Riddles and Riots

.:Overcome:.

          The wind howled like a banshee's deadly omen. Only Aizawa, Todoroki, Deku, Mina, Bakugo, and Kirishima remained. Around them the mass of enemies scurried back into the dark, fearing the approach of whoever lay in the rising cloud of dust.
Deku turned his back and raced to Uraraka's side, lifting her over his shoulder. He did the same with Sero, carrying them to Kaminari and Iida when Todoroki ran to help, forming a sturdy ice shield around them.
          Kirishima clutched his scarf, breath hitched in his throat as an ominous shadow crept onto the blackened street. In the storm a familiar plague mask shimmered, untouched by the swirling sand. The path behind him lay completely uprooted.
Dandelion eyes skimmed the clearing until they landed on Kirishima. The hurricane subsided as a familiar spark ignited within them, making the hybrid shiver.
          With his black and green cloak flowing behind, the tamer known as Overhaul moved toward him. However, he was unexpectedly overtaken by Bakugo, who surged from above with a crackling punch. It was dodged effortlessly, and the enemy's palm pressed into the soil, shattering beneath Bakugo's feet. It forced the blond away, and Overhaul's attention lingered momentarily on the prince, challenging him like a starving wolf for a carcass.
          "You're a tamer..." His predatory claim lift the heavy silence. Kirishima gaped at Bakugo in shock, who bared his teeth and took a fighting stance. "You pose a great threat to me."
          Bakugo paid no mind to his comment, heaving another firework from his knuckles. Overhaul copied his movement, meeting the explosion midway with a raging river of destruction.
          As the two tides clashed, Bakugo used the smoke as coverage, soaring above the field and slamming down behind him. Overhaul sprang away, landing close to Aizawa and Mina, where from his foot a wave of carnage briefly distracted the two from interfering.
          From behind Kirishima, Todoroki assisted with a quick growing glacier. The brunette reacted faster than a snake, laying a hand on its chilly surface and corrupting it. Clenching his fist, he reformed the ice with stone and concrete. Multiples of these spikes broke through the earth, tumbling straight for Todoroki.
          If not for Kirishima instinctively shoving him and Deku aside, they would have been done in. The spikes shattered upon impact with his body like glass, but managed to crack a few spots.
At the sight of his prize, a powerful feeling burned in Overhaul's chest. The hybrid looked to him attentively, his ruby expression distorting from courage to petrified fear all over again. Absorbed in his bright crimson spheres, the villain nearly forgot about the greater threat rushing him from behind.
He leaned away from the burning fist just inches from his head, twisting to land a swipe as Bakugo neared. The barbarian pulled back reflexively but a callused finger grazed him, pursued by an unbearable burn. He held back a cry as his skin tore apart, spraying himself with his own blood. The pain nearly brought tears to his eyes.
          "You have a lot of nerve coming here just to provoke me." Overhaul growled, hunching his shoulders to ready another blow. "I refuse to let you bond what I've already-"
          "I'm not here to make friends with some weak-ass dragon!" Bakugo spat, coiling his cape around the wound and charging straight at him. "The only dragons I give a shit about are the ones I've slain!"
          Overhaul stepped to the side with an eyebrow raised, wavering from offense to defense. After a moment of contemplation, he huffed, blocking the oncoming sword with a stone spike.
"Ah...I thought I recognized you." His icy voice sent chills down his spine. "You're that rebellious prince from the West: The 'Unkillable Dragon Slayer'." He dodged to the side of Bakugo's fire, cackling, "You're also the heir to a mighty tribe of tamers. Every tamer I knew dreamt of being in your shoes, but you abandoned your customs long ago, just to prove a point. Why?" Bakugo only grew angrier with each word that left the stranger's mouth.
          Then Overhaul's tone shifted, revealing a long held grudge. "You gave a bad reputation to us tamers...some of us got outcasted for it."
          "Just find something else to do with your miserable life!" Bakugo's fist met another rocky slab, shaking with anger.
