Encroachment

Chapter 16: Attack

Izuku felt fresh wind whip across his face. The gentle sound of crinkling fabric tickled his ears and the thudding of his footsteps was softened by the leaf litter below him. Trees flew past his vision in a muddy blur. Through patches in the canopy he caught glimpses of twinkling stars and the bright moon. The sword swinging from his belt let out a distinct clink every time he moved. Darkness tainted the surrounding forest black. The gentle coo of an owl ruptured the air. A cold nip bit down on his skin.

In the distance there were voices. Shouting. The sound of a wet thud. A cry of frustration. A crooked smile split Viran's face. Izuku's heart was drumming in his ears. The sludge grew closer to the noises of scuffling. It didn't take long before he could see his destination. There was a small clearing peeking through the trees. He came to a skidding halt behind a large flowering bush. Crouching down, he cocked his head round the side to take in the situation in front of him. There were four people fighting. One woman with cat ears, another person with a long, thick metallic weapon, a large bulky man dressed as a cat and a lizard like man with hundreds of weapons tied into one. There was another woman in cat apparel, lying on the floor with a small pool of blood collecting around her head. Viran hissed under his breath and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a miniature notepad and pen.

The next thing Izuku knew, his body was already moving. The clearing was nowhere in sight. The sounds of violence were far behind him and little more than a gentle whisper of noise. Viran was sprinting through the forest. Izuku's pulse throbbed in his ears. His sword rattled with every step. With a grunt, Sludge glanced down at the tiny notebook in his hands. Scrawled across a blank page was the words, 'follow the trail: half way point'.

Izuku broke out into a cold sweat. Viran placed his hands against a small metal device in his ear, "the target is halfway around the looping pathway." He spoke breathily. His lungs were heaving for air. Viran slowed his pace to a brisk walk. His intense heartbeat drummed a rhythm for his feet. Everything around him was so familiar and yet totally new. It was like he was walking through a maze of forgotten memories.

"Much appreciated," the voice of an older man chattered back into his ear.

The Sludge let a hiss of air out from between his teeth. Izuku's mind was swimming. His attention was drawn back to the two heroes he saw fighting his teammates. The heroes were the ones in cat apparel no doubt. Izuku was rusty, it took him longer than he cared to admit to recall their names. The pussy cat dolls, that was them. The woman on the floor was Pixie-bob, the hero with power over earth. It was not a good sign that she was out of commission. Midoriya knew there were several other teachers and heroes that were probably spread throughout the forest. His pulse settled a little. They were good heroes, the students would be fine.

It didn't take long for Viran to reach his destination. It was a small miniature clearing, much smaller than the one he had previously been in. Upon breaking the tree line he was hit with a tidal wave of heat. Viran took in a sharp breath. Black smoke bellowed up into the sky and blue light could be seen dancing between tree trunks in the distance. Standing at the centre of the clearing were three familiar people. The patchwork pyromaniac Dabi, the crazy blonde school girl Toga and the man with split personality trapped in a skintight suit, Twice. Toga was the first to catch sight of the Sludge. She began bouncing on her feet, her equipment jingled with her movement. "Hey Copycat!" She yelled.

"Watch it, you'll give away our location!" Twice scolded her sternly with the wag of a finger. Within seconds his posture completely changed as though a puppeteer had yanked on his strings. He manoeuvred his hands as though he was flicking away his previous statement, "make as much noise as you want, they'll never hear us."

Dabi narrowed his eyes a Viran. "What took you so long to find the brat's location?"

The sludge paused within a few meters of the trio. "I made a fruitless detour to harvest information from the children." Dabi simply raised an eyebrow. "None of them knew All Might's Achilles heel. It would appear he doesn't have one. Aside from his true weak form, the teachers knew no way to best him either." Viran crossed his arms over his chest and bit down on his lip. His face mask slid down a little.

"A man like that would surely take measures to protect his secrets from everyone." Twice offered with a shrug, his voice bouncy and high. "I bet you hundreds of people know exactly how to defeat him." He snarled.

Izuku couldn't suppress the mild amusement that sprung to his heart. "We'll find and expose it eventually." Viran added, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. "Was everyone else successful?" He asked gently, tilting his head to the side.

"I only got one person's blood," Toga sighed and pouted her lips. "But I made many new friends." She squealed and bounced on the balls of her feet. There was a knife secured to her belt as well a some sort of large containment apparatus.

Twice moved to reply, but a whoosh of air washed over them and Mr Compress landed by their sides. "I have the target." He spoke, cocking his head over his shoulder, "but there is a large demon like creature in pursuit." His breath was ragged and he refused to remove his gaze from the woods behind him. Birds screamed in the night as noisy cracking and snapping grew louder and louder. In one swift movement they all turned to face the approaching noises.

"I have already made the signal," Dabi grumbled. "We've completed our main goal." Right on cue a large black shape burst from the tree line, splitting and splintering all wood in its path. It screeched a high pitched wail of death.