Chapter 88 - An Angel

" It's been a while, sweetheart. You've grown up."" Papa... you're really..." As she ran over to him, wanting to hug him, wanting to bury her face in his chest and forget all about the world, she phased right through him. " What?" She asked looking back at him.Subaru looked down at his own hand, clenching and unclenching it. " I see, this isn't a stable form. Seems I've asked too much of you, Yuu-kun," he said looking back at where the siblings were and so did Sora.Holding onto his brother's hand like a lifeline, Yuu's eye glowed dimly in contrast to Yuusuke's bright ones. "Yuu..."" Forgive me for tiring you even in that situation. You have my thanks," the man said politely while bowing his head." Just... set her free..." Subaru nodded his head before turning back to his daughter, still grappling with what happened." Sora, as Yuu-kun said earlier, that thing is nothing but a body, a shell."" But that's your own body!"" It no more belonged to me since the moment my soul left it." Her father spoke calmly. " That thing isn't me, dear. It's a monster made of what was left of me."" But..." Sora's tears streamed down. " I can't accept this... you're in front of me... after all these years, you're in front of me and I can't even hug you! I don't want to believe there is no way to put you back!"" I'm afraid there isn't. You've got to let go, Sora."" I can't!" She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. " For all these years, I've been working hard, trying to find a line, any at all, and now you're just telling me to let go! I can't!... there's so many things I wanted to tell you! So many things I wanted to do with you! But you're telling me I've got no chance at that!"" Sora..."" I just want everything to go back the way it was, with the three of us!"" Dear..." he tried to hold into her arms but when his hands phased through her, he closed his eyes and marshaled his thoughts. " Listen here, dear. There was a lot I wanted to do with you too. There were a whole lot of things I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to see you grow up and shine."Sora lifted her head and looked up at him. " But that's our fate now, and it's what we make of it. Things can't go back, you know that very well. Time only moves on. And so must we."He looked back at the black creature still fighting against Uraraka and the rest. " This is our present now. Look carefully at it."Sora raised her eyes at the Nomu and they widened when she saw him attacking Uraraka and Asui brutally, cutting Asui's tongue and hitting Uraraka's head hard on the floor before turning to Pixiebob and kicking her far from him. " Ochaco-chan! Everyone!"" Think, who are the ones you should be protecting right now?" Her eyes drifted from the fight to Yuu struggling to keep her father visible. " I'm nothing but a memory from your past. But what about them?" Sora clicked her tongue at that." But..."" Sora, what's our Quirk for?"" Angel is..." She gritted her teeth as she fought back her tears. "... Is a Quirk to help everyone ."" Then look forward. Break free of the past. Rather than worrying about me, worry about those who bleed and sweat right now. They're the ones who need you most, Sora."Sora looked back at her friends, struggling up to their feet, facing off against the Nomu with all their resolve." I don't want to be the one taking away your precious friends."" If... if I do it... what will happen to you?"" Sora, I'm not but a soul anchored to this world with regret. While my body is roaming freely, wreaking havoc using my own Quirk, I can't be put to rest." He smiled down at her. " But you can save me, right, Sora."Swallowing down her sobs and gasps, her moist eyes squinted at the Nomu again with a burning glare. " You'll stay by my side till the very end, right?"Subaru nodded, his expression softening as he placed his hand on her back and his wings shot out." Till the very end, dear. Now go!"Screaming her lungs out as though trying to relieve the pent-up feelings, Sora flung her wings wide open and kicked the ground, propelling herself at the Nomu. " Get away from them!"" Here... she comes..."His arm extended at her but she ducked under it and twisted around, kicking him hard on his chin and sending him flying up. That was just like Shoji-kun's moves! He has some similar Quirk!Yuu breathed shakingly as he released his Quirk and Subaru faded out of everyone's sight. " Thanks..." He panted, his eye still tracking his friend fighting against the Nomu