          Overhaul hummed satisfactorily. Deciding he's had enough fun, he poured his power into the ground, sewing the Earth's many different materials together. Like a volcano it erupted into thousands of killer spikes that swarmed the prince in a quick blink.
          Just before making contact, the attack crumpled to dust. Aizawa's scarf lassoed around Bakugo and he was flung away, where instead the dark haired knight took his place. His scarlet eyes glowed to keep Overhaul's destructive magic at bay.
          Overhaul grumbled at his new opponent. "You finally came crawling out of your hole, huh? I overheard the Big Guy mentioning how much he'd love to acquire your ability. I wonder how much he'd reward me if I brought you to him."
          Aizawa remained stoic, even as the tamer rushed him. Though powerless, the enemy was incredibly resilient, evading every attack and combating Aizawa's knife with the resources on the ground.
          The older soldier clung to his scarf and ducked beneath Overhaul's quick hand. Swinging his leg, he caught his attacker's heels, flipping him onto his back. Immediately he drew close to his neck with the small knife.
Overhaul narrowly missed the blade by jerking to the side. Swiftly he grabbed a fist full of sand, splashing it in Aizawa's face and forcing him to shut his eyes. As soon as he felt magic rush back to him, the entire area was decimated.
Though blind and caught in turmoil, Aizawa had another trick up his sleeve. As the ground churned he used one of the violent surges to throw himself upward, catching the enemy off guard when the sneaky scarf around his foot tightened. Flinging him above his head, Aizawa slammed him back to the ground with a crack.
Finally having the upper hand, Aizawa reeled himself in, stomping heavily on top of Overhaul and knocking away his bird-like mask. All in a single breath he blinked away the sand, tightened his scarf, pulled back his fist, readjusted his steel knife, and slit Overhaul's throat.
          The earthquake came to a simmering halt. Scarlet liquid gushed from his neck, eyes glazed with lifelessness. His mouth widened in a soundless cry as his body grew paler and weaker.
          Aizawa has no qualms with leaving the man to die. He sheathed his weapon and turned to the others, meeting Kirishima's mortified, disbelieving stare. He took all but two steps when a cough made him reach back for the knife.
          Getting back to his feet with a deranged smile, Overhaul's hand pressed against his throat, corrupting his own flesh and restoring the wound as if it had never been inflicted. Hives and bumps littered his sweaty face as he took a clear breath.
He dropped to the ground to retrieve his mask. After placing it back on his face, his eyes flashed with a new evil, and he threw his fingers to the dirt.
          Raging destruction became their new battlefield. Before Aizawa had any chance of defending, spears pierced his body all over. One particularly large spike drilled a tunnel completely through his side.
          "Aizawa!" Deku cried, watching him go limp.
His small body surged with green light. Side by side with Mina and her waves of acid, he bolted into the chaos, leaping and dodging and punching through anything in his way. The enemy detected their coming and shoved his hand deeper into the soil, impaling Mina's shoulder with a sharp slab and snaking his other hand to Deku's neck.
          However, speed had always been Deku's strong suit. Dodging in the nick of time, he bounced around Overhaul's outstretched hand, rolling him away with an energetic kick. When he came to a stop the boy was already upon him, reeling another punch.
          "You were the one chosen as All Might's successor?"
          Deku hesitated. "How-?!"
          Before he could finish, Overhaul caught him in his grasp. Black magic deteriorated the top half of Midoriya's tunic and itched onto his skin, slowly peeling him apart. He cried and writhed in agony.
          "The King was a fool to choose you. If you can't defeat me, you have no hope of saving anyone else."
          As he struggled to break free, Bakugo's inhumane scream made both of them turn. He whirled a fiery leg at Overhaul's head, but the enemy proved to be a much quicker thinker.
He yanked Deku in front of him, using him as a human shield against the explosion. Bakugo faltered but was unable to stop fully, landing a direct hit on Midoriya's back. When the smoke cleared, the unfortunate victim was covered in bloodied burns and soot. He let out a choked whimper as Overhaul tossed him away.
          "Damn Deku, that was your fault! Stay out of my way!" Reproaching like a targeted missile, Bakugo rounded on the masked man once again, this time sided by Todoroki.
