The dim, flickering light of the underground halls barely illuminated her path, but Eri trudged forward, following the little paper teddy waddling ahead of her. It waved at her, a bizarre and comforting gesture amidst her fears. Her small feet echoed faintly in the silence, but her mind roared louder with memories.
The cold operating table, the antiseptic, and Overhaul's expressionless face as he leaned over her. He was her nightmare. The first time he disassembled her body, she came back screaming so hard her throat bled. She hadn't known it was possible to feel pain like that, in every part of her being all at once. When he reassembled her, there was no relief, only exhaustion and the knowledge that it would happen again.
Eri's small hands trembled as she reached a corner of the wall, steadying herself. She hadn't cried in days, her tears felt used up, but her chest ached and her mind was heavy with the familiar question of: Why me?
Twice before, she had tried to escape, and twice she had failed. Each failure brought more pain, not just for her but for others. She didn't even know her guards name, the one who had read her the story of Momotaro and kept her company in the silence. Yer the sight of his paper creation in front of her fills her with... hope, and a want to trust in that.
The paper teddy stopped abruptly in front of her, turning toward her with what seemed like a reassuring nod. She glanced around and realized it had led her to a large, rusted door. She hesitated, reaching out with trembling fingers as the teddy jumped and pressed the button to open it. The door creaked as sunlight spilled into the darkness. For the first time in forever, she felt the touch of fresh air on her skin.
And then, in a rush of wind, the teddy dissolved into scraps, and before a gasp could escape her lips, a hand grabbed her.
___
The classroom of class 1-A buzzed with chatter. Their homeroom teacher hadn't walked in yet, leaving them all to discuss current matters.
Overhaul was the latest topic.
Mina Ashido, Hanta Sero, and Eijiro Kirishima had all huddled around the desk of one angry Katsuki Bakugou.
"Maybe it's a mutant quirk," Kaminari speculated, "Like Tokoyami, but... paper?"
"Mutant?" Sero replied with a questioning tone. "Paper doesn't mutate."
'Paper.' Bakugou hadn't read the article that his desk mates were talking about, he was zoning in and out of their conversation until they had brought that up. A bad memory popped into his mind.
'Damn Paper Mache head.'
There weren't many, or actually he didn't think there were any heroes with paper quirks, even if he nabbed Deku's books he was sure the only paper related quirk he would find belonged to their former childhood classmate.
Looking up he see's the curly green haired boy run out of class.
'Well, I gotta run too.'
There was more he wanted to find out so he pushed his chair out and quickly walked out of class, ignoring the four-eyed class president.
Behind him he could hear Kirishima to Sero. "What's with those two?"
___
(Half an Hour before)
Overhaul paced his office. The early morning light filtered through the blinds, but it did little to soften the growing storm within him. The articles revelations burned his mind. And once reading it he only thought of one thing.
He wanted to crush Kobe into a thousand pieces, over and over and over again.
The reason he was so sure it was Kobe who leaked the information was because some of it, like the pictures of his merged corpses, only Kobe would have known of them. Those specific one's anyway, and he doubts Mimic or Hojo would ever.
He made sure to only show them to Kobe, the new guy. He would be fine with that leaking because then he would know who the traitor is and kill him the second he got his eyes on him. But his operations too.
His drug routes, no wonder why all his dealers had been getting caught up by the police. His Trigger, it was only time before law enforcement start putting in more of an effort to lock down the whole trade, 'No more Delirium for me.' But there was no news about the quirk erasing bullets. He wondered why but he was glad.
When Overhaul had put on a new mask and was about to walk out of his office to scatter Kobe with the wind, a dark swirly and misty portal appeared. 'Kurogiri.' And then a voice.
"Bring him to me!" It was All for One. 'Just fucking great...'
All For One's voice spoke in a clear demand that Overhaul knew he shouldn't refute. "The boy's potential aligns with my goals."
Yeah right, Overhaul knew that, that didn't really matter. Kobe had an interesting enough quirk, that's what the scrotum-faced fucker really wanted. Although he would never say that to his face.
Overhaul didn't deny All for One of his request, in fact he didn't even have the time to. As soon as he gave his orders the warp gate disappeared.
Overhaul hated that, he hated how he was just at that man's whims because he may have been a little stronger. He doesn't actually know, he had never fought him, but he hated it. But he couldn't deny All For One's influence. Not yet.
He slammed his fist through his desk, and a tremor ran through the room.
"Fuck it. We're hunting!"
___
The convoy roared down the narrow roads leading to the Shie Hassaiki compound. Lemillion sat in the back of one of the lead cars, his jaws tight and his fists clenched on his lap.
His mind churned with conflicting thoughts. The article about Overhaul had been a shocker. The information didn't make Overhaul look like just a standard criminal, he looked like a monster.
But at the center of Lemillion's mind, was Sōryū, a figure that had eluded him and still managed to leave his mark with every step.
Genesis's, his classmates younger brother.
Mirio couldn't shake the image of Yuki's face from his mind during the meeting earlier. The weight she carried when she admitted Sōryū was her brother stuck with him deeply. Yuki had never spoke about her brother, it was found out once before their second year had started that she was in a happier mood about him coming home again for some reason. Now they all knew that he was in a correctional facility, 'Like a Juvenile hall then?'
But to know that her younger sibling could get caught up in such darkness was probably unthinkable for her.
As they neared the compound, he glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of his own reflection. There was a shadow in his eyes that hadn't been there before. Fighting was something he excelled at but since Glasslock had been injured, the sharp edges of battle felt heavier. Her wound was just a reminder of how deadly hero work can be.
