(Name): Hey! - Speech
Did I leave the stove open... - Izuku thought
(Name): I AM HERE! IN TEXT! - All Might or other figure of similar power
(Name): B̷̨̉e̷͇͑w̸̤̓a̸̲͘r̷̠̓ȩ̶̈́ ̷̮̈́t̵̩͌h̷͙̉e̶͖͝ ̵̼͂m̸̧͝a̵̺̚n̷̥͒ w̶̼͛h̶̥̔o̵̤̔ ̸̜̊s̸͈̎p̴͈̄é̴̟a̸̲͠k̵͚͝s̴̠͂ ̷̤̐i̴̭͗n̴̓͜ ̵̣̽h̶̜͋a̴͕̚n̶̻͠d̴͈̿s̵̡͊ - Distorted speech.
—————————————————————————————————————
Frisk felt uneasy at her current predicament. She had wanted to get this over and done with: A couple quick swipes here and there, throwing punches every now and again; it was apparent that she outmatched the toxic green-headed apprentice in front of her. But why was she faltering? She could have just killed him on sight, yet she decided against it. She even let a couple people escape for god sake!
Chara: ...You gonna do something or do I have to-
Frisk: No, just... just stay out of this one.
Chara: If you insist, I guess...
Frisk sighed aloud, not loud enough for anyone but herself to notice. Right then and there, she realised how much she didn't want to do this.
—————————————————————————————————————
She seemed troubled. Something about her posture, her stance; it was throwing me for a loop. Her aura; it felt lighter on the body, as if some weight had been lifted. It felt more relaxed. I shook my head furiously. It must have been her going into a calm state of mind; a flow state, perhaps. Well, that just means I have to up my game. Calming myself, I closed my eyes.
I focused on my surroundings, on the light, on my body. I felt every hair stand up on end as I breathed in and out: Four seconds in, four seconds held, four seconds release. My pulse slowed as I opened my eyes. My mind was in a tunnel vision, yet everything was in my sight. I felt light on my feet, bouncing up and down, pacing myself.
Flow state. Something which anyone can achieve, even unintentionally. It could have been when you were focused on training, playing games or anything else, but nonetheless it heightens the senses. Mushin or flow state, it was the real life version of Ultra Instinct. I had no awareness of time and space, because I wasn't focused on that. I couldn't sense All Might, because I wasn't focused on that. But I could sense everything about the fight: Each twitch of the muscle, each beat of the heart. This was the strength held in a flow state.
Without a word, I teleported in front of Frisk, following up with an uppercut at mach speeds. I watched as she was flung backward, not even having a second to express her shock. Before she could hit the wall, I teleported once more behind her and proceeded to slam her to the ground. Silently, I watched her body crash down as debris began to fall around us, to which I responded by teleporting myself and All Might out. He seemed stunned as we landed on the grassy plains.
ALL MIGHT: H-Holy... stinking... super crap... Young Midoriya... did we win?
I glanced at All Might. I could see the hope in his eyes as he began to get up, dusting himself off. I simply shook my head, feeling rising levels of SOUL energy emerge from a nearby hill. As soon as it peaked, the ground shook as an explosion engulfed the hill, forming a crater. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
So she had enough energy for one more warp... No matter.
I teleported to the mouth of the crater as I stared down at Frisk, who had scratches and blotches of blood coating her clothes and body. I noted that she was unarmed. Strange. Perhaps she wanted to catch me off guard? She was panting heavily as she looked up at me with a pained expression. I simply stared coldly. What did she expect? Mercy? I began to charge a [VOID BLASTER] as she raised her hands up in defence.
Frisk: W-Wait! I just want to talk!
I finished charging before sending the beam towards her. It collided as a sickening cry escaped her lips. I hardened my expression before letting the energy flow for a moment longer, releasing it shortly after. Her arms were singed and shaking, possibly from exhaustion and strain. I began to charge another [VOID BLASTER] as she then cried something out.
Frisk: I-I talked to your girlfriend!
I paused before getting enraged. What about Ochako? What did she do to her? Is she dead? I began to hyperventilate, dropping out from my flow state. I expected Frisk to use this as an opportunity, to lunge at me, to deal damage, anything; yet she simply stood there and let me recollect myself. This is beyond strange: It was downright uncanny. She wanted to talk?
I retched, thinking about what happened if Ochako had really been killed at the hands of this freak. An image Ochako, mangled and shredded, appeared in my mind, causing me to stifle a sob. I decided that if I wanted answers, I would need to ask the source directly.
Izuku: Go... Go ahead.
Frisk nodded, slightly saddened by my reaction. These emotions, these expressions; this was not the appearance of a monster. I began to steady my breathing as she began to explain.
Frisk: Ochako... she reminded me of myself, in a way. Before all the resets, before all... this, y'know? We look similar, short brown hair and all, but something else stood out. She believed in MERCY, something which I abandoned long ago.
She took a deep yet shaky breath, continuing afterward.
Frisk: It was then I realised, why fight? Ochako was doing well with her merciful attitude towards everyone, including herself. She even seemed beyond happy, something which I can only find as a distant memory at this point...
A sigh escaped her lips as her eyes seemed to look through me. Was she remembering something? Perhaps a distant past, a reality which, despite being so close, grew farther away from her grasp. She smiled softly, lone tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.
Frisk: We don't need to fight, so please accept my mercy...
Silently, I cautiously walked down the crater. She seemed to be sobbing a little. I awkwardly patted her shoulder as she stared down at the ground, tears dripping down with a faint pitter patter. Suddenly, she hugged me tightly as tears stained my trench coat. I instantly wanted to retaliate, but my mind began to wander.
Why did I become a hero?