          As all this happened, Kirishima was still planted in his spot. No matter how hard he tried to get his body to cooperate, he couldn't rid the needles that stitched him to the ground.
          Each time he got caught in Overhaul's sight, the feeling of a black hole grew steadily between them, draining their senses and sucking their souls closer and closer. His dragon spiraled into insanity and panic. Every glance brought back pieces of each other, as if sneaking a taste of what their bond could be.
The tamer's desire to bond was so strong it became physically painful for Kirishima to be near. He had no idea just how badly Overhaul wanted this.
          He snapped out of his delusion when both his teammates were flung past him, crashing into nearby houses and laying still. He wanted to help them but a fierce breeze nearly knocked him off his feet. Looking up, yellow eyes appeared so close he could see his reflection.
          His body hardened all over as a pale hand reached for him, but before it could find him, Bakugo reemerged from the rubble and blasted him away.
          "JUST GO AHEAD AND STAND THERE, USELESS BASTARD!" He jabbed at the redhead while meeting the brunette in a head on collision.
          'I can't!' Kirishima wanted to scream. The only thing his body was willing to do was run. In his head a civil war pulled him in every direction, shrieking at him to do something useful, urging him to run somewhere safe, pleading him to help fight, and threatening him to hide away.
          Tears trickled through the cracks in his cheeks. He couldn't understand how Bakugo had no fear, even as death stared him straight in the face. Even as his arm burned and bled through his bundled cape, as his thoughts buried his conscious in an ocean of anger- he still fought.
          Grabbing Overhaul's cloak, Bakugo yanked with all his might, setting fire to the fabric as he detonated the man against a nearby building. The force crumpled the fragile structure on top of him, but before it could crush him, it morphed into a platform that launched the mage into the air. Bloody fists met the ground, birthing a crater as wide as the street.
          Bakugo could only shield his face upon impact. At the last second an explosion left his hands, but not nearly powerful enough to keep the ever flowing blocks at bay. He careened into a wall, biting back the urge to scream as his back met sharp stone.
Overhaul bore down on him with malice, raising another army of spikes, this time with the hope of claiming his life. Bruised, bloodied, blinded by dust and unwilling to accept defeat, Bakugo waited for his approach, then aimed an unseen final resort at the ground. Heat ignited like a barrel of dynamite, filling the entire street with hungry flames.
          Before hell could grab on to Kirishima, a pink bubble encased him. Uraraka, through her wounds and exhaustion, staggered to place herself between him and the fire. She stumbled against the push and pull of the wind but it failed to knock her back.
          Popping the bubble and raising her staff, she used whatever strength she could muster to help. Her dwindling magic blasts acted as nothing but a distraction, but they proved useful as Bakugo got back to his feet with a few good hits.
          "Kiri!" A voice cried beside him. He turned to Mina, who clutched her bloodied shoulder and hobbled toward him. "Kiri, please! She needs your help- we need your help!"
          He brought his softened hands to his chest, trying not to sound as pathetic as he looked. "I can't, Mina, I-"
          "Yes, you can!" She insisted, grabbing his vest and yanking him close. "I've only just met you yesterday and I know you have what it takes!! Now isn't the time to stop-!"
          They flipped at the nightmarish sight of a three story building going up in flames. The heatwave hit Uraraka, flinging her like a paper in the wind. Bakugo fought fire with fire, quickly catching the witch by her wrist before landing in a cluster of spikes.
          Mina ran full force into Kirishima, shoving him out of the way of a flaming renegade cart. She used herself to shield him from the splinters and stones.
          He panicked as she cried out in agony, grabbing at her wounded shoulder with tears in her eyes.
          "Mina! I'm so sorry, I just, I can't do it, I don't know what to-" She shut him up by slapping him hard enough to leave a mark on his cheek.
          "Stop being so stupid! If you think I'm not equally as terrified as you then you're a big, selfish asshole! We're a team! We're counting on you, too! Don't just leave us hanging!"
