Trigger Warning:
- blood
- gore
- burning alive
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Since this battle has started, I have noticed two things.
The first, our enemies have taunted and goaded everyone by name besides me.
The second, those who dare to insult me call me by crude, vulgar names that I care not repeat.
All of this helps me make one realization: the Liberation Army does not recognize who I am. My mask hides the upper half of my face. I would think that the rest of my ensemble - the black roses amongst devil-horned black hair, the white gloves, trenchcoat, waistcoat, breeches, and choker - would be a giveaway to my identity. After all, my hero costume is identical with an inverse color scheme. Or perhaps, my cane. Custom-made canes are rare. The Army had one hour to research who I was. How in ten bleeding hells did they not figure out who I was?
This is something to be asked for later, however. If my opponents cannot identify me, all the better. This lack of connection makes it infinitely easier to swing my cane around and shatter skulls. There are no rules. No restraint. Just screams and blood. I refrain from using any quirk when simply this is getting the job done.
When the last of the unfortunate souls lies in a mess of tissue and sinew, I take a deep breath. I catch Shigaraki's eye. He nods in approval at my lack of hesitancy. Kill or be killed. I am passing this examination with flying colors. But then he says something uncanny.
"Don't wait for push to come to shove. There will come a moment when you have to use your abilities. Go full out. So start warming up now."
His comment strikes me as scary because for as long as I can remember, he has always encouraged me to use my arsenal of quirks in limit. I agreed with him because of the toll it would take on me. He even witnessed what became of me when I tried to use One for All.
"Why?" I ask him. "Why are you saying that I should utilize my absorption now?"
He doesn't get the chance to answer. Because all of a sudden, the next batch of suicidal maniacs arrives with their ringleader. The politician and his lackeys. My eyebrows rise at the ostentatious minibus the politician arrives in. Are those Valentine hearts painted on? "Ms. Curious has been defeated!" he announces into the mike. The loudness hurts my eardrums. "She offered up her body and soul to our liberation!" By process of elimination, I figure out that that is the woman Toga was trapped with. I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, you made it out alive! Of course, the lackeys do not share the same sentiment. So when the politician so sadly and so wistfully says, "Do not let her sacrifice be in vain," their distraughtness turns into retribution.
Mr. Compress remarks how this organization is less of an army and more a religion, and I could not agree with him more. The way that these minions rush at us ... it is like a flood of human bodies. Not caring who gets crushed or who dies, they are steadfast in their crusade to kill us. We are in a one-lane street. Not nearly enough space to engage in combat. All of us run forward to increase the distance between us and the horde. But not Shigaraki.
He pauses in his tracks.
He turns around.
I shout his name.
My plea goes unheard.
No. Not you. I will not risk the possibility of losing you after Toga.
YOU ARE READING
Blossoms of the Dark
RomanceHanada Selene. Todoroki Shouto. Two troubled souls living troubled lives. But they somehow find solace within each other. They first met in a dream, and later again in real life. Both of them were initially wary of each other. But with time, the...
