a hero's labyrinth

reliance

(Sorry if the chapter is going too fast, I want to finish this arc early so I can get straight to the UA arc.

It started like a normal day.

The group had been going together and witch hunting for 3 months and were already best friends.

But it was always different each day.

Izuku knew this because it's happened to him before.

Kumaru's smiles were getting faker.

He could see bruises from abuse under his sleeves.

He tried to help, but he couldn't.

It would be mean to step into someone's business, right?

Kacchan always told him that.

But then Kyubey woke them up and alerted them of a powerful witch.

___

"A witch this late at night? Near Kumaru's house? It should've been finished off by now, he never really sleeps early," Hikari notices as they step into the house. The house looked... neglected to say the least. The peach paint was chipping off, the wooden tables and cabinets were already breaking and the witch's symbol was right in front of Kumaru's room. The door to the barrier was full of magical music notes and crescendo notes, the black swirls accompanying gold highlights.

"Oh gods," Hikari started. "I haven't been to his house in AGES! What happened here?"

(Izuku didn't wanna notice the broken beer bottles and blood.)

Hikari stepped back and gasped loudly before pointing at the living room couches.

There were 2 bodies, all with a witch's kiss. There were kitchen knifes piercing through their chests. "They were probably brainwashed to kill themselves. See the witch's kiss on their necks?" Tsukori noticed, stepping forward and checking their necks. She nodded. "Kumaru's parents are dead."

"Then where's Kumaru himself? He should be here by now," Hikari stomped her feet both in impatience and in fear before Tsukori put a calm hand on her shoulder. "He's probably battling the witch in the barrier already. We should go assist him."

"W-We should get into the labyrinth already," Izuku said. He was already spooked by the dead bodies and now really wanted to just fight the witch. The two girls nodded and they both went inside.

The moment Izuku stepped inside, his ears were assaulted by a cacophony of sound, much like Kumaru's magic. He faltered for a little while, adjusting to the noise before standing back up, ready for battle. There were already familiars on the battlefield. They looked like beer bottles but had clarinet's sticking out of them, cracking the bottle. They played a lively tune before charging to Izuku and the group, eager to kill them immediately.

Tsukori readied her vaccine and Hikari immediately blew into her megaphone, stopping the familiars dead on their tracks before Izuku lunged and threw a blast of light that decimated the familiars. He closed his eyes for a little while before sighing. "I don't s-sense Kumaru's magic yet. He's probably d-deeper in the labyrinth." The three of them hurried farther into a barrier, blasting every familiar they saw until their entered the theater that was the final stage of the labyrinth.