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Chapter 27: Hosu – Mummification and Pyres
🕑 Added 2024-06-26 15:50:40 +0000 UTCI might have a preference, as I really enjoyed writing this chapter more than I did the one for Path of Waves. Maybe it's because of what was planned, maybe it's because here, Izuku can let his hair down and just go wild, which really sets the scene and can lead to some glorious, if a little messed-up, moments.
Chapter 27: Hosu – Mummification and Pyres
Hosu wasn't a bad place. Pretty peaceful with low crime. Well, it was because Stain decided that it would be his next hunting ground. Now, the pros were out in force looking for him. At the same time, regular people seemed to be on edge, as while Stain hadn't claimed a single non-hero casualty, that didn't mean they wanted to be anywhere near him and test that seemingly self-imposed rule.
Some would say that made Hosu too hot for villains, but the wiser would note it was quite the opposite. So long as you didn't draw attention to yourself or commit any open crimes, pros hardly noticed you, as their eye was on a hero killer. Perhaps that was why Giran organized that their meeting take place here.
“Couldn’t this happen earlier in the day? I wanted to snuggle up and watch movies tonight.” Midoriya complained as he and Makihara walked down an alley. The sun would set in less than half an hour, and they still needed to finish this meeting and get back to their safe house.
"You have an issue with it; take it up with that broker," Makihara replied, though he did agree with him that Giran was being a bitch by changing their ordinary afternoon meets to an evening one. What, did he want a more villainous atmosphere?
"But why did I have to come? You and Nine normally handle stuff like this." Midoriya asked, Koharu napping while wrapped around his shoulders.
Makihara turned an eye to him. “Midoriya, don’t you think you should learn about this side of the business? You can’t just plot and commit arson.”
“Don’t forget vandalism and theft,” Midoriya giggled, as he wouldn't lie; he enjoyed committing those crimes more than he should. Perhaps it was the rush, the confrontations that often came with it, or something else he didn't know. “But it’s not like I don’t want to learn. I like learning new things.
“But?” Makihara pressed as Midoriya skipped ahead, standing with his hands on his hips and presenting himself to his teammate and friend.
"People don't take me seriously; I'm seen as the odd out of the entire group. It's ridiculous! I'm just as capable as you all and other criminals either treat me like the mascot or a monster, there is no in-between." He gestured to his stylish and adorable garments and how well he and Hasaki had managed to get his hair done. He thought he looked great, and he certainly felt great. It was like he was expressing himself in ways he hadn't ever thought of before.
But did others see that? Did they see a stylish and dangerous villain, a future key player in the underworld? Oh no, all people saw was the 'trap', a term that made him want to burn down their hideout when he looked it up online. If they didn't see him as something to protect or, worse…bed, they saw him as a demonic hellspawn to flee from, as if he'll just slaughter them without warning or reason.
Makihara hummed, understanding the younger male's frustrations, at least a little, as he placed an assuring hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you'll learn to counter that if you tag along more." He suggested as Midoriya sighed but didn't argue as the two continued on their way.
Makihara had another reason, or at least suspicion, why Nine had to pair them for this meeting. ‘Besides, while Nine and I are more than capable, along with Hasaki, we're the quiet kind of capable. Midoriya and Kon, on the other hand, are loud, imposing monsters whose presence instills fear.' Giran was a neutral party, as brokers were supposed to be, but he was one of the real ones. He would sooner take a bullet than sell out a client or create a situation where one party was unfairly superior to the other.
But that didn't mean the people he connected them with didn't have their agenda or weren't above intimidating and other underhanded tricks. A show of force like Kon and Midoriya, people that, unlike him and Nine, who had to try, just had to be present to be seen as a threat. The chimera with the strengths and abilities of who knew how many animals, and the little volcano with legs. The city's hustle was heard in the distance as they approached its industrial and warehouse district. It was calming for the day as most workers went home or hit the down to relax.
That suited them just fine, as it meant that when they arrived at the meeting spot, no one would see them enter the place. As he had at the front, Pyre knocked on the large warehouse door, which got Mummy to give him a look. A little embarrassed, he just opened it with a loud creak. Someone needed to oil those rollers.
Inside, it was how Mummy had expected it: filled with crates and some shipping containers, overhead lights, and at least 30 people waiting for them, positioned all over the place with welcoming looks in their eyes. A gang, most likely. Giran probably got them here for something else, or maybe they were the other party; either way, they didn't seem all too impressed with him, but when they saw Pyre, they had the desired reaction as many flinched or took a step back as Pyre waved at them. The fact he was the youngest and smallest person present was not enough to assure them.
