Hellbound | Blue Exorcist/My Hero Academia Crossover

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Blue Exorcist

BAKUGOU'S P.O.V

I don't even know what I'm looking at. It's Okumura, but it's nothing like him- not even close. The way he moves, right down to how he snarls under his breath, tail twisting and snapping at anything near it. He's like some sort of animal. Instinctively, I grab for Icy-Hot's wrist and grip it tight when I notice him starting to lose his balance a little, the pair of us clinging onto a nearby tree just to stay afloat in this sea of fire. This is outta control!

"Okumura! Idiot, what the hell are you doing?!" I roar over the crowds of leaves applauding the flames. Thankfully, said flames barely seem to do anything to either of us, but the heat definitely ain't welcome. Something about it just feels wrong- so tense, and full of malice. Like a tiny switch in his mood could turn those demonic powers against us.

Obviously, he doesn't say anything, the jackass. He just slides his eyes in my direction, the sharpness of his pupils startling. I wish I could say I knew the guy stood in front of me, but I don't think I can. All of the dorkiness that used to follow him like a damn plague has gone, replaced by something way too serious. Serious to the point of unsettling.

"Bakugou, we have to get to Midoriya. I can't see him," Todoroki eventually grunts, his voice struggling to battle the commotion. But I manage to hear him just enough, though everything sounds so distorted and warped. Is Okumura doing all of this? Is he the one making every single piece of this small clearing feel so janky?

Get it together. Stop letting all of this get to you. Icy-Hot's right- Deku is in that torrent of hellfire, and, no matter how hard I search for him, I can't see a single thing. For all I know, he's burning to a damn crisp in there. He was so close to Lucifer when Okumura attacked- Shit. Dammit, there's no way that loser is getting hurt by any of this, right? Right?!

"Okumura, just stop! You wanna kill Deku?! He's in there, you asshole!" I eventually snap, making sure Todoroki has a good grip on the tree before using a small explosion to force myself towards our rabid teacher. To hell with all this hellfire- I gotta stop him before he goes way too out of control. And, though I expect him to push me back, he doesn't even seem to acknowledge me approaching him. If I had to guess, I bet it's because he's way too focused on trying to singe Lucifer to a crisp. Idiot. He's gonna set this whole damn forest on fire if he ain't careful, and then what?!

As soon as I'm near enough to him, I finally reach out and snatch up his wrist up in my fist, gripping it tight enough to snap it. If he weren't a demon, I actually might've. But it's barely enough to finally break his eyes away from the swirling centre of the clearing, his pupils practically quivering against his irises. The second I see the look on his face, my chest tightly constricts.

"I-I can't stop it," he croaks, tears bunched up along his waterline. He's crying. For a moment, I'm completely thrown off- I've never seen Okumura cry. Not like this, at least. He's been scared, yeah, but... Not this much. Dammit! I don't have a clue how to deal with this! "Without my sword I don't-"

"-Look, just calm down. More you panic, the more you're gonna get outta control," I hiss, gritting my teeth and turning my attention to the whirlpool of blue fire circling in torrents before us. He's not even looking at it, and it's burning brighter than I think I've ever seen, the foliage practically melting around it. The hell am I supposed to do? I can't talk a demon down! He needs that idiot Kaminari, not me!

So I don't talk. I just push my gaze in the other direction, slip my hand down his wrist, and lock our fingers together. "You ain't alone anymore, dumbass. You gotta kill Lucifer, but Deku's stuck in there with him. Let him out."

"I don't know how."

"They're your flames, aren't they?! This is all you, so- I dunno! Connect with it or something! Try and look through it!" I hiss, turning him back towards the flames. "I know you've got it in you, teach." And then the sea of sapphire starts to sway. In seconds, it's flickering and fizzing and tearing apart until- "Deku!" I exclaim, dropping Okumura's hand and staggering over to the broccoli-haired loser. Icy-Hot's right by my side, obviously, so I just let him gather Deku up and pull him free from the hellfire, the aggressive flames bending around us. Damn.

So this is what Okumura was always meant to become.

~

RIN'S P.O.V

It feels like the whole forest is swaying in the waves of heat pouring off of my blue fire. Ripples stumble along the lengths of the leaves, and I just stare as they're swallowed up beneath the embers. But, more importantly, I watch Bakugou and Todoroki pull a completely uninjured Deku free from the whirlpool my flames are creating. There isn't a single singe on his skin. I didn't hurt him. Despite not feeling like I was in control, I-... I was. I lost my sword. I lost my humanity. And I still... I still did it.

I controlled them. I owned them, instead of letting them take over me. I did everything I trained to do and... And I didn't even have to think about it. They're my flames. Koma Sword or not, these powers are my own. As they were always meant to be since the day I was born. I'm Satan's kid- I was always meant to reach this part of myself. I was born to be a demon. A full demon. And, now I finally am one, it feels just how it should.

It feels right.

And, as the fires die down and I crumple to my knees, I just smile and close my eyes, the claws of unconsciousness starting to pull me under. Old man, you were always trying to hide this from me, and I think I finally know why.

'Cause you knew, one day, this was bound to happen. And I'd finally feel what it's like to be complete.