ʀᴇɢɪᴄɪᴅᴀʟ || Demon Slayer x My Hero Academia

Three and Ninth

In his wake, a gentle breeze ruffles the crown of the forest, rustling through verdant leaves on quiet trees. Squirrels and deer raise their eyes to the sunset sky, unblinking at the emerald star streaking through it. They've seen stranger things here.

Deku flies in silence, eyes lidded and empty and yet still scanning the horizon for threats. He's not really 'streaking' through the sky, more floating forwards at a moderate speed. He'd felt several eyes on him in the last city, and this moment is an alluring opening for a fast enough assassin to catch up to him. Such a threat should be dealt with now rather than later.

That's why he's meandering through the air, waiting patiently for an attack. The next city in his path, Andor, reportedly has had run-ins with some of All For One's more experienced agents. It's unlikely he'll get any more information than he already has there, but he's got to deal with them anyway. No point in mixing his problems by having his assassins and targets team up. There's also no point in sitting and waiting when he can make some headway.

Deku's roving gaze pauses for a moment as he catches something - not long enough to give anything away to any watcher. There's a glint of metal on the forest floor, and he allows himself a moment to consider it. Weaponry? A stray piece of armour, reflecting the dying sun? A Quirk?

Surprisingly, it's none of those. There's an old railroad snaking beneath him. Rusted and dilapidated to be sure, and nearly overgrown by the forest, but still there. He wonders where it goes, or rather, where it went. Railways like these aren't seen anymore; it's all high-speed bullet trains nowadays.

Deku kind of likes them, though. The old steam engines. He's been to a couple museums with Iida. His friend... Iida really loves ancient trains. Could talk for hours about them. Deku knows more than he really should about the variety of engine models used centuries ago.

Danger Sense isn't pinging at all, beyond the dull constant throb of knowing that Shigaraki and All For One are out there somewhere, so Deku pivots and lets go of Float. His landing is soft on the mossy forest floor, and without any change in the Fourth's Quirk, he stares at the nearby railway and the scene it paints. There's faint disapproval from Second, but First seems happy.

Not long after, Deku finds himself sitting down against a gnarled old tree and simply watching the view beneath him. His worries begin leaving him, one by one.

It's unimaginably picturesque. An old and reclaimed railway, surrounded by tall overhanging trees and illuminated by the violet sunset. The colours are vivid, incredible, indescribable. The leaves are mottled in every colour, the air is warm with spring, and the flowers are just beginning to bloom. A pair of deer are munching on grass some distance away, watching him carefully.

He doesn't really know what to say at the sight. He can feel the scene being written into his brain as if it's being etched into stone, and he knows that this is a memory he'll remember forever.

...He should probably take a photo. Make sure that he does remember.

Slowly, his eyes droop down. Deku tries to force them open again, but he yawns. 'Not good,' one of the Wielders murmurs. He thinks it's Third. 'This isn't a place to fall asleep, kid.' Unwilling and unhearing, Deku's thoughts wander back to his friends.

...They would like to see this. If they could. Maybe... after. He could come back here. If he lives.

He wonders when he'll see them again.

Danger Sense flares pitifully, like a dying flame, and Deku closes his eyes for the shortest of instants. A strange itch wracks his body in that moment, like fire roaring through his veins. A flash of white bursts against his shut eyes, and he flinches and wrenches them open.