Chapter 98

- What are you-

I raised my head to the ceiling, my chakra humming happily beneath my skin.

I heard him land, felt the subterranean heat respond to his call.

The temperature was rising, the molten lava miles below moving like a fiery snake through the bowels of the earth, coming dangerously close to us, but with a palpable languor.

It's a warning.

- The video, Touya continued. If you kill me, I'll ruin your father's life.

The blade slipped from my hand and went into his shoulder.

Touya let out an angry scream as my kunai tore a hole in his shoulder, dark, sticky blood flowing in swirling waves down to the hollow of his elbow.

I watched him curiously as he writhed in pain, my blade swirling through his flesh to the point where I tore his muscles.

- There seems to be a misunderstanding, Tou-tou.

His blue eyes, filled with cold, physically palpable hatred, were more comforting to me than his mock air of a savior who really believed what he was saying.

- You think you're in a position to bargain with me?

My kunai struck his bone.

He arched his back against me, jaw clenched and veins bulging in his neck, nails clawing at the burning cement.

I held him still with one knee on his chest and one hand on his throat.

- You thought, wrongly, that by coming here and threatening me (I smiled wickedly) you could do whatever you wanted to me.

Red with rage, he tried to spit on my face.

With two fingers on his chin, I forced him to turn his head away, and his saliva landed on his shoulder, a trickle of drool connecting it to his lips.

- Because that was your goal, wasn't it? To blackmail me?

The earth had begun to rumble beneath my feet.

Before I knew it, I felt welts spread across the stairwell, tiny mushrooms of steam and sulfur rising from their bosoms.

- Newsflash: there's nothing and no one anyone can use against me to make me do anything I don't want to do

Touya was shaking and panting, dripping with sweat. He gritted his teeth and spat:

- You're a fucking lia-

My kunai sank so deep into his shoulder that it slammed into the ground below him.

Touya screamed.

- Go ahead. Take out your video. But know that once it's done, there won't be a person, an organization, or a prison safe enough to keep me from finding you and making you regret ever having deigned to breathe the same air as me.

My fingers dug into his throat, my left hand freezing so fast and hard it burned him.

- Do it.

I saw the reflection of my Sharingan come to life for a split second in his wide-open eyes.

- And it will be the last thing you do with your life.

Then I planted my other kunai in his right shoulder, crucifying him in the tomb this building had become.

Then I left him to his fate.

- You haven't changed, have you? You're just like before! You're worse than before!

His hysterical laughter, punctuated by sobs of pain, echoed in my ears even after my shunshin.

*

For a second, Enji wondered if he'd made a mistake.

A stab of pain, like a sharp sword, pierced his heart and...

Shoto appeared out of nowhere, out of breath, his gait stiff, his clothes in tatters, his hand on his stomach.

He reeked of blood, burns and pain.

Enji approached him, raising two hands to feel his head, his shoulders, to make sure he was really there, alive and well, solid flesh and bones beneath his rough fingers.

All Might looked at Shoto, wide-eyed, as if he was seeing him for the first time.

- How-

- Are you all right? Are you hurt?

- I'm fine, I'm fine, I just-

Enji looked down at his stomach, where there was a hole in his black sweater.

He forced Shoto to pull his hand away to let him see.

Reddish, bloody stitches, made in a hurry, created a monstrous half-smile on his stomach, as if the mouth would open at any moment to spew Shoto's guts onto the floor.

Then Enji noticed the steam escaping from his body and the frostbite on his son's fingers where they touched his skin. A warm puddle formed at their feet.

He frowned.

- Watch out for yourself

Enji heard the smile in Shoto's voice.

- I could say the same to you.

Then suddenly, Shoto raised his head to the sky.

Enji followed his gaze and saw the helicopter with the TV station's logo circling above them, camera pointed at them.

Applause broke out. 

Enji turned his head towards the building, through which a mountain of rumbling lava continued to spew out of the earth, tearing and bending the earth's crust. 

The east and west wings were lifted from the center to the top by the mini-volcano in full formation, chunks of wall collapsing from the building in a shower of debris.

Emerging from the volcano, as if born from within, was All for One in all his glory, dressed in a dazzling tuxedo suit.

All Might immediately clenched his jaws, curled his lips over his teeth, and spat:

- All for One.

Endeavor didn't look away from the villain.

With one hand, he pushed Shoto behind him, an indecipherable expression on his face.

All for One continued to applaud as he strode toward them.

- I'd heard you had the most powerful Fire Quirk in the world, but if I expected that

Far above their heads, the camera zoomed in on their faces, filming the duo of heroes - and the kidnapped teenager - for a moment before focusing on the villain, not missing a crumb of the way his lips moved to decipher his words later.

- You made a volcano erupt in the middle of the city in less than what ? Thirty seconds?

All for One whistled admiringly.

- And to think I almost stole your mother's Quirk once. Maybe I should have.