Smart of them.
But as much fun it was to watch these lesser thugs squirm, they didn't come here for a social call as Mummy looked towards the office room on the second floor of the place. Its door closed, but they could see through the shadows on its window that someone was inside. "Giran, get down here! We don't have time to play with your minions."
Answering his request, the shadow got up. It moved for the door, opening it to reveal the broker, a cigarette in hand, as he gave them his signature sleazy smirk. Taking a drag of his cigarette, he said, "Oh, Mummy, good to see you. But where's Nine? He sick or something?"
Mummy didn't answer the question. Neutral Giran might have been, but that didn't apply to the rest of the goons. "Is that part of your business?"
Walking down the stairs towards them, the broker kept his slimy smile. "Of come one, I'm just making conversation. No need to be rude. But speaking of making conversation, you're here early. I wasn't expecting you for another 15 minutes and was in the middle of a work call." He looked at his watch, one that Pyre wasn't sure was fake or not, to confirm his statement.
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we both get what we want," Mummy replied.
"Not a bad idea." Giran shrugged. If he had an issue with this, he didn't show it. Instead, he raised a hand towards Pyre, who blinked in surprise. "Pleasure to meet you, Pyre. I've heard some pretty good things about you. Clients love your efficiency and flair for the dramatic."
"Oh, thank you." Pyre softly answered as he shook the man's hand, his nose wrinkling as he picked up the smell of tobacco. It was somehow worse than Kon, and he smoked at least 2 cigars a day. How the hell did Giran not have a voice that sounded like sandpaper being put through a woodchipper?
Giran, after letting go of the handshake, walked them over towards the middle of the room, where a table with their goods waiting for them was covered by a large blanket. Pyre remained silent as they approached. The now awake Koharu advised that they keep an eye on the rest of the people present and try to remember faces should one of them turn out to be a rat.
She also suggested something else, a means to remind these people who they were, so without giving much away, he increased his body temperature, feeding hot air into the otherwise chilled warehouse. It served as a good intimidation move. Even if the goons didn't know why, they would soon start to sweat like it was the middle of an Okinawan summer. It served as a chance for him to train his power, like manipulating heat without visible flames.
A side effect of this play was that the hot air he was silently released made his clothes flutter and dance in the rising air currents, making him seem otherworldly and unapproachable. He seemed to glide rather than walk like the rest of them, his feet obscured even with his pants fluttering about.
"What the hell?" Someone asked as they watched him move, wary of his move as Koharu's eyes stared down any that tried to meet her gaze.
"Is it me, or is it getting hotter in here?" Someone else asked, reaching for his collar while another was fanning his face.
"It has to be Pyre." Mummy did not heed their words, like Giran, who kept smoking even though both started sweating a little.
"But I don't see any flames!" Someone whispered, but loudly to another, yelping when Pyre turned his gaze away, his emerald eyes glowing in the darkened space.
"That is one scary little girl." Here, Giran did let out a short bark of laughter, as he was very much in the know. Pyre merely rolled his eyes, not even getting all that angry about it, as Giran nodded towards one of the thugs he had guarding the table.
The man nodded back before pulling the blanket off and presenting the items for the two to inspect. "You know, they weren't easy to get my hands on. Vendors prefer cheaper stuff, easy to make, and easy to off-load should a buyer lose interest or get arrested." Giran stated as Mummy inspected the goods, the first of which was for him: Rolls of flame-resistant fabric, perfect for him to use as it meant he didn't need to worry about Pyre's flames as much.
"And it's hard to trace back to them, right?" Mummy asked as he felt the fabric, pleased that aside from their flame resistance, it was much tougher than his normal stuff. "If we wanted cheap products, we wouldn't be here."
Giran took a drag from his cigarette, a smirk on his face, as he faux-bowed to them. "I'm pleased that you associate me with quality. Happy clients are, after all, repeat clients."
Pyre suspected that the other reason he liked his clients happy was that there were less likely to rat him out or try and kill him. However, either was highly unlikely anyway, as Nine had explained that brokers were considered to be untouchable by the underworld's unwritten rules-so long as they didn't screw you over, trying to target out was a sure-fire way to lose credibility or be targeted yourself.
Mummy continued to inspect the goods on display, the second being a new blade for him. A pair of retractable claw gloves and boots for Slice, all of which were made from the best material they could afford, which was safe to say, was exceptional as they still had funds from their first heist, as one would expect when they made off with over 33 million in cash, 33 million which was their version of 'walking around money'.