in midair. Sora..." You are..." Sora swallowed her tears as flew at him at a neck-breaking speed. " Tormenting him! You're hurting him!"" Get... Angel..." He extended his arms around her in an attempt to capture her but with a flap of her wings, she created an airwave strong enough to fend against that and lashed at him, claws bared." Stop soiling Papa's face!"The Nomu hit the air with his wings and multiple feather darts flew at Sora. She quickly evaded them and made for the Nomu again only for him to grab her side and crush it hard in his own hand. Sora screamed, blood gushing out her mouth." Kill... Angel... bring her back..." He swung his arm, aiming to cut her with his blades but she managed to arc herself back and the blade missed her. She flapped her wings hard, escaping his grasp, and panted heavily as she held onto her bloodied side just as more of Pixiebob's golems aimed for the black creature.Strong... at this rate I'll be dead before I could even lend a finger on him. And then... She groaned as she made her feather grow around the wound, sealing it. In order to defeat him, we should take down his head... But he's good at Martial Arts even I can't get close to him. Not to mention...With a swing of his arm Asui, Uraraka, and Pixiebob were thrown off their feet with a strong blow of air. Papa's able to control air! That was an attribute he gained from Angel! She gritted her teeth recalling reading what her father wrote down in the notebook." Air... Cannon..." He unleashed a strong air pressure at the flying Sora, knocking her off balance. " Got... you..." His arms duplicated and extended around her, trapping her." Oh no!" Overcome your limit! Break your borders! Her feathers jutted out, cutting through the Nomu's flesh and forcing him to withdraw his arms. To overpower Papa..." Air... Cannon..." The Nomu flew over her head and slammed her down the ground with another air blow. She hit the floor face down. " Those wings... are trouble..."" Let go of Sora-chan!" Uraraka and Asui ran to them." Stay away..." Another flap of all six wings threw them back again and Tiger had to catch them." Those wings..." Sora screamed as the Nomu's sharp nails dug into her back. " Must be... gone..." He clutched one of her wings and twisted it. A sharp pain shot up her spine as her bones broke like small twigs in his hand. " Crushed..." Like if that wasn't enough he squashed it in his hand.Sora writhed in pain. He wants to prevent me from flying again... She winced as she struggled to push herself up. But flight isn't everything I've got! I'm super strong too!She slammed the ground with her arm hard and it cracked beneath them. The small space created at that moment was enough for her to twist around and kick him hard on the abdomen, sending him up again.I won't... let them take anything else from me... Her form enlarged as she stood up, her feathers fading from snowy white to stormy gray. Her teeth became jagged and her pupils turned to slits." What is happening..." Tiger questioned seeing her undergo those major changes.I won't hesitate... Not this time around..." What... am I?"I don't know! I don't care!" Just... What in the world is she...?"Let them fear me for all I care! For now..." You can save me, right, Sora."" I will save them! No matter what!"" Sora..." Yuu's eye was wide open at her form." That's... from the training camp..." Asui muttered." As I thought... it was Sora-chan..." Uraraka looked as the girl soared up, ignoring the pain in her back." Don't take anything else from me!" She roared just as the Nomu sped towards her and they collided. The black creature had his side clawed at, but Sora had a deep gush running from her jaw, down her neck, and her chest." Sora-chan!"" Sora!"" I will put an end to you!" She growled as she spun around, blood-stained feathers growing out of her wound. " For everyone! And for Papa!"He attacked with another air pressure but she used the air wave of her wings to nullify it. The two of them collided, exchanging blows and slashes, but neither were backing. The Nomu's wounds were mending quickly while Sora sealed hers with solidified feathers. Keep moving even if it kills you... Keep pressing, an opening will show... Create it!" You... fool..." The Nomu was able to read her moves easily and go around them. He grabbed tightly onto her arm she felt it breaking under his strength. " Go... back down..."" Uravity-chan!" Asui quickly flung Uraraka at him just as he moved to throw Sora overhead and her fingertips