Shoto startled.

He looked at his father, then at All Might, then at the camera pointed at the villain.

He crossed his hands behind his back and performed a series of mudras without anyone noticing.

- I wish I could have fought you one on one. The victor would have kept your son.

A flame exploded on Endeavor's cheekbone.

His face was so tight, his body so motionless, that one could have thought he was made of marble.

But his blue eyes glowed like the fires of hell about to consummate the whole world.

All for One revelled in it.

- I've seen the video. You know which one I mean, don't you? Oh yes, by the look on your face you know very well (He smiled) It was magnificent. And how old was he again? Only nine? Maybe ten?

- It's over for you, All for One, interrupted All Might. Your reign of terror ends here and now.

All for One laughed scornfully.

- And who's going to end it? Is it you? When you didn't even bother to come after me after you almost killed me in Jeju?

All for One took off his new oxygen mask and tossed it aside, cracking his shoulders and neck as if to warm up.

He pointed at Endeavor with his chin, or maybe he was pointing at Shoto.

- I trust him more to stop me than you.

He snapped his knuckles.

His skin began to heat, steam rising from his skin in whitish clouds. 

His skin resorbed, holes and wounds closing before smoothing out.

All Might clenched his jaws, eyes fixed on All for One.

The air grew heavier as his muscles imperceptibly grew stronger.

- Stand back, Endeavor. This fight is mine.

Endeavor clicked his tongue against his palate.

- If you think I'm going to let you have the abductor of my son all to yourself...

All Might gave him a sideways glance.

- That's not-

- Shut the hell up

High in the sky, the helicopter swung around, zooming in on All Might and then Endeavor.

- You always act like you're the only one who can protect civilians from villains, as if the rest of us were incompetents...

The puddle at his feet began to boil, transparent bubbles bursting between his shoes.

Endeavor's skin turned transparent again, but this time his organs were no longer visible.

His eyes were piercing, unnaturally fluorescent, illuminating his face as if he'd put two flashlights in it.

He exhaled, and the air felt like it was about to burst into flames.

- News flash : you're not the only Hero in town

And as if to prove his point, a crevasse several meters wide opened up in the volcano floor, right up to All for One's feet.

All for One lowered his head, slightly annoyed, and pretended to shift when he realized that his feet were embedded in eight inches of earth that had dried to a cement-like consistency up to his ankles.

He gave Endeavor a look of surprise.

- When did-

Immediately, a whip-like tongue of lava shot out of the volcano to strike All for One.

Feeling the heat before he saw it, the villain threw himself to the side and was forced to abandon his shoes, which had welded themselves to the ground.

They melted in a split second, a puddle of leather covering the floor.

Endeavor reached out and lava slid into one of the many crevices, warming the earth beneath their feet and warning All for One of what lay ahead.

All Might murmured to his partner through clenched teeth.

- This isn't what-

- I know. About your condition.

All Might widened his eyes and turned to Endeavor, stunned.

He opened and closed his mouth, unable to utter a word. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his neck.

The Fire Hero, legs planted firmly in the ground, moved his hands with cool precision.

The volcano rumbled and a flow of lava erupted before Endeavor deflected it between them and All for One, creating a barrier between them and the villain.

Endeavor cast an irritated glance at All Might.

- Don't act like this is classified information. All Heroes with half a brain have noticed the decline in your solved cases and public appearances over the past few years.

All Might stammered, stunned.

- I... yes, of course, I...

Endeavor pointed at All for One with his chin.

- If what Nezu told us is true, it'll take nothing less than the two of us to stop him

He gave All Might a warning look.

- Don't get me wrong, I'm not offering you my help or assistance, but a true partnership.

All Might watched Endeavor in silence, as if he were seeing him for the first time.

The man who'd been number two for almost as long as he'd been a hero, the man the press considered 'decent enough' as long as he remained in his shadow, the man he'd never bothered to consider anything other than 'one of those without the One for All, a hero but not a hero like me,' the man who-

The man who had grew a fucking volcano in the middle of the city to save his son.

All Might looked at Shoto, but this time he realized that the teenager wasn't seeking protection from him, but from his father. 

He noticed the absolute trust in the boy's gaze every time he looked at his father, and was astonished to discover the blind - almost sacred - obedience he showed him.

All Might was shaken to the core.

And suddenly Endeavor said:

- You don't have to carry this burden alone.

It wasn't the first time All Might had been told this in his life.

But it was the first time that he had ever felt that it was true, that he could believe it.

Determined, All Might turned his attention back to All for One.

The adrenaline coursing through his veins made him feel as strong as ever.

He smiled, a smile full of goodwill that said "I'm here," but also something stranger, more disturbing, that mimicked Endeavor's own carnivorous smile and hinted at his thirst for violence.

- Let's go

*

Author's note :

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG 

See you in the next update everyone !