Pyre and Mummy groaned when they saw that part of the order was a fresh batch of high-end cigars. "What? I'm a guy who knows his tobacco; of course, Chimera would ask that I get him the same, not like he can walk into a store and get them himself. I even offer him a discount since I'm as addicted to them as he seems to be." Giran took another drag of his cigarette as Pyre frowned and looked away.
Mummy, on the other hand, raised his eyebrow. “I’m surprised you’ll admit that you got a problem so openly.”
Giran shrugged, finishing his smoke and dropping the bud to the ground, where he stepped on it. "It helps with the stresses of my job, but it's not like my lungs will give me any slack when the bill comes to."
"But I feel you'll be more interested in the two special items I got, as you ordered." He tapped the two chests placed on the table's far side, their presence confusing Pyre.
“Special?” He voiced his confusion, as he had been told they were getting just those four things, including Nine's meds. In response, Mummy lifted his finger to his lips, signaling him to remain silent and watch, but Giran caught on all the same.
"Seems like someone wanted to be a surprise for you. Well, one of them is for you, so it makes sense." Giran partially ruined the surprise, which while Mummy wanted to smack him for, Pyre felt a little giddy about. He hadn't received gifts from anyone outside his mom in years. Was it more writing tools? Maybe they got him more clothes.
Giran smirked at the naked anticipation and innocent joy in Pyre's eyes, as he could easily forgot that this dangerous villain was still a kid. "The first is the usual, Nine's meds as well." He opened the first chest and pulled out a couple of bottles of medicines; some Pyre noted were painkillers, others immune-boosters, etc.
But it was the second thing Giran pulled out that drew Pyre's attention. It was a piece of armour-looking gear made from sleek blue metal, one that seemed to cover not just the lower face but the neck and shoulders as well. On its back were two ports for something.
Tapping the support item, he stood aside to let Mummy inspect it as he informed him of it. "Let me tell you, this kind of thing is normally built for kids whose bodies haven't fully adapted to their quirks yet; finding someone that could make a study adult-sized one wasn't easy," Giran told them, which Pyre guessed it must be for the times when he's not readily available to help Nine with his quirk's drawbacks.
"We paid you extra for that," Mummy replied, seeing that the construction seemed study enough. Nine wasn't one who got too close to enemies, but you could never be too careful.
"And it was money well spent, I assure you," Giran replied with a chuckle, as he wouldn't say no when the commission he was earning from this was over 160K. And thanks to them and the League, he's seen more business in the last couple of months than the previous 6 combined, and he and the union only expected business to continue to rise for them.
Mummy finished inspecting the foods, loading them back into the case before looking at the unopened one; Pyre's eyes looked into it like a baby snake, curious about what was under a leaf. “Pyre.” His gaze shot towards Mummy, who gestured for him to approach the table.
Eager to see what awaited him once more, Pyre seemed to float over, his control over his quirk slipping a little as he breathed out a small puff of flames, smoke lingering from the corners of his lips. Stepping aside, the two men let Pyre step to the table, his hands reaching for the case; taking a breath, he just barely waited for one of the thugs to approach with the key, which Koharu snatched out of the scared man's hands and handed to her human.
Slipping it in, he turned it and opened the box to reveal…two fans? Cocking his head to the side, he studied them for clues, as they were undoubtedly well made, with beautifully etched patterns, a wonderful present for him, but one that did confuse him as he wasn't someone that minded the heat, quite the contrary.
Seeing the confusion, Giran explained ,"They're not regular fans, if that's what you think. They're actually specially made tessen with suzu bells built into them, and the entire thing is made as flame and heat-resistant as they could manage."
Prye's excitement grew as he read about suzu bells. He had one at the temple and would often use it in prayers before the flames. He had left it behind because he believed it belonged there, but that didn't mean he didn't miss it. Did Nine realize that? Or was it Hasaki, or Kon, maybe Makihara, or was it a group thing? It had to be; he hardly spoke about the details of his time serving as a shrine maiden.
His heart singing with joy and appreciation for his friends, he picked one of the fans. He noted that it was incredible light for something made from metal, but when he opened it up, it made a wonderfully soothing chime. The blades each had tiny little bells built into them close to the tips, while a large one was hanging off the bottom of the handle.
Grasping the second, he repeated it, and even Koharu found it pleasing to the ear to open it, like he was preparing for a mediation session or just tending to the flames. Slowly, he moved them around, and even that movement, minimal as it were, created comforting smooth chimes. However, it did sound a little different than before when he repeated it. He could make out the difference. It was louder than before.
