Although the maze was over, with that mess, it was hard to figure out which way led where. Even Irinaka was in no state to put the whole thing the way it was and he was enraged with Toga and Twice there was no getting any information from him.
Aizawa was hesitant. Now that the League got involved, Yuu could tell he was seriously considering pulling back. But Rock Lock snapped at him, telling him to prioritize saving Eri. " If you get it, then hurry up and move your legs!"
Aizawa turned around and darted down the trail and the rest followed his heed. There was no dithering now. As they rushed ahead, they came across one of Chisaki's lackeys knocked out on the ground. The police stopped to take care of him while the heroes moved on. Yuu's ears perked when he heard something. Togata-senpai! " Midoriya-san, behind this wall!" He yelled steering Kyubi in that direction. Midoriya went after them and they broke through.
What they had seen was a beaten up Togata getting attacked by Chisaki. Midoriya didn't hesitate as he bounced on him, punching him hard on the arm. Aizawa erased the villain's Quirk while Nighteye rushed to Togata and Eri, checking on them.
Yuu hurriedly scanned the room, watching for any other enemies. There were two of Chisaki's henchmen strewn there, unconscious. Chisaki was trying hard to use his Quirk but to no avail. Midoriya, Yuu, and Aizawa went for the attack. They could wrap things there and then. But...
" Get up, Chrono !" Kyubi haltered, and Aizawa pushed Midoriya away just as something nocked his wrist. It was protruding from the man in the white coat on the ground.
Chrono is... Yuu's eyes widened as he realized that. " Sensei!"
" That's bad! He won't be able to prevent himself from blinking!" Whisper cried.
" Everyone take cover!" Yuu shouted as he sensed the danger, but Midoriya rushed on just as Chisaki slammed his hand on the ground.
" It's all for nothing!" A forest of spikes rose up from underneath them, how Kyubi managed to keep them safe was yet a mystery. One of Chisaki's men fell right beside him and the villain did something that would haunt Yuu's nightmares forever, he destroyed himself and his own follower to merge into one.
"What the..." Even Whisper couldn't find any words to describe what he had witnessed. " He... how could he... He practically killed himself for a moment there!"
Yuu's eyes however darted around. Aizawa-sensei... where is he? But the teacher was nowhere to be seen. Nor was the man who injured him. It can't be!
" What a sad life you had, Lemillion." The monster that was talking in Chisaki's voice said. " If you hadn't gotten involved with Eri- with me, then your Quirk wouldn't be lost forever."
" For... ever..." Yuu's heart skipped a beat. They had finished it then. The drug that could rob one of one's Quirk. And to think their first victim was Togata. He looked back at the battered blond. Don't tell me... he continued fighting... even with his Quirk gone!
" How vexing!" Whisper shouted." How dare you! That soldier... that soldier... He was a great one... He had a bright path before him..." Yuu could tell how much Whisper was frustrated. He was too. Togata had come a long way, and had worked hard to control his Quirk and refine it to that level. Yet...
Midoriya was the first to move in retaliation, attempting to impale Chisaki with a chunk of rock but it backfired on him. Luckily Nighteye stepped in. " I will be his opponent!" He yelled while attacking Chisaki, drawing his attention to him. " You go to Lemillion and Eri-chan!"
"Roger!"
" Where did Eraser go?! Your aide isn't here, either?"
" I'm interested in heroes who can erase Quirks, so he's been shown to the VIP room!" Yuu gritted his teeth at Chisaki's answer.
" Tsukai! Look for them!" Nighteye ordered without even pausing to look where the boy was.
" Roger that!" And Kyubi turned around, winding her path among the jungle of rocks and spikes until she came upon a deep hole. She dived head-first through it and as she landed, Yuu could see their teacher sprawled on the ground, motionless. The other man, now his hood and mask gone, was standing a few meters away, apparently backed when Kyubi fell from above.
" Aizawa-sensei!" He hopped off his Yokai's back and hurried to him. He was alive, but moving slowly he could hardly even speak. It was the effect of Chrono's quirk and he would probably stay that way for the coming hour.
" How touching, the student came to save his teacher... still..." The hand-like hair blade thrusted towards him and Kyubi shielded them both. As it retreated, Chrono was surprised to see her turn towards him and growl, not the least affected. " How... I can slow any living creature..."
" Well, too bad for you!" Kyubi approached him, snarling. " I'm a mass of energy! You can't slow me down!"
She lunged at him but he managed to roll sideways. Yuu fiddled with the blindfold on Aizawa's eyes when Chrono's eyes landed on him. It was a moment, as soon as his body stopped moving he thrusted one of his hair strands in the boy's direction and it grazed his shoulder. Yuu groaned in pain and felt his limbs grow heavier, his vision blurred and his sense of time all messed up.