          He wanted to give an excuse but again she was there to save him from danger. Shoving him as hard as she could, they both rolled away from the pillars that protruded from beneath them. He tried to hold on to her but a large stone bashed her away, tearing her from his grasp. With blood trailing from the open gashes on her face, she rolled into a building and did not get up again.
Another bombardment of chaos beat him to his knees. Like an avalanche, rolling stones flooded over him, cracking his skin and spinning his head.
In the corner of his eye came another bedazzling light, bringing all discord to a halt. He looked up just in time to see Bakugo tumble from a crackling explosion, trailing smoke from his beaten hands. He crashed through the roof of a house, caving it on top of him.
Uraraka collapsed just a few feet away from Kirishima, coughing and trembling.
"Uraraka!" He reached for her, but the spikes kept him rooted in place. Tears glossed his vision as he called to her again, watching helplessly as she pushed herself to stand. She caught sight of him and her eyes sparked in a way he had never seen before.
They glowed cherry pink, flickering with specks of black and gold, softened with hopeless tears.
"Kiri, just run away!" He recoiled at the harshness of her tone. His jaw dropped but could say nothing when yellow eyes sought him through the smoke.
          Uraraka smeared the blood and sweat from her face. "If you're not going to fight, at least get out of here alive!"
Her words caused him more pain than the spikes slowly cutting through his skin. She choked for breath, raising her hand to guide her staff above her, ignoring Kirishima's protests.
"I don't know what happened to you, or where you came from, or why you're so scared, or anything, or, or...I-I...I feel like a horrible friend..." The defeat in her voice made him feel even worse, but as he should have known by now, she had an amazing way of tossing his expectations to the wind.
          She lift her head, fierce and determined. The fire rekindled in her spirit as she rose between the dragon and the tamer. "-I really want to help you! You risked your life to protect me, so let me return the favor! I won't let you suffer again! Please, run while you still can!"
          Overhaul rushed from the smoke with deadly intent, but her staff quickly smacked him away, then buried him in hundreds of tiny purple orbs. A wall rose between them and he made a mad dash toward her.
Again she pushed him away. Again he got close, and again he was thrown back. His eye twitched with annoyance, and he threw another wall between them, but it was broken down by the army of purple magic.
"Such a pest!" He hissed, forming walls on all sides of him. She broke down those too, only to find a hole in the ground where he once stood. With a startled yelp, she leapt away when the ground beneath her tore open, and from the angry hand that reached for her leg.
          She slung her staff at him like a club, radiating a fiery pink light. Shielding his eyes, instead he twist around at the last moment, catching it between his fingers. An evil chuckle rolled from his lips as the stick cracked and pulsed with venomous aura.
Uraraka screamed, clawing at the unbearable pain in her chest. She collapsed to her knees as the magic shrilled and convulsed, overcasting everything on the street. A deafening purple blast rippled for miles as the staff finally completely shattered inside and out. She choked on a dying flame as the last of the little splinters blew away in the breeze.
The magic sunk into Overhaul's hand, throbbing painfully as it slithered through his veins like a virus. He groaned miserably as it leeched his power, until he was forced to grab at himself, destroying then restoring his body from the neck down. He finally relaxed when the invading magic died away.
          "..A witch without her wand is nothing." Then he reached for her head, but a crystal hand latched onto his wrist.
If Kirishima allowed himself to think, things would only get worse. He shoved Overhaul away from her with a hard punch, then placed himself between them, just as she did.
          He was angry, upset, and ashamed of himself. He hated this feeling of seeing someone else fight his battles, and just like at the tournament, fear had tangled with his performance and threatened him to throw in the towel. He'd thought he overcame this fear in his duel with Todoroki, but everything leading up to now only proved him wrong. He was far more incapable than he thought.
          As Kirishima struggled to regain his composure, Overhaul pulled his sleeve above his wrist, examining it thoroughly. Where Bakugo and the others landed hits on him, there were rashes and hives and inflammation- but where Kirishima lay a hand, there was nothing. The glimmer of realization made Kirishima even more uncomfortable.