“Good, they’re working as advertised. Those babies increase in volume the hotter the fans and bells get, though don't ask me how they didn't bother explaining the science to me, and I didn't ask." Giran stated, wiping the sweat from his brow as the kid's little trick turned this place into a sauna.
Not that Pyre seemed to care. With a skip in his step, he left the table, his two new fans in hand, and started to sway them around, each movement bringing forth a new chime, peal, or jingle, which only sent him deeper into the nostalgia of his temple days, early mornings and chores, but fresh mountain air and freedom. How many times did he ring bells like these for his duties? How often did he play with them to calm his nerves when he had bad days?
What escaped his and Koharu's notice, the two too lost in the sweet chimes, was that they had fallen into an old dance, twisting, turning, and swinging his arms about like a well-trained theatre dancer for the awe and enjoyment of the small audience they had, Koharu well and truly an apart of his as her body slithered, twisted and dancing around his body like a charmed snake would along with her human’s movements, creating a two-person act.
This exceptional performance and with the soft, beautifully soothing melody of the bells combined with the fluttering of his bright clothing and youthful, more feminine leaning soft features and accessories like his head crown and ear-rings turned them from a formidable villain and their snake into a scared devote dancer to their chosen deity. This only stopped when Prye did; simultaneously, he stopped pumping hot air into the warehouse, leaving his clothes to fall back under the sway of gravity.
Turning towards Giran and Mummy, the broker blinked in surprise when he saw that Pyre had a small, humble but sincere smile that reached his eyes. This smile reflected a joy and appreciation he had never seen in a villain.
Pyre's eyes were instead on Mummy as the stilled, elegant silence that had fallen over the room was broken when Pyre quickly concealed his new tessens in his sleeves and rushed up to Mummy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He grabbed the taller and quickly lifted him off the ground in a bear hug, laughing as he swung him around while Mummy felt himself being crashed. Even without using his quirk, Pyre was insanely strong for his size!
Eventually, he managed to get him to let him down; taking a breath, he asked the obvious. "You like 'em?"
"I love them," Pyre replied, letting one of the tessens fall back into his hand, surfing his thumb over the carved-out patterns of flames and mountains; this has to have been made with him in mind. And he would cherish it.
"Like I said, a happy customer is a repeat customer." Pyre beamed at the man, walking over to him and hugging him. Though not nearly as solid or enthusiastic as the one he gave Mummy, it caught the broker off guard. Usually, he would instinctively flinch away from his clients; they were all criminals. But this was one of the rare times when his client had no ill will whatsoever.
Awkwardly, he pats the kids back till he lets go of him, still on cloud 9 after receiving what must have been a Christmas/Birthday present wrapped into one and multiplied by 10. "We sure will be. You're the best, Giran. You also played a part in getting me this wonderful present." With that done, it was a quick cash exchange as Mummy handed Giran a briefcase. The broker quickly set it down, opened it, and started counting the funds inside, quickly finding the over 694K that all this cost, of which he could freely remove his commission fee.
But that wasn't all that was in the briefcase his brow creased with surprise as he found that there were another million sides, and he wasn't even done counting yet. Mummy knew what he would ask before he said anything. “Consider that down payment for another job.”
Giran, ever eager for work, smiled. "Well then, don't keep an old man waiting. Father time waits for no one after all, and I'm due to meet him before any of you already."
"We need you to get your hands on two vehicles for us. The first is a nondescript car suited for four. The second is a van. Both should be modified to be armored and have bulletproof windows, four-wheel drive, increased shock absorbers, and suspension. Anything can be done while ensuring they can blend into a sea of cars." Mummy explained to the man, who whistled at the demands made of him.
“You don’t ask for much, don’t you?” Giran sarcastically remarked.
"I'm pretty sure Pyre already said it. You are the best, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue, right?" Mummy clapped back, with the two having a starring contest momentarily before Giran cracked a smile.
“Just remember my rates, 15% of the final asking price is my commission. So, if I can't find anyone with that or willing to do the work for cheap,"
“We accept,” Mummy didn’t let the man finish; besides, he knew that Giran, if asked, would search for quality, and if that meant paying more, then so be it. It wasn’t like they were hurting for cash anyway as all those jobs that had been taking, all those crimes paid handsomely.
Shaking on this new deal between them, Mummy moved to pack things so that they could leave when they heard an explosion in the distance. “What was that?” Mummy asked; he and Pyre immediately went on guard as Pyre's eyes flashed, ready to call upon steam and flames at a moment's notice.