" Yuu!" He could hear Whisper shouting in his ear and could see Kyubi chasing after Chrono who managed to grab a pipe and flailed it around, keeping her at bay. But still, his quirk was active, it didn't halt. Only his body did.
He fought against the spell of slow motion that fell upon him, still struggling to untie the binding around Aizawa's eyes. My mind isn't slowing down. I should keep moving till it's over. He thought. I managed to glimpse the hand he used, it was the long one. So the effect will be lifted within a minute, until then, Kyubi will keep him moving and he won't be able to attack again.
But as Yuu's hands gained speed by the moment, Chrono too was thinking up a plan. The fox was keeping him busy so he wouldn't use his Quirk on the kid again. And by the time the boy uncovered Eraser's eyes he as much as was defeated and so was Chisaki. He wouldn't allow that. Not even on his body. Just as the minute was about to end, he switched his pipe for a knife he had taken from Aizawa and slashed at the fox's muzzle, forcing her back.
A moment. That was all he needed. Hastily reaching into his pocket and pulling some kind of a tube, a needle appeared at its end and he stuck it in his neck.
Yuu looked back at that moment and immediately realized what he was up to. " Kyubi!" He called out, knowing exactly what was going to happen.
The moment he pressed the button and the liquid entered his vines, he felt his body getting hot and every inch of it ached as though it was being pulled and stretched from the inside far beyond its limit. He let one cry as the strands of his hair snapped in every direction. Kyubi hurried up to shield both Yuu and Aizawa, the sharp hair blades cutting her deep.
Yuu dared to look up when his body was moving at a normal speed again. All around them, was a web of the silver strands of hair, snapping, wriggling, and flailing.
" Where did that devil go to?" Whisper asked as he looked around, searching for the white-coated villain. But he was nowhere to be seen, only his hair holding them back.
" He hid himself!" Yuu stated as he hurriedly tugged on the bindings and loosened them so they fell down. " He knew Aizawa-sensei could still use his Quirk, although he hardly could keep his eyes open for long in this situation! But a moment is all it takes!" Yuu ducked down as a strand flew over his head. That was close. " Whisper!"
The ghost wasted no moment, he phased right through Yuu's chest. With glowing eyes, he twirled around and grasped the next silver whip that hurled their way. " I won't let you touch Aizawa-sensei!"
He groaned when a hand pierced him in the back and forced him to let go of the one in his hand. But as he turned around, he didn't slow down, much to his surprise. At least, not as much as he expected " What... Could it be, Take Over is nullifying the effect ." Yuu smiled at that. He wouldn't be affected by the hand anymore. That made the villain vexed now that his Quirk was useless.
" Still, be careful," Kyubi warned him. " You won't slow but that thing still can harm you physically."
Shielding him from the whips of white hair, Yuu leaned his teacher on the ground. I won't let him harm Aizawa-sensei! It was clear they were after the man, else why go through the trouble of apprehending him alive? Yuu span around, the hall darker than he remembered it. " Watch out!"
Yuu stepped back just in time as a strand of hair lashed at him, grazing his neck. Kyubi clawed and nibbed at the strands to keep them away from the humans. Even if his Quirk is boosted, the condition of its activation doesn't change. We need to find him! Avoiding another hair whip, Yuu scooped one of his fires. " It may become a little crammed here but we need every help we can get."
The fire enlarged in his hand as Thunderbird emerged out of it. " Summoning me in such a narrow place, there is barely enough space for me!" Thunderbird snapped at him, nevertheless, he flung his wings open to protect them.
" Find the main body! That's what we ought to do!" Yuu told them.
Thunderbird stepped on a strand of hair that was slithering behind them, stopping it from reaching the boy. " And then what?"
" Keep him moving!" Yuu's eyes searched the darkness for the slightest glimpse of Chrono. " That should prevent his Quirk from activating!"
" Great! The perfect thing for me!" Thunderbird said merrily and a spark of lightning was traveling up his head feathers.
Chrono clicked his tongue in his hiding place. He couldn't cause any more damage to the boy or his teacher because the two creatures were protecting them. And to make it worse both couldn't be affected by his Quirk as well. " Just what are they!" He whispered to himself before unleashing several of his strands at them again.
"I've grown tired of your tricks!" Kyubi shouted out loud, hurling multiple fire foxes at the moving thread and burning them. Then an idea occurred to Yuu.
" Thunderbird, keep an eye on the vicinity, when you notice any movement shoot your lightning! Kyubi!" He pointed at a few locks of hair intertwined not far from them. " Burn them! He will sure react to it!"