Stealing a look behind him, Kirishima knew with regret that this fight was now his own. None of his allies had the strength to continue, except maybe Bakugo, but he was much too far away and currently in a wrestling match with the fallen house to be of much help. All who was left to oppose this tamer was a near-clobbered, magicless witch, and a hopeless, insecure little hybrid.
"When I heard you had escaped, it greatly surprised me." The villain said all of a sudden, "I never took you to be so bold...but I also didn't expect you to come crawling back so soon. Perhaps you want to accept my proposal?" His sunlit eyes fluttered as if he were in a hypnotic trance. He reached out expectantly but Kirishima retracted his hands and bared his teeth, making the other man pout.
"Fine, enough messing around. You already know what I want." He took another step forward but the dragon took an equally large step back. Overhaul twitched with annoyance. "Forget what All For One says- we have no reason to kneel to anyone. We could build our own empire and strike fear in those who look down on us-"
"NO!" It took everything in Kirishima to swallow his nerves, but damn, it felt good to finally deny him. "I won't help you kill any more innocent people!"
Overhaul scoffed. "Innocent? Do you honestly believe any of these people are innocent?" He gestured to Uraraka and the rest of his teammates, "They bare the blood of many, just from today alone. And you, with the stains on your hands, should be the last to proclaim saving the innocent."
Kirishima didn't know how to respond. Overhaul was right, he was nothing but a murderous monster.
          Kirishima glanced back to Uraraka, who watched him with a warm pink glow. He could feel her search deep within his very soul for any sign of change.
          "You hide your dragon because you fear what others will think of you." Overhaul stole his attention back with a fact.
"No, I-"
"Under All Might's rule, you'll never be able to redeem yourself for the hell you've caused." His words brought pain and backed the hybrid into a corner. "Humanity is not as kind as you think. They will forever see you for your wrong doings. But, under my rule, no matter what crimes you've committed your slate will be wiped clean. You want to be a hero? Join me, and you can be even more than that."
          Once more, he extended his hand. Kirishima knew it sounded crazy, but he couldn't help fantasizing it. As he pondered, his dragon didn't listen, instead repelled by the presence of a potential bond. It fought to escape so it could tear the tamer to shreds.
          "You're wrong!" A voice suddenly shouted. Uraraka opposed him with tears streaming down her face. "The King is the kindest, most forgiving person I've ever known! When humans shunned me just for being a witch, he welcomed me into his home, because he saw good in me that I didn't know I had!" She turned to Kirishima and grabbed at her heart.
"You're just like me, Kiri! You're a good person! You'll find a place, you just have to try a little harder than some people!"
Bowing his head, Kirishima reflected on his encounter with the King. He had taken a knee to thank Kirishima for saving the citizens. He could have praised Bakugo for finishing the robber off, but instead he lowered himself before Kirishima, a total stranger.
          He remembered how the citizens spoke to All Might not as a king, but instead as a close friend, showcasing how truly humble of a person he is. He trusted them to take care of Uraraka when she was hurt and knew each of them personally. The relationship between the king and the citizens was best described as symbiotic.
          Smiling at the thought, it helped him realize just what he needed to say.
          "Whether I'm innocent or not," Kirishima whimpered, "All Might is a kind and trustworthy king! He always puts his people before himself!" Swallowing the bile in the back of his throat, he slammed his foot down. "I don't care if my crimes follow me, I would much rather serve someone I aspire to be!"
Of all the years he'd been visited by Overhaul, never once had Kirishima spoken to him with such disrespect. As expected, he didn't take it kindly.
The tamer pulled back his sleeves and adjusted his steel mask. "I liked you more when you had nothing to say."
He charged them faster than anticipated, overwhelming him and Uraraka with a battalion of spikes. Kirishima punched through resiliently but could hardly make a dent. Behind him, though Uraraka hated it, there was nothing she could do except shield herself behind him.
Unable to keep the endless swarm back, Kirishima twisted on his heel, grabbing Uraraka and pulling her to his chest. He leapt out of the way as it came crashing down, but was forced to drop his friend on a pile of soggy wood when a miscellaneous pillar nailed him in the stomach. It flung him high into the air and he crashed down with a heavy thud.
