done up until this very moment proved that. They knew Kakashi was searching for this man. That he would kill him if given the chance. It was her fault that this happened. He should've been with her, in her Agency, but they thought Edgeshot was a better fit.
"This isn't his fault. We already kne-"
He interrupted her with a frown. At the same time, more officers began to come and surround her. Her glare at them were fierce, and they knew she was serious.
"Yes, we knew that he would likely kill the man, and that he's killed before. That doesn't take away from his actions. He murdered someone. He'll take responsibility for it."
"Isn't it us who's failed him?! We left him alone! We knew what he was capable of and thought he could go against what he was! He's young, there's no way that would happen!"
"Stand down, Dragon." A deep voice said. She saw it was Endeavor, walking up to the scene with a deep scowl. Several policemen moved out of his way and he crossed his arms, still glaring. It was all he did. "He's a criminal now."
Tsukauchi was much nicer. "Please, Ryukyu. I'd like to avoid any further incident tonight, if possible."
Her heart was thumping in her chest. By instinct, her hands wrapped tighter around Kakashi's limp form.
"Ryukyu, as Chief of the Police, I command you to release the criminal."
This wasn't good. Now he was here. What should she do now? In the matter of criminals, the police had full jurisdiction. Heroes jobs were to capture and defeat them. After that, they were to be handed over.
"He's my son—not a criminal. He's just a child. A child that been through a lot. You've spoken to him, Detective! You know this! Do something!"
Tsukauchi looked rather guilty. Part of her wanted to exploit it. It made her feel guilty. It sounded like something a criminal would do. At this point, she hasn't much other options. No one else were seeing things her way.
"There's nothing I can do."
He turned away, dejected. It was obviously hard for him to say those words. But she couldn't find it in herself to have much sympathy for him.
She looked down onto her lap, and moved Kakashi's wet hair off his face, so she could see him better. She was taking the rain for him, so she could see him clearly.
She didn't know what to do. She knew what her heart wanted. She knew what every else wanted. She knew what she wanted. But what came before the others. Most of the time she put most before herself. She was a hero. She taught herself to live with that. That as long as everyone else was happy, she could be too. And she was happy. But she wouldn't be happy giving into these demands. She knew in her bones because she couldn't stand it.
She wouldn't do it.
She backed up, dragging Kakashi along. All the people around her shuffled and Tsukauchi frown deepened.
"Please, don't do this." He begged.
She took in a slow drag of air, trying desperately to calm her nerves and not panic. Being surrounded was unnerving. Never had she dealt with it before. Something new she found out about herself.
Her hand tightened unconsciously when she felt a warm liquid go between her fingers. She looked down. It was blood. He was still bleeding, badly. Holding a hand against the wound would not be enough. It would take more. He needed help.
She kept her head lowered as she lowered Kakashi to the ground and slowly backed away. Medical personnel took her position, treating him as fast as they could and hastily putting him onto a stretcher as carefully as they could. She watched it, her heart dropping. She felt like she couldn't breathe. They were going to take him away.
She felt a hand land on her shoulder. Then a quiet, sorry.
But she could only look as Kakashi was getting further away.
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