"I see!" Kyubi's glare hardened. " So shall it be!" She pelted a few of her fireballs and the silver hair caught fire. The strands pulled back, they wriggled and whipped around but still, nothing moved in the shadow of the room. Kyubi lighted a few more of the hair strands but they merely wriggled, yet unable to put the fire down. " It's no use! This fire won't be put out as long as I don't want it to be!"
" Yosh!" Yuu cheered." Kyubi's spiritual fire is unbeatable!"
The blue fire extended among the hair as if it was caught on a breeze. Yet no movement whatsoever. " He got the gut, gotta give him that. No one ever withstood Kyubi's fire."
From the shadow, Chrono bit on his lip. The fire was spreading but he wasn't to divulge his whereabouts by any means. He would not betray his friend. He would carry to the very end for his friend's dream. For the Shie Hassaikai. He plunged his hand into his pocket.
There was a rumble from up there and the ground shook. For a moment, Chrono lost balance and his hair began to retreat, giving them more space. This seemed like a chance for Thunderbird. " Stay behind me!" He said spreading his dark wings, his feathers stood on end as he began charging his electricity. " Lightning Surge!" His wings shook and so did the ground, it was surged with lightning that tore across it and zapped upwards.
" You're a long way from destroying the Shie Hassaikai, kid!" By the light of the lightning, his place was revealed, but with his agility he sidestepped it. Gun held high in hand, his aim was for Aizawa who glared at him, ready to erase his Quirk.
Yuu's mind raced, recalling what Chisaki said about Togata's Quirk. The finished product! He thought. And before he realized it his feet pushed him forward when he heard that ominous bang. Kyubi and Thunderbird couldn't react fast enough in that crammed space. It was all up to him now.
He is an admirable student..."
No teacher ever said that to me.
"His Quirk is unique and superb..."
No one besides Sora ever thought that way.
" If Seijin isn't worth being a hero then half of us wouldn't be."
No one ever put me on the same level as other heroes before!
" Stop! Yuu!" Whisper's cry resounded in his mind, but it wasn't enough to hold him still, not even if the ghost sharing his body wanted to, for it was his own will. It was he, Yuu, who made the lung. And it was he who held one arm before his teacher.
He stood up for me! He cared!
The bullet sank into his upper arm. It felt strange when the world became silent, became colorless. He no longer saw nor heard the shapes and voices only he had access to. It was like something inside him had disappeared all of a sudden, as if the warmth in his vines was gone. And then came the crushing pain, the split second of sharing his body with a powerful being. Whisper's energy and power were too much it felt as though it burned him from the inside, he felt its great weight upon his shoulders like boulders.
Whisper didn't waste any moment. He was prepared from the moment Yuu's will overpowered his and left his body as soon as he could when his quirk was destroyed, though it seemed the sudden shutdown slowed it for a moment, making Yuu feel the real pain of being possessed by a spirit.
The moment he left his body, Whisper felt the familiar sense of being pulled behind the veil separating their worlds but resisted with his own energy this time. It was quick, it was sudden, Kyubi and Thunderbird had no warning and ended up sucked back in a matter of an instant. The flames on the receding hair tufts of Chrono vanished with their wielder.
Yuu fell to the ground, clutching his arm. It wasn't painful, but still, it made him feel a little numb, like the aftereffect of some injection. And the agony from the split second of Whisper's Take Over was still there.
Chrono pulled to his feet under the glare of Aizawa. He could feel the absence of his Quirk. " It doesn't matter," he told the teacher as he walked over to him, holding up his gun. " I can shut down your Quirk and then deal with you."
He looked up. " It's taking too long." The man frowned. " Kai wouldn't lose. Nevertheless, I should retrieve the finished drug and serum and get out of here before any of those nosy police nick it." Aizawa was struggling to move, to do anything to protect himself and his student when Chrono looked down at him. " You're too valuable to be left alive, Eraser Head." He said putting away the gun and drawing the blade he previously stole from him.
Yuu pushed himself up on all four, panting heavily."Whisper..." he whispered to the ghost. "I will hold him back... You go get help..."
" Are you crazy!" The ghost snapped at him. " And leave you with him!"
"Please..." Yuu's eyes met with Whisper's. The ghost backed slightly as he saw them still glimmering with confidence and perseverance. Even as Yuu moved, Whisper was still rooted there, torn between going to ask for help and staying. Even if I stay... I can't help at all! But if I go... what if I get back late?!