Overhaul was upon him instantly. He strained to grab him with an ungloved hand but Kirishima rolled just out of reach. He brought his armored hands to cover his face as the attacks grew even more aggressive. He was so overwhelmed by the chaos that he didn't notice Overhaul sneak up behind him.
"Come out, dragon. It's time we formally meet."
As if snagged on a hook and being reeled to the surface, his dragon grew steadily inside him, screaming at the walls of his prison. As tempting as it was to release it to kill Overhaul here and now, Kirishima continued to resist, pushing it back down with every single fiber of his being.
Overhaul was very unhappy with his refusal. He slid off his other glove, placing a delicate hand on Kirishima's bicep. Before the hybrid could fathom what was to come, pain like never before tore him apart. What was once his arm was now a geyser of scarlet flesh and fluid.
Shock forbade him from any sound or movement. The dragon within him grew from a tiny spark on a field of dead grass to a blazing wildfire that stretched for miles. He could sense the tingling of his hybrid limbs daring to reappear. He'd never been more thankful that almost no one was there to see, especially Bakugo.
However, something strange was happening, and he failed to realize it until now. The few times as of late when his dragon wanted to come out, it hit something only to be described as an unbreakable wall. Now, even stronger than ever, it hit the wall again. No matter how hard it tried it couldn't get past, despite Kirishima not holding it back.
Was it unable to take form?
As quickly as it came, the pain and blood disappeared. His entire arm stitched itself back together right before his eyes.
"You're too damn stubborn, I'm losing my patience." Overhaul lashed out again, this time severing an arm and a leg.
          Kirishima cried out in agony. He collapsed and writhed and screamed with no control over his body, yet somehow his dragon was still trapped inside. It had to be the worst form of torture, suffering pain both inside and out. His vision faded as his blood abandoned him, but just before he grasped the comforting darkness of the afterlife, he was snatched and dragged back to the vile light of reality.
          His arm and leg reappeared. Overhaul stood above him, unbelievably angry, reaching down to his chest.
          "Transform!"
          There was a sickening squelch, followed by darkness, then light again. Air rushed to his lungs as if he hadn't taken a breath in a hundred years. He blinked away the blurriness to see Overhaul digging his knee into his chest.
          Before a single thought came to his mind, the same process repeated. Unbearable pain, darkness, light, Overhaul's furious face. And again: pain, darkness, light, Overhaul. Every time he came too, the tamer was even more angry.
          "DAMNIT!"
          His hand slammed on Kirishima's forehead, once more sending him through the endless loop; only this time, he lingered in the darkness a little longer than before, then resurrected on his knees. Overhaul's hand squeezed his neck tightly.
          "You're so god damn lucky I can't just reassemble you into your dragon." He released his neck and walked away, reaching for something. Kirishima wiped the fog from his eyes, but what he saw made him wish he was still in the darkness.
          Uraraka crawled away from Overhaul's  preying claws. Her eyes were red and puffy from the many tears rolling down her cheeks. She'd seen a lot of horrible things, but watching her friend die multiple times right in front of her probably took the greatest toll.
          "I'll give you one more chance." Just before reaching her, Overhaul turned back to the hybrid with a sinister smile. "Transform, or they all die- starting with her."
          There was no win. If he didn't turn, Overhaul would kill Uraraka and the others- but if he did, his dragon would kill them all anyway.
          "No, please!" His heart jumped to his throat as Overhaul took another step. His gaze never strayed from him, not until he stood directly above her.
          "Transform! Now!"
          The monster inside him attacked the walls like a deranged cat, but even if Kirishima wanted it to come out, he couldn't figure out how to open the gate to let it through. His heart quickened and his breathing was so fast he grew light headed.
          Overhaul twitched impatiently. With a final sigh, the tamer decided he reached his limit.
          "..You've wasted enough of my time." Turning back to the girl, his hand extended toward her.
          Overhaul certainly was not expecting the sound of a heavy slam, followed by a gust of wind that nearly picked him off his feet. Sand blew by, clogging his vision, as his palm pressed against something hard.