“Boss! Looks like there’s some commotion in town.” One of the thugs near a window called out. Mummy and Pyre shared a look before they rushed up the stairs towards the window. Outside, they could see that it had gotten dark, but that only made the fiery glow in the distance all the more visible. One was followed by another explosion close to the first, with rising smoke plums accompanying both.
“Is that a fire?” One of them asked. Pyre, who was intimately close to all things flame, could immediately tell it was, and based on how it was spreading, it wasn't an accident. Koharu moved, and Pyre opened the window to aid her, allowing her to lick the air and confirm that suspicion.
He relayed that to Mummy, who cursed. “Dammit, who in their right mind would start a fight here?” The whole point of this meeting was that Hosu wouldn't have many issues. And then this happens?
“Maybe Stain got caught and got desperate?” The thug who suggested them shrunk back under Mummy's withering glare for his stupidity, as even if Stain got that desperate, how would he even do this? As that happened, Koharu kept up the recon, taking in anything she could from the air, and based on the amount of smoke and how it tasted, this wasn't a mere building fire but a battle as many things seemed to be burning, and the flames were spreading in a way that didn't make sense for a regular villain attack, this was being caused by something wanting as much damage as possible.
More than that, she detected a faint, distant but familiar scent in the air, one she had only smelled once—the scent of death, antiseptic, and preserved meat. Turning an eye to Midoriya, she told him she could smell Nomu, not just one, but at least three if their scents could travel this far.
“It’s the League,” Pyre stated. "Nomu are attacking the city; there are at least 3 of them."
“You mean that brat Tomura decided to set loose 3 of those monsters?” Mummy asked, and when Pyre confirmed it, Mummy growled out in fury before forcibly calming himself. Looking at their numbers, he didn't trust these thugs to fight for anything unless the heroes out there were little boys and old ladies.
Then there was Giran, who couldn't defend himself against a freshly hired sidekick, never mind a seasoned hero. "Okay, new plan. Giran, it looks like you'll be holding to most of that for a little longer. We can't fight with them." He lifted his hand and sent his bandages back into the warehouse, where they grabbed the fresh flame-resistant fabric for himself.
“Fight?” One of the thugs asked.
Letting his old fabric fall, he used his quirk to rapidly swap in the new stuff as he explained things. "We need to ensure Giran gets out without being seen or stopped. We need to add to the chaos and…help the League. Lure attention away from this area and keep it on us." He finished at the same time he had managed to equip the first roll before moving into the second.
“Should we split up?” Pyre asked, the scent of smoke only getting stronger as the winds blew them toward them.
"No, it'll be a bigger attention grabber if we're spotted together. Besides, we can keep our distance from the League and let the heroes think we agree and striking at different places." Mummy replied though part of his reasoning was the fact that he didn't wish to be seen near those moronic brutes that served the underworld's king.
“Good luck out there, gentlemen. I’ll make my exit now.” Giran turned to get back inside and start packing, the two rushing off into the city proper, using alleys and rooftops to avoid detection. They could just begin to causing trouble, but they needed it far from Giran and were already paid for shopping.
Line Break
As they moved, Pyre sighed. “And just when I thought it would be a quiet night.”
"If anything, I would think you'll enjoy this chance to start some fires and fight heroes," Mummy replied as they started to see people running away from the fighting, which seemed worse, so they turned in a different direction.
"Would you like to eat nothing but chocolate cake for dinner for the rest of the year? No, well, it's the same for me." Pyre shot back before he leaped off the roof, his sleeves fluttering in the nighttime breeze like his hair. The lights of the buildings illuminated him as someone on the street saw him and yelled right as he landed in the middle, right on the hood of a car, which crumbled slightly from the impact.
The people were stunned by his arrival as he smiled at them, whipping out his new tessens, the chimes heralding arson as he breathed out a fireball right into the storefront of a nearby building, the explosion of emerald flames sending people into a panic as from the rooftop, red fabric bandages shot out, wrapping around cars and other objects, turning them into puppets that added to the carnage. With Mummy as the puppet master above and Pyre as the walking pyrotechnics show, they got to work.
“Oh God, it’s more of them!”
“Wait, I know him, that’s Pyre!”
“Run, run for your lives!”
“He’ll burn us to ash!”
That and so much else was yelled or screamed at them and each other as the people fled for their lives. The emerald flames around him highlighted his face and headpiece so that his glowing green eyes stood out over everything else.