" If Kai loses, I can't allow you to live, Eraser. Your Quirk is so much of a thwart to the plan." He closed on the falling man, though uncertainty was visible on his face. " For the Hassaikai... For Kai, I shall put an end to you myself." He held up his knife but stopped when a certain purple head stepped in his way.
Yuu flung his arms to the sides, blocking off any attempt to reach Aizawa. "I won't let you touch a hair of his!" He gave Chrono his best glare.
Chrono's grasp of the knife tightened. " Step aside kid, you have no Quirk, there is no reason for you to lose your life too."
" There's. Protecting my teacher is enough reason for me." Reluctance flashed in Chrono's eyes for a moment. Yuu's unwavering ones were getting on his nerves.
" I said get lost!" He swayed his blade at the boy and Yuu fell to the ground, cradling his right jaw where blood trickled down through his fingers. Still, he stood up again and shielded Aizawa. " What's wrong with you?! Go away! Get lost!"
Chrono flung his blade again, hit Yuu multiple times with the handle, even with his fist, and made a few nicks on his forehead and jaws, but the boy stood his ground, taking each blow after the other but not swerving away so he wouldn't give Chrono a chance on getting to his teacher.
" You won't... ever understand..." He panted, straightened up, and faced Chrono again, looking into his eyes. " I won't ... let you harm him... I will be the one protecting Aizawa-sensei this time!"
Aizawa stirred feebly, wanting to do something, wanting to shout for Yuu to step aside but in vain. He could not move nor speak. And the boy was still alive because of Chrono's hesitation in delivering a fatal blow that was dissipating with each attack he landed.
He stood up for me... And now I have to stand up for him!
" Fine! You can go together then!" Finally losing his patience, he held the blade and aimed to kill this time and Yuu closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain. And then, it happened... a miracle.
" That's enough!"
The blade was repelled by a great black wing, the villain forced back by the slice of a fire-covered claw. Yuu opened his eyes to see great black wings, as dark as the night sky, and nine white tails each ending with a blazing fire before him, as though shielding him from harm.
" Sorry, Yuu! We left you under those circumstances!" Kyubi called without looking back at him, eyes focused on Chrono.
Yuu's eyes were held wide open, as though both spirits would disappear if he blinked. " Kyubi... Thunderbird... how... why are you here?"
" We used our energy, duh!" Thunderbird stated.
" But you can't! If you materialize and fight using your power, you will fade away!" He cried.
" We had a small dash from that spirit, but it won't last long. We have to finish him this instant." Kyubi looked at him this time and Yuu froze.
" He... he really did..."
" Yeah, and he wanted to tell you that you're getting closer," Thunderbird added.
" But why... why did you come back?" He couldn't understand it. Why risking everything to cross back over to him?
" Isn't it obvious!" Thunderbird shrieked." We're here to save you!"
" We wouldn't possibly leave you behind," Kyubi added.
" Now stop wasting time if you don't want us disappearing!"
Time had stopped for Yuu at that moment. They came back... for him... not because they were obliged by a contract to do so... but because they wanted to. They chose to go back, to risk their own existence, for him.
" It must be fun! Getting to befriend spirits!" Sora so often said that and his answer was always the same. " They're... not exactly friends... we work together that's all... you don't know when they decide not to follow you anymore..."
He was wrong. From the very start, he had it all wrong. A tear rolled down his face. They... cared too...
" I don't get the logic behind you but you're not holding me back again!" Chrono squatted down while letting his hair run wild, snapping and flinging all around the room, hitting anything in its way.
" What're your orders, master!" Thunderbird urged him.
Yuu wiped away the tears that traced his face and flung his arm at Kyubi, his determination renewed. " Kyubi, approach him!"
" As you wish!" The fox rushed towards him, jumping and leaping through the locks of hair, unleashing foxes made of flames to burn the ones blocking her way. Her moves were swifter and nimbler than Yuu could ever remember. " His power is something else! I feel stronger!"
As she approached Chrono she was coated in blue flames. Seeing her get closer, Chrono quickly pulled back the rest of his hair strands to defend himself. A space was created then.
" Thunderbird !"
" I was waiting for this!" The bird was covered in sparks before he faded into a large one himself lunging towards Chrono. The fire fox and lightning bird collided against the dome of hair he pulled around himself but it couldn't withstand their power. In a flash, Chrono was tossed into the air, whirling with charred black marks all over him, the ends of his hair clock hands were mostly burned. He fell back down, eyes rolling to the back of his head and mouth hanging wide open.
Kyubi and Thunderbird stood there at the other end of the room, proud of their victory. Yuu let out a sigh and sank to his knees just as Amajiki and the police barged through a door at the other end, led by Whisper...