          He furrowed his brows. He thought he made contact with the girl, but whatever he was touching was firm and solid, like a rock. Beyond confused, he waited for the sand to settle, eyes widening at the flash of bright red hair. However, what made him truly confused, was how the hybrid before him didn't crumble at the will of his magic.
          It took everything in Kirishima not to scream. He didn't even know how he got there, or how his crystals fortified so strongly. He could feel his skin want to tear, but it held fast against Overhaul's magic and did not waver. Never had he felt so solid, even on the inside, like an unmovable mountain.
          Every last ounce of energy fought against the force that wanted to shatter him. No matter what, he couldn't let it tear him apart. He had to keep standing. For Uraraka, for his friends, he needed to be unbreakable.
          Taking advantage of Overhaul's hesitation, Kirishima knocked his hand away. Then he ran into him, pushing him further and further from his friend. Overhaul fought him the whole way, furious that his magic had no effect against his new crystals.
The ground shook and cracked apart, aiming to drown Kirishima with dirt. Feeling his legs get sucked under, he let go of Overhaul and broke away, racing with newfound speed to evade anything that dared cross his path. Finally the earthquake caught up to him, throwing him off balance and catching his foot. He fought to pull it out but the earth only squeezed tighter.
A shadow was the only source of warning that the tamer was upon him. His hand gripped Kirishima's head, pouring magic into his body, but it was repelled just like before. He grunted angrily and slammed his other hand on top, pushing even more.
The pain was unbearable, the cracks in his head throbbed and leaked with blood, but it dispersed when Overhaul was pushed away by a flashy explosion. The earth around Kirishima's leg was also blasted away. He climbed out of the hole as Bakugo took a stance by his side.
"Nice of you to FINALLY play along, lazy piece of shit!" The prince swiped a finger under his nose as Kirishima pounded his fists together, rejuvenating his crystals.
"Sorry, had to re-evaluate my life choices." The smirk he brought to Bakugo's lips made Kirishima smile, too. It didn't seem that he was at all suspicious of him being a dragon, either.
Overhaul shook himself from the embers and faced them readily. His face broke out in rashes and hives as he threw his hands into the dirt, uprooting the entire clearing.
Bakugo sprayed fireworks from his feet and hovered straight for him. The villain watched him with the utmost hatred, waiting for him to get close then striking fast. His hand barely missed Bakugo's shoulder and the barbarian retaliated blindingly.
Bakugo grumbled when the explosion was deterred by a wall that clambered toward him. It slammed into him and he rolled away, landing on his feet beside Kirishima as the hybrid moved in.
The redhead punched straight through the wall and tackled their opponent to the ground. Overhaul cursed as his back hit the hard street. As a last resort, he dipped his fingers into the stone and threw his hands to the sky, surrounding himself with a bunch of long, thin spears. Though they didn't pierce Kirishima's skin, they lift him high and threw him far.
          For what felt like forever, Bakugo and Kirishima remained on the offense. Kirishima would get close and distract Overhaul's hands from Bakugo as he showered them with heat. However, every time he managed to do serious damage, Overhaul would just restore himself as if nothing happened.
After many times doing this, Kirishima retreated to his leader's side.
"Nothing's fucking working!" Bakugo hissed as he applied pressure to the wound on his arm. "I'm gonna blow him to pieces in one go! Don't get in my way!"
          "Wait, Bakugo-!" Without waiting for an answer the barbarian raced off, flicking explosion after explosion from his fingertips. However, with Bakugo being the bigger distraction, it gave Kirishima the perfect chance to get close. He swooped in and locked his hands around Overhaul's wrist, refusing to let go even as the earth fought against him. Once the tamer realized he couldn't break free, he destroyed his own arm.
          Blood drenched them both but Kirishima was determined to give Bakugo an opening. He caught himself from stumbling and swung a punch straight upward, catching his opponent in the jaw. Then he threw himself at the tamer, locking his arms around his torso.
          Overhaul's power sunk deep into his skin, again with no effect. For a second, Kirishima thought for sure he could sense fear from him.
