Hellbound | Blue Exorcist/My Hero Academia Crossover

Chapter Forty-Three: Not Rin

BAKUGOU'S P.O.V

"Gh- The hell is this?!" I snarl as I'm launched back by another of Okumura's swipes, narrowly avoiding a blistering ball of fire as it's hurtled my way. Luckily, Kirishima grips the scruff of my neck with a hardened fist and rips me out of the sizzling path, though his rocky arm gets singed in the process. "Okumura, it's us, you idiot!" I snap, only to be rewarded with a vicious snarl and another slash.

This time, Yukio parries the blade with the barrel of his gun, aiming it over Okumura's shoulder and taking out a couple demons that come stumbling through the gate. Dammit! How the hell did it all go to shit so quickly? We had a plan- open the gate, go into Gehenna, get Rin and get the fuck out. Instead, Gehenna came to us, Rin ain't even acting like himself, and there are more demons around us than we can count.

"Something's wrong with him! We need to figure out what fast!" Glasses breathlessly calls, wiping some sweat off of his forehead with the cuff of his sleeve before readying himself to deflect another one of Okumura's attacks. The guy doesn't look anything like himself anymore- his blue eyes are almost as white as his hair by now, burning so brightly I can barely see his pupils. But when they do catch the light as he lunges for his brother, they flash like a cat's eyes in the dark.

"I can see somethin' ain't right!" I retort, propelling myself closer and using a small explosion to knock Okumura back, a snarl rumbling from him as he forces himself to retreat a little. "You okay, Four-Eyes?" I ask, grabbing his arm and pulling him up a bit. His knees are trembling- you don't have to be a genius to spot it.

"Thank you," he pants, pushing his glasses up his nose. One of the lenses has a crack through it. "I'm fine. But he's so fast- It's almost like he's not the same person anymore," he whispers, desperately trying to figure the whole thing out. Like back in the cabin last week, I can see the hands of his brain ticking away. Inching closer and closer to the answer, but taking their damn time to get there.

"Well you use that brain of yours to work out what's wrong with him. We'll hold him off," I snap, watching Okumura move on to attacking Todoroki and Deku. They both seem to be holding their own pretty well, but only just. And it can't help that there are hundreds of demons spilling through the portal by the second, filling this once-huge warehouse to the brim with chaos. Sure, the Exwires are teaming up with our class to try and cleave through them, but it's barely having an effect; as soon as one demon dies, another takes its place. I'd suggest trying to make a holy water vapour to sizzle them all alive as soon as they take a breath, but I can't.

Not when Okumura's caught in the mix too.

"Maybe... Maybe it's too late. Maybe Satan broke him." That breaks my gaze away from the hell unfolding before my eyes. I stiffly turn back to Yukio, anger boiling in my gut, and throw a heavy punch into his cheek before he can see it coming. It knocks those cracked glasses right off. Bastard.

"Don't you dare give up on your brother, you idiot!" I roar, Kirishima already gripping my wrist before I throw another fist Four-Eyes' way. I ain't got any brothers or sisters, but I know that you never give up on them. Never! Especially if they're all you've got! The only people that give up are the assholes who are too damn lazy to care! And I can't stand people like that. "He needs you! He needs all of us, and you're just-"

"-Bakugou, let it go, man!" Kirishima insists, pulling me away and turning me back towards the fight. "We can't waste time yelling at Yukio when Rin needs our help." He's right. Dammit, he's right. I can't get distracted like that, and especially by something so stupid. If Glasses wants to throw in the towel, he can be my guest. But Okumura's not gone. There's no damn way.

Even if he is fighting like a man possessed. Out of all the demons I've watched attack us over the time we've been here, none of them have acted like Okumura is now. His attacks are powerful, sure, but there's something off about them. He almost looks like a wooden puppet being tossed around, his movements stiff. His tail barely twitches when he swings his sword, and his arms stay rigid and set. Surely he'd still fight the same, even if he'd been screwed up by Satan. Which means-

And then I see it. In the light of one of Kaminari's blasts of lightning, I see something shift on the back of Okumura's neck. It's like looking through water when I try to focus, but there's something there, latching onto his nape. What I swear are claws are sinking into his veins, and sets of razor-like teeth are plunged deep into the base of his skull. It's a parasite. There's a damn parasite controlling him!

"I know what's going on," I whisper, feeling the earth shudder beneath me. There's a chance. He hasn't been changed, he's just being controlled. Okumura is still in there! We've just gotta figure how to get him out! "Kirishima, look at his neck. There. It's kinda invisible, but if you look hard enough you'll-"

"-Woah, I see it! It looks like that lizard dude from that alchemy anime!"

"Exactly! I think it's controlling Okumura." As soon as those words leave my mouth in a slight whisper, Okumura's head jolts up. His piercing eyes snap onto me, and his crooked arms lift his sword from its last strike. He starts to hiss and spit like a cornered reptile as he closes the distance between us. Yet a grin stretches across my face. There's hope. We're gonna save him. We're gonna get Rin Okumura back.