They were careful to avoid attacking people, but that didn't stop them from fleeing as if they had left corpses in their wake as they walked. Pyre, with his tessens flared, swung them around like he was going through the motions of a kata, each ending with a fireball to a car, buildings, the ground, or wherever his head happened to end up facing, all while Mummy gathered more puppets, giving him an inorganic dance crew.
But that wasn't what people who ran saw, as they didn't hear the fighting, the explosions, or the crackling of fires; all they heard was those bells. Every moment Pyre added, he played another note like he was a performer on stage, treating the night and all the chaos as just a stage for him to dance and play to his heart's content, inanimate puppets following with him in their senseless dance of destruction.
But it would seem that the performance came to an end as a hero came running down the corner. The man was tall—taller than both—shirtless and had two large bull-like horns growing out of his head. When he saw them, his eyes widened, probably expecting Nomu, but they narrowed as he got serious. "Just my luck, the League brought their big guns, didn't they, you pyromaniac?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if this was a pretty big deal," Pyre replied, meeting the man's gaze head-on. But rather than fight him, he rushed towards the size. Pyre was confused by this until he saw what was at the side of the road.
The hero didn't wait for him to act; his first priority was containment, both of the villain and the fires, before they could get any more out of hand than they already were. Right now, using a fire hydrant was his best play as he used his super strength to crumble it, but in a way where the high-pressure water shot at the flames and Pyre, creating a stream on contact.
"That should do; I just need to wait for backup," the pro said as he noted that Pyre didn't seem to have moved, but that assumption was based on a faulty observation.
"How much do you think will appear?" Pyre asked, sounding as calm as ever despite being doused in water; that didn't make sense; all reports stated he was weakened by being cooled!
"What!?" He tried to see why but then saw it. Pyre wasn't unaffected by the cold water because it wasn't hitting him as his snake had raised its head and spewed out a continuous fire that met the water 3m from them, meaning that the two only worried about water splatter and hot steam.
"You think you're the first to try the water trick?" Pyre asked, sounding bored. "It's getting old." With a word to Koharu, she ceased her blast as Prye jumped over the water, landing closer to the pro, before launching himself at the man, who responded with his fists but found that Pyre was like smoke, easy to see, hard to hit.
Pyre wasn't all that invested in the fight, as the man wasn't weak, at least physically, but his fighting style, speed, and reaction time were far too slow; in fact, he would go as far as to claim Bakugo at the USJ was a better opponent, at least there, he hasn't deflected blows like they were coming from a mindless large dog. However, that didn't mean they were alone, as he noted Mummy's puppets were still present and ready to act, but that wouldn't be necessary.
"Mummy! Leave this to me! You can handle his backup!" He called out to the rooftops, with his opponent turning his gaze, a mistake Pyre punished him for as he struck him right in the gut with a steam-powered palm strike, quickly followed by his rising that same hand strike the man's chin with a rising knuckle strike, which he finished with a quick kick to the man's side, sending him back, wincing in pain.
“Already on it, Pyre. Try not to make a mess.” Mummy replied, his puppets walking or floating down the street where Pyre could make out more bodies running towards them.
"'Try not to make a mess,' he says." Pyre shook his head, amused by that, as he leaned out of the way of a blow that would have otherwise hit him in the back of the Koharu, having kept a close eye on their foe. Leaning further into his dodge, he turned with it and punched the hero in his forearm; again, the man winced from the pain. “You’re pretty strong, but,” He started as the man tried to counter by exploiting the fact Pyre had learned into his space to strike at his right arm, giving him a window to attack with his left so close.
That didn't account for the fact that it meant Pyre could fire a fireball, which he fired point blank into the man's bare chest. This time, he screamed as the fireball sent him rolling back, where he stopped on his back, his chest red but not nearly as red as it should be. “I’ve faced stronger.” Pyre finished as he walked up to the man, noting that perhaps he was shirtless because his quirk also granted him some minor durability buff.
Still, that strength and durability meant little in this fight, and he knew he was defeated with his backup being held back by having to fight those stupid puppets. “Y-you monster!” So, he spat that at Midoriya, some of his spit landing on the boy’s cheek.
Pyre’s eyes narrowed. “Would a monster bless you with flames?” He asked before blasting out a shower of fire, engulfing the man who screamed in pain as the flames ate away at him.
“Taurus!” Looking to the rest, he saw a heroine screaming, Pyre noting that his first defeated challenger of the night must have been Tartus. Walking away from him, he snapped his fingers, and like that, the emerald flames burning the pro vanished, leaving behind a burnt, unconscious Tauras. The sight of which sent fury but also fear through the hearts of the rest as he calmly approached, the emerald flames illuminating the area now that the electrical lights had long since failed.