But the image of Sōryū kept popping back into his mind. 'He clearly has the skills, so why wouldn't he just leave?'
There must be something keeping him there, Mirio thought. Maybe Overhaul someone in the Shie Hassaiki and he knew him from the correctional facility and wanted to help him get out, or maybe Overhaul has a subordinate using a weird quirk on him to make him stay around him.
So what, or who is making Sōryū stay?
He doesn't know now, but... "Hero work is about saving everyone," Lemillion muttered. "Even the one's that may not deserve it."
___
The room was a whirlwind of motion, the walls were trembling under the weight of confrontation. of battle as I fought to keep my head above water. Every second was a lifetime, and every move had to count.
Rappa came at me first, fists moving like a cannon fire, each strike splitting the air with an audible roar. His quirk wasn't subtle, but it didn't need to be, brute force could be unrelenting and effective. I slid out of his range, forming a curved shield in the same motion. His punch met my shield and the impact sent a shockwave through the room and the shield held.
"Come on Sōryū!" Rappa roared, his grin wide and unhinged. "Throw an actual hit."
"I thought we were just warming up," I shot back, my tone light. A flick of my wrist transformed the shield into a spear, it's pointed edge gleaming as I drove it towards him. He twisted, narrowly avoiding it, and countered with another flurry of punches forcing me to leap back.
Chronostasis was next, his movements measured. A dart whizzed past my ear, embedding itself in the wall behind me. Another followed, faster this time, and I abruptly managed to duck as it sliced through the air where my neck had been. I retaliated with a wave of paper knives that flew in his direction. Sharp and lethal, forcing him to run behind a pillar.
The ground beneath me had shifted suddenly, jagged spikes erupting from the floor most likely Mimic since Overhaul was still a short distance away with his gloves on.
Mimic's voice echoed around the room. "You're not slipping away this time you rat!" He'd merged with the environment, his presence was felt in every vibration of the walls and floors.
I leaped, wings of paper unfurling from my back and carrying me upwards just enough to avoid the spikes but not high enough to touch the ceiling. The spikes missed me by a few inches, crumbling into dust as Mimic reshaped the terrain. My wings folded into blades and I dived, slicing through the stone floor below and forcing Mimic to disengage.
He reappeared in his diminutive form, darting toward me in a snarl.
"Not bad," I said, as the small frame collide with a wall. "But for your height you should be more of a silent attacker."
I didn't know his real height, or at least I didn't know if that cloth-like dwarf form was his real height.
Nemoto circled around the chaos, his sharp eyes never leaving me. He hadn't used his quirk. I was thinking he would to throw me off guard, he still probably is thinking that.
Hojo joined the fray, crystalline shards forming in his hands as he hurled them at me with precision. I countered with a barrier of paper, the shards shattered harmlessly against it. With a flick of my hand, the barrier transformed into a scorpions tail, lashing out and forcing Hojo to dive for cover.
Overhaul had arrived with a slow gait. He stood staring at me, he was concerned. His hands were clasped in front of him. The tension in his posture was only a sign of his growing frustration.
"You're full of surprises Sōryū," he finally said. His voice was calm but still hinted his growing hate for me. "But I can't help but wonder... What was your plan? Why join us in the first place?"
I didn't answer, not immediately. Not until Nemoto asked. "Why did you stay within Overhaul's organization?"
And the answer that slipped out of my mouth even shocked me.
"To save her!" I said before I could stop myself. Honestly, I thought that the answer would be to find out if his organization was connected to the Eden Project. But no, with that answer Eri, the girl with hair of purity and eyes of ruby jewels, she was the answer that came to mind first.
Overhaul's eyes narrowed, a flicker of confusion crossing his face before it was replaced by cold fury. "Her?" He repeated and his voice was low and dangerous.
I didn't wait for him to piece it together. The moment his expression shifted, I moved. Wings of paper unfurled once more, and I launched myself toward a shattered window. The shie hassaiki launched toward me with Overhaul stomping over them to try and grab a hold of me.
The wind rushed past me as I soared out of reach.
Below, I saw her. Eri, just stepping out of the exit, her eyes wide as the paper teddy dissolved in front of her. Relief surged through me, I dipped low, scooping her up with one arm as her tiny hands clung to my shirt. "Hold on." I whispered, and in a final burst of energy, I ascended to the sky.
Behind us the compound erupted in chaos. Overhaul's guttural roar of "Eri!" tore through the air, his voice was raw and primal, it made Eri clutch me tighter. But his voice was drowned out by the thunderous crash of walls crumbling as the heroes stormed the compound.
Sirens were loud as they parked by the compound. Countless yakuza thugs were put in the forefront of a fight they had no idea was going on.
I soared even higher. My eyes swept the horizon, but my attention snapped forward when movement caught my eye. A streak of blue energy and a flash of animated brilliance that I was so used to started closing in on me fast.
One was from Ryukyu's agency, Nejire Hado, another third year at UA. 'I sure am getting lucky with them.' And the other was... My big sister.
Nejire's spiralling energy streams propelled her through the sky with graceful precision, while my sister, Yuki, had animated her shoes into winged constructs, their silver forms gleaming as they carried her effortlessly alongside her classmate.
The sight was surreal and I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little starstruck.
"Stop!" Yuki's voice rang out, sharp and commanding, cutting through the rush of wind around me.
I faltered, glancing back and our eyes locked. Her expression was a mixture of determination, anger and something else harder to define. My heart tightened.
"Yuki," I whispered, the name barely audible over the roar of the winds.