brushed against his open side." Sora-chan! Most Martial Arts moves depend on weight!"Sora widened her eyes at that as she thrashed her wings hard, her force overpowering his now that he lost his weight and she dragged him up across the sky to the crest of the glass dome he trapped them within. Even with losing his weight, he's still as sturdy as metal, and his regeneration is fast to add. In order to finish him off I need to overpower him." Pixiebob!" The woman narrowed her eyes as she hit the ground hard with her hand, raising a bunch of spikes from the earth.As she reached the top of the dome she spun, wrenching her left arm free and grasping his head with her right hand. Break it! The boundaries you set for yourself! Unleash it! Your true strength. " Go beyond!"Her wings flapped against the air and she bolted earthward at the speed of sound. You can go to sleep now... Papa. " Plus ultra!" They touched down with a great force that a crater was dug, and the rest had to duck down just as a surging wave of dust and air washed over them.When it cleared, Sora was bending on all four, gasping for air. Her grey feathers were tainted with blotches and rivers of blood. She looked up at the Nomu lying still on the ground. Was that the right choice? Wasn't there anything else she could do to him? Her lips shook and the tears she kept locked overflowed finally. She lowered her head, sobbing and crying.Everyone stood to their feet as the walls holding them capture started fading and looked back at the creature in the middle of the smoke, grey, with broken bloodied wings and crying in a hoarse voice." Sora-chan..."Yuu struggled up to his feet with his brother's and Mandalay's help. His eye darted immediately to Sora and he made for her." Don't come closer!" The girl shouted, drawing her wings closely around her to cover her face. " Don't look at me... I'm not an angel anymore..." She sobbed. " I'm... a monster... a cruel monster..."Yuu looked at her shaking body, and for a moment, he saw the girl crying under the tree, drenched in the rain after the news of her father's death. He narrowed his eye, no matter what she may say, she needed him.He took a step away from Yuusuke and Mandalay and to his friend.Sora looked up when she felt his hand gently rest on her cheek and lift her face up. Yuu smiled softly at her. " No, you're not. You're a hero, Sora." Her eyes clung to his. " And a great one to that."Her tears streamed even more at that. " Don't... lie to me..."" I'm not." Even her words didn't make his smile waver. " For what reason did you get beaten and battered up like that, for what reason did you assume that shape? It was in order to protect all of us, right."" It was the appearance of a true hero."" You're an angel, you've proven it even further today." He gently pressed his forehead against her. "You're always my angel, Sora. That won't change."" Sora-chan..." Sora hesitantly looked back at Uraraka and Asui. " ... I've been wanting to tell you ever since the training camp... but I didn't have the courage to bring it up..." The girl's eyes were full of sincerity as they met Sora's. " I'm sorry if I've ever hurt your feelings back then."" Ochaco... chan..."" Ribbit. I don't like to make excuses." Asui added. " But the situation being what it was, we couldn't help... we're sorry, Sora-chan."" Tsuyu... chan..."" It has nothing to do with how you look, you should know that better than anyone after Shoji-kun told us about his past," said Uraraka." You're always, class A's angel, Sora-chan," added Asui." We're always on your side, Sora." Yuu nodded.Her head fell down again. " You don't think me a monster... even after what I've done to my own dad..."" Sora..." Yuu spoke softly. " There was nothing more merciful you could have done for him."" Yuu..."" Don't cry," he said wiping her tears away. " Raise your head and face forward."But she couldn't. So many things happened, so much was taken, and so much was revealed. There were many, many feelings and emotions swirling within her chest, making it tight. But there was one thing, only one thing she wanted too badly.She flung her arms around him and held tight. She wanted him by her side, she needed him. Whatever was to happen, whatever changes may occur, whatever path she may tread from there on, she only wanted to have her friend there with her. " Stay... by my side..." She sobbed into his shoulder as her feathers slowly fell off." I'll... always... My Angel." He assured her, pulling her closer...