Stopping a little from them, he opened one tessen, its bells chiming as he lifted it to cover the lower part of his face. With the air of calm that came with ordering a drink, he spoke. “Well, we’re waiting, heroes. Who will challenge me next”
And like moths to the flame, they roared and doubled their efforts, some making their way towards him.
Line Break
If you asked Pyre about the battle after the fact, he wouldn't be able to tell you much, the same with Mummy. It wasn't because they didn't pay attention or that they weren't of the conscious mind, but more because the fight, if one could even call it that, was tiny write home about.
According to their plan, both went ham with collateral, drawing more people out and screaming as they fled in terror while drawing in more heroes who tried to stop them. Not one came close; one said something about Endeavour being busy with the Nomu, so Mummy guessed that most of the stronger ones were busy, leaving them with the lesser pros and sidekicks in all but name. Mummy almost felt like it was cruel as he willed his puppet to grab a big green-skinned muscle bond pro and slam their head into the road repeatedly till they slumped, and he let them go.
Off to the side, 4 heroes, one turning to flee a lost battle, were bathed in emerald flames after Pyre swung his tessen in their direction, directing some of the fire he had already spewed out to jump from the storefront onto them. He hardly paid attention to their scream as they fell over, rolling as they tried to put the flames; he barely noticed the smell of burning wood, plastic, and pork in the air as Mummy lowered himself to street level, releasing all his puppets.
"You think we drew attention?" Pyre asked, kicking his defeated foe, who groaned in pain, awake but far too injured to move.
"If this doesn't get people's eyes on us, then I worry for what will," Mummy replied, as he wasn't about to start killing people just for attention; he'll leave them to idiots and terrorists. However, it wouldn't need to come to that as while they didn't know it, they drew attention from 2 people, Kurogiri and Shigaraki. The two were surprised when fighting kicked up in their area, as they hadn't sent any Nomu there, so they warped to a nearby building to see what the commotion was all about. Safe to say, Shigaraki was far from pleased.
"Them? Really? I do all this to make the world forget about that bastard, Stain, and then they decide to show up and steal my thunder?" Shigaraki raged, as he had hoped that he saw things when he saw that the flames were green. Still, no, that little shit and another of his friends were down there, having already taken out a whole bunch of pros, almost as much as their Nomu!
Kurogiri, ever the calm one, leaned down to advise his master. "Master Shigaraki, please be rational about this. This could work in our favor. As far as the general public is concerned, Pyre and the rest work for us, so being here of their own volition merely means we benefit from their services without needing to compensate them."
"I hate it when you're right," Shigaraki eventually replied, though he opted to keep a close eye on them. In doing so, the news helicopter that had spotted him also spotted the two on the ground and closely followed them as they moved, even when they turned into the alleys.
Line Break
Having stopped fighting on their end, the area had fallen into a bit of a comforting silence, only broken by their footsteps and the jingle and tessen's bells, creating a haunting atmosphere as he hummed a little song, a smile on his face as he thought about how he would totally stay up and binge his shows like he had planned, he'll even break out the ice cream! Mummy was more interested in finishing so he could go home and sleep. However, getting the chance to test his new bandages was fun, as seeing them not be burned to ash by Pyre's attacks meant that they could fight much closer together.
“There are some humans close by; they don't sound like the rest that flees," Koharu told Midoriya, making him pause midstep. Humans that don't flee; it didn't seem like regular folk would hide in an alleyway, so odds are, it was a couple villains taking advantage of the situation. Jogging ahead, he was curious as to what he'd see.
“Hel-" Turning the corner, Pyre was in the middle of greeting whoever waited for them on the other side when he saw a glint of metal approaching and instinctively raised his hand, good thing too, as a knife was lodged in it, all the way to the hilt with the tip of the blade just barely missing contact with his eyeball. "How rude." He frowned as he pulled the knife free and tossed it aside.
What he saw was that the person who threw it was decked out in many more blades, including the chipped katana he held, ready to plunge into the back of a downed armored figure; off to the side, he saw another figure, also dressed like a pro, slumped against the wall. Koharu stated he was still breathing, so why he wasn't moving when his injury didn't look that serious was beyond him. It probably had something to do with the figure being ready to kill the other.
"Stain, is it? Next time, don't just try and kill people; that could have easily been me and not all of us," Mummy theorized about their attacker's identity based on his appearance while also giving Pyre a look. The boy shrugged as his knife wound was already healed. “Are blessed with healing capabilities.”