          "Get out of the way, idiot! Do you want to die?!" He felt the hot breeze from Bakugo as he raced by. A string of explosions made his ears ring.
          "No! This is how I won the tournament, remember?!"
          They met eyes, leaving Bakugo mildly confused. Kirishima was dead serious.
          "Don't hold back, I can take it!"
          A sinister grin pulled on the barbarian's lips as the redhead smiled confidently. His skin cracked with even greater strength than before, turning him into an even deadlier looking shark-toothed monster you'd only see in nightmares.
Bakugo almost looked impressed. "I'm gonna make you eat those words, shitty-hair!"
          The prince rocketed himself into the night sky. Overhaul struggled madly, even going as far as disassembling his entire body to squeeze out of Kirishima's grasp, but the hybrid locked his elbow around the tamer's head and pulled him back.
          "You are throwing away any chance of redeeming yourself!"
          Kirishima tensed as Overhaul's power spiked like never before. However, the skin that flaked away under his deadly grip was instantly refortified. Above them a bright light grew bigger and hotter.
          "You're a fool!" Again Overhaul's body dissipated and reformed, but Kirishima still managed to keep a tight hold.
          The endless stream from Bakugo's palms looked like a falling meteor cloaked in neon fire. He propelled himself downward, eyes watering from the whistling wind, hands stinging from the sweltering heat.
          At the very last moment before impact, he and Kirishima saw each other, and the most bizarre feeling of adoration poured into them both.
          "DIE!"

                                    .••.••.

          "You idiots had better have a really good excuse this time." Shigaraki rasped, lifting from a creaky wooden chair. Twice, Toga, and Compress stood before him in the dark office room, as the magician played with the small blue marble containing Dabi.
          "Good, maybe not; important? I'd say so!" Compress walked over to an old couch and released the marble. Dabi's unconscious body flopped onto it, shaking a cloud of dust across the floor.
          Shigaraki stared for a silent moment, then snapped back at the other three, "What the hell happened?"
          "We were attacked! We trapped a bunch of invaders but they kicked our ass!" Twice cowered on the floor as Toga covered the bare part of his face with a frayed cloth.
          "They outnumbered us. Dabi was an idiot and got knocked out." She said bluntly. After finishing his makeshift mask she pulled out her knife. A tiny bit of blood still lingered.
          "What of the dragon copy, Twice?" Shigaraki commanded.
          The man shook his head and crossed his arms. "Still alive and dangerous, nobody suspects a thing! It lost a lot of health, I can kill this one and make fresh one if you'd like!"
          Shigaraki drew a long sigh. His crispy bleached hair fell from behind his ears, crowning the dead hand on his face. "And the blood?"
          "There's nothing left." Toga narrowed her eyes at the red smear and dipped a finger into it.
          The bleached blond brought a hand to his neck and scratched vigorously. "No, no, no, no, no...this is all wrong...Master's plan will fail...we need to get him back-"
          "Miss Toga? What ever are you doing?" Compress' concern pulled Shigaraki from his panic.
          The girl's tongue traced the tip of the knife, sending a giddy shiver through her body. Her vampiric fangs poked past her thin lips.
          "Hehe~ I knew it smelled familiar."
          They watched in bewilderment as her body melted away into a wet pile of goop. It bubbled for a second, then took shape of a masculine male with spiked red hair and a striped scarf over his face. She, or he, turned to face them.
          "Oh! He was one of the people that kicked our ass!" Twice shouted and pointed enthusiastically.
          Shigaraki lurched forward, peeling the dead limb off his face for a better look. Slowly he reached toward him, flattening his spiky hair with a swipe. Then he grabbed the scarf and yanked it down.
          It took less than a second for him to pull a black scale from his pocket and step into the warp.

      •.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Bakugo is living and breathing plot armor
Also shoutout to JFDdragonfire because I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter and she was amazing and helped me edit it and supported me when I felt really down about the story <3 she has an amazing Kachacco fanfic on her account that is really good 10/10 would recommend
Also thank you so so much for 400 reads ;-; y'all are amazing ilysm!!