Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

SUMMONERS: EXECUTION VS RESURRECTION [5/5]

"Summon. I can summon the spirits of small animals, mostly rodents," Tamashii ground out through his teeth, mind whirring for a plan.

"Interesting, but pathetic. And you, girl?"

"Werewolf," Tsukina spat, clawed fingers tensed as if she wanted to strangle him.

"What does it do?" He asked cautiously.

She glared at him, eyes like chips of amber. "I think that's pretty obvious."

He glowered in response. "Alright. And her?"

"Masterpiece," Tamashii answered bitterly. "She can control paint."

"This is what they're accepting into the hero course nowadays?" The villain said in disbelief, letting out a derisive huff. "Truly pitiful. They'll really let in any sort of weak scum."

The three teens shared a glance. None of them went to a hero school.

He stared at them for a moment, considering. "All right, then," he said finally, "I'll share my story."

Tamashii let himself relax a little. At the very least, it would buy them some time to figure out how to escape safely. He couldn't sense spirits without activating his Quirk, which would draw attention to him, so he'd just have to hope that there was at least one thing in the probably-basement he could use to distract the villain when the time came.

"None of you would understand, blessed as you are. You haven't seen the worst of the world," the villain lamented, wincing as he shifted his feet. "With a Quirk like mine, I was destined to be hated from the start. No-one wants to be near the kid who has a Quirk that kills living things. I was forced to leave school, and the only job I could get was as a grave digger – you can't kill what's already dead, right?"

"Not with that attitude, you can't," Datto suggested helpfully, then hastily averted his eyes to the ground when everyone stared at him, hunching in on himself. "Sorry. Go on."

"It crippled me, digging graves. Some idiot dropped a coffin on my leg, and it's never been the same. The bastard just got off with a warning, and I got fired for being unable to come into work. Where were the heroes to fix those injustices, huh? That damned Deku and the rest of his classmates promised a better world. They promised equality and safety – but they're just like all the heroes before them, lying to make themselves look good!" The villain only loosened his death-grip slightly when Aya make a choking noise, trying to pry his fingers away – Tsukina stiffened, a feral growl rumbling in her chest. "But then... oh, then..."

He stopped his speech to release a delighted cackle, teeth gleaming behind his unkempt beard. A thick cough rattled within his ribcage and he silenced himself, spluttering into a fist, whole face screwed up. Aya tried her best to lean away, staring desperately at her friends.

The villain straightened up again, flecks of blood on his hand and his sallow cheeks several shades paler. "I couldn't believe it when people said Deku had finally fallen to a villain. Being called the best but letting himself fall from Number One to shirk his responsibilities... Shameful. Banisher had done the impossible and made me realise that now was the perfect time to get my revenge on everyone. All I have to do to destabilise the entirety of Japan is kill a few heroes – how pathetic is that?"

Tamashii clenched his fists. Words were piling up in his throat, threatening to flood out to defend Deku. Everything the villain said was wrong and completely biased, but if the boy didn't hold his tongue it could get Aya killed. Instead, he forced the rage to bubble just beneath his skin, clenching his jaw and glaring at the enemy.

"You're clearly a hero-worshipper," the villain sneered at him, staring at the Red Riot hat. "In the wake of Deku's death, I trained. I finally accepted myself and gave my Quirk a more fitting name – Execute. I was given a Quirk for a reason, but what's the use of a power if it gets ignored? Who cares about the opinion of those blinded by glory? The world will finally have to face the truth by the time I'm done, and if they don't accept it, then perhaps it's not a world worth saving."