Stain kept an eye on his defeated prey and one on these two. Recognizing both as they did him. "You don't have any business here. Leave so I may continue mine." He ordered, but seeing the face of the person about to die, Pyre started to recognize them
“Wait a second, you’re…from U.A., right? Class A even." Prye approached, not concerned that Stain looked at him and Mummy like nuisances at best, and with those eyes, he wouldn't bat an eye at killing them. But that would risk them fighting back; after all, Mummy was still at a distance. "Wow, what are the odds that we'll meet again? Well, not meet-meet, but you get what I mean."
Walking around Stain, he didn't try to stop him. Instead, he wanted to look them in the air, and when he saw his face, it took a moment to figure them out since they looked different without the glasses. Still, no, he was definitely right when it came to that armor. Crouching, he looked Iida over and wondered why he, too, was down, as Stain hadn't landed any blows too bad, but there was blood, much like the case with the other guy. Were the news commentators right that Stain could paralyze you through cuts?
“Now, what are you doing here? U.A. should be having its internships right about now, but I would have thought you…” His smile started to shrink, with Iida's fear growing proportionately. He was already down, and if not, Stain had easily handled him. But with Pyre and who knew who else, he couldn't turn his head to check; he was as good as dead.
For his part, Stain saw the gears working in Pyre's head as he came up with a possible reason why Iida would be in Hosu at the same time Stain was. “You guessed it.”
Looking at Iida, he didn't see any denial in his eyes, though the accusation remained unspoken. But what Iida saw in return was Pyre's eyes pitying him as he reached a warm hand to his cheek, stroking it like a child that got hurt while misbehaving, angering him. "Oh, you poor fool, you wanted to arrest Stain after what happened with your brother? What were you thinking? You and your entire class are as green as my flames. Taking on an opponent like Stain was just asking for defeat.”
Iida's response was short. "Shut up! I won't be lectured by a villain that enjoys burning people alive; you're just as bad as Stain!" Pyre's reaction to that angry declaration was to raise an eyebrow. He hadn't killed anyone yet, but he suspected trying to remind Iida of it would be like talking to a brick wall.
"Cut him some slack; maybe he was trying to save the other guy." Mummy leaned against the wall, pointing to the still-down other guy who had remained silent, sweating as he was in the presence of not one but 3 highly-ranked and dangerous villains.
"Wrong; the child insulting the very name hero didn't even notice my target when he came charging in like a toddler throwing a tantrum." Stain rebuffed that, with Iida about to scream that it was a lie, but the words died in his throat as he recalled when Stain pointed out the pro he had saved by interrupting him. How he hadn't even noticed that there was another person, for as soon as he entered the alley, his eyes only saw Stain, the man that had crippled his brother.
The man who dared to call him a fake hero when the brother he knew had been nothing but an exceptional hero, someone who saved lives, gave guidance and nurtured people whenever he could, even helping vigilantes who truly wished to help people gain hero licenses so that that may do it legally. His brother was…is a fantastic person, the best big brother he could ever ask for. Not only did Stain have the gall to insult him, but Pyre was just as out of line to call his mission to avenge his brother foolish?!
Pyre could see the frustration in him; it was like watching Kacchan, to be honest. It was an unfortunate description as his anger was controlling him, making him act like something he could be so much better than. "You don't see it, do you?" He softly asked, stroking his cheek in what he saw as a sigh of connection, a gentle touch from one human to another. But Iida saw him as a villain, humiliating someone who couldn't fight back, infantilizing him.
“Well, it seems like your fate is sealed.”
Line Break
And done; when I said this was fun to write, I wasn't lying, as that went by faster than I thought it would. I had to have the breaks in the chapter at the end since I wrote the entire thing like one continuous scene, which felt…tiring to read. It was also nice to write a chapter with him and Mummy for a change as someone pointed out that the two hadn't shared screentime yet, nor had I given much screentime in general to him, so I swapped out Kon, who was meant to be here, with him as that felt like it was unfair to Mummy.
Speaking of unfairness, Iida…not gonna lie; it doesn't look good. You got bodied by Stain, who barely seemed to be trying, and how Mummy and Pyre are present. They might not be killers, but as he told Tomura, that doesn't mean they'll protect people from others who are killers. So, how does he get out of this situation? Well, you'll have to wait until next week unless you're not reading this on the place that shall not be mentioned cause if you are on FF or Ao3, that next chapter is already out.
