A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 41: Bottled Up

More undead hordes were met along the path, with Izuku and Katsuki decimating them whenever they got too close. It was beginning to get a bit bothersome, what with the unchanging scenery, the constant groans and their suicidal lunges, and worst of all, the chunks of flesh that splattered all over them whenever Katsuki blew one of them up to kingdom come.

They may be used to the stench and gore, but the feeling of uncleanliness affected both of them, Katsuki more so seeing as how he was still fully human. Imagine the number of viruses one could get with rotten blood splattered all over his skin.

He was only human, after all, and humans weren't meant to be walking petri dishes of rotting gore.

Unlike Katsuki, Izuku's concern wasn't the blood itself – his body was far beyond such worries – but rather the grime that clung stubbornly to his polished armor. Dried rotten blood stained his chestpiece and fur collar with bits of flesh lodged in the joints of his armor.

This was going to be a nightmare to clean once they found an ample spot to rest, hopefully another Site of Grace.

Izuku slid the corpse of a zombie that managed to get close to him off his zweihander, its body thumping on the ground like a puppet without strings. He raised his boot up and stomped it harshly against the corpse's intact head, its skull giving way against the force as it shattered, splattering grey matter into the ground.

Can never be too careful with them, and the only good zombie is one without a head. They made a mistake earlier that nearly cost Katsuki his finger when a zombie with only a single limb managed to latch onto Katsuki while its jaw unhinged.

Once they were done dealing with the sudden ambush from zombies that literally came crawling from their graves, both Izuku and Katsuki heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, the horde seemed to quell a bit, and the two of them could finally rest for a bit.

Izuku might be a tireless entity, and Katsuki a stamina monster, but fighting nonstop was mentally taxing. The rare moments where they could catch their breaths was soothing to their souls as they took in the dark and dreary atmosphere of the foggy cemetery.

"Annoying corpses." Izuku moaned, his zweihander's blade sunken into the ground as he stretched his joints and took out the bits and pieces of flesh stuck in them. "Blegh. Looks like I'll be having a date with Hewg later."

"Who's Hewg?" Katsuki piped up from beside him, a raised eyebrow declaring his confusion. Izuku stared at the ash blond for a moment, before snapping his fingers in realization.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you about the Roundtable Hold." Izuku hummed a tune as he laid his hands on the hilt of All Strike. Pulling it from the ground, he laid it against his shoulder and side-eyed the ash blond. "Basically, think of a pocket dimension where I can ask some people to help with my travels."

"Like... companions and shit?" Katsuki looked even more curious, as well as a tad bit confused.

"No, nothing like that." Izuku waved his free hand. "Something along the lines of equipment maintenance, a place to wind down when I get bored of seeing the same shade of green for the umpteenth time... And also, some therapy sessions."

"... You? Therapy...?" Katsuki looked on with disbelief, garnering an amused snort from the armored greenette.

"What? Is it impossible to imagine me needing to have a healthy mental state?" Izuku chuckled, his helmet muffling the sounds that exited his throat. "If I wasn't able to stay sane, I doubt you would be having this conversation with me."

Katsuki looked away, a frown hovering over his face. His throat bobbed up and down as his eyes looked far and away, a hint of guilt hidden deep within. Silence overcame the two, the wind whistling across their ears the only sound to be heard in this eerie cemetery.