The question popped into my head as I began to think. It felt long ago, being so distant from the present. When everything was simpler: Myself and Shouto sharing a filled silence of eating noodles on stiff hospital beds, yet feeling comforting all the same; embracing Ochako as we sworn to protect Eri and each other, albeit through a series of unforseen events; and mom and I, simply sharing time with one another; laughing, crying, smiling. But the question stood:
Why a hero?
To protect the people I love, to be with the people I need, to laugh, cry and smile all the same. Perhaps it was a naïve dream, even with the power I possessed, but the risk of becoming a hero for the sake of this future was enough for me. To save people with a smile on my face, knowing that they'll be alright; to meddle in other peoples' problems and business; that's who I wanted to be.
Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a hero. But not just any hero, but a hero who was also like any other person. Someone you could feel safe around, laugh around, cry around. To save even the darkest villains.
A symbol of justice, a symbol of hope. That's what I wanted to be.
Tears escaped my eyes as I began to laugh mirthfully, causing Frisk to look up in confusion and shock. Even All Might was shocked at the spectacle. Well, it was to be expected: Myself hugging the person who had nearly killed the both of them, and laughing on top of that. Strangely, All Might found himself smiling as well before a slight chuckle escaped his mouth. Yes, it was odd, but it was a welcomed oddness. I grinned as I blinked the tears away, smiling at her. I wiped away the final remnants of tears before adopting a soft smile.
Izuku: Have no fear, why?
I pushed Frisk away from me before ruffling her hair, like Gaster had done all those year ago.
Izuku: Because I am here.
Frisk was stunned for a moment before beaming herself. Perhaps MERCY was, indeed, the way. She found comfort in an enemy of all people, akin to her first fall down to the Underground. However unsightly or unprecedented it may be, MERCY had found her friends and family to enjoy her time with.
The odd trio simply chuckled to themselves, enjoying the peace they unexpectedly encountered in the middle of a fight.
But what they didn't know, or more so didn't want to believe, is that it was merely the eye of the storm. Brewing in the depths of Frisk's SOUL, Chara fumed. So Frisk wanted to take the easy way out, huh? Well, Chara supposed that she could just do what she did best: Take control.
—————————————————————————————————————
Shocking Izuku and All Might, Frisk began to twitch and cry out in pain. With a grimace, she uttered two simple words; an action which the two VOID practitioners followed.
Frisk: G-Get... away!
In an instant, both Izuku and All Might had teleported a distance from the crater before a fountain of energy and malice erupted from it. As quick as the energy came, it condensed to a humming sensation on the skin; a small yet noticeable vibration which caused the surroundings to tremble. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the gut as I was sent barrelling backward, before promptly having a palm slam into my face. I teleported a short distance away from my assailant before glaring at them, first in malice then in a slight panic. This was the other person I sensed, the one with an unreadable Level of Violence.
Chara: Howdy, partner. Having fun yet?
I balled my fists in rage. A happy ending was so close, brushing past my fingertips before being shattered by this demon of sorts.
Izuku: What did you do with Frisk?
The thing merely smirked before materialising a crimson knife in her right hand. She twirled it around before pointing it at me.
Chara: Bang!
A beam of neon red energy shot out, piercing my shoulder. I grimaced, but didn't cry out. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of my suffering, as painful as it may have been. I quickly healed the inflicted area with VOID and SOUL energy before restating my question, adopting my [VOID COWLING] in the process.
Izuku: Answer the question, monster. What did you do with Frisk?
Chara: Well... let's just say they're out of commission.
Izuku: As in?
She grinned.
Chara: I absorbed her. The Frisk you knew no longer exists.
I blanched, realising what this meant. Not only was Frisk dead, but that thing now has her energy and power. I cursed myself, having taken Frisk's final words lightly. I should have collapsed the VOID before teleporting myself and All Might out, but it was useless now. She could just trace my energy signature before travelling there herself. If I wanted to do anything, I would have to face her head on.
I breathed in and out, reentering a flow state. I knew I couldn't overpower her, seeing her easily pierce through my defences. I searched for an answer.
Martial arts... a way to outmanoeuvre and overpower an enemy stronger than you...
I had studied martial arts as a kid, being quirkless and defenceless. I found the hidden gem while watching some old pre-quirk era movies. Despite only being remotely practiced in the form of strong punches and kicks, all - sans the quirkless - took it lightly. If I could reconstruct powers from fiction, then I should be able to do this with ease. I took a calm stance, facing my opponent from the side. All Might, a distance away, gasped.
ALL MIGHT: Impossible... is that the martial art above all others - RE-TAEKWONDO?
He simply looked on in awe as I focused myself.
(The following martial arts are purely sourced from the manga/anime God of Highschool. Read/Watch it, it's really good.)
In a flash, I attacked with a spinning axe kick to Chara's left shoulder before teleporting below her and catching her with an Arang. I felt the wind get knocked out of her as I continued my assault. Sending a Halla upwards, I felt the tip of my foot connect with her chin as she was sent flying away. With a barrage of punches at mach speed, I sent waves of pressurised air at her, to which she responded by sending strikes of her own, courtesy of her knife. With each connection, an explosion occurred mid-air.
Chara scowled before recovering herself, summoning and throwing a flurry of knives towards me. I closed my eyes, feeling the shifts in air pressure as I simply moved my body to dodge the onslaught. After the attack ended, I opened my eyes to see her in front of me, killing intent at its fullest. I gritted my teeth, sending a Nigawa Kick at her face. To my surprise, she predicted the attack and leaned backwards, only giving me the satisfaction of a slight cut on her right cheek.
Responding with equal force, Chara surrounded me with a circle of knives before sending them at my abdomen. I winced as I narrowly evaded the attack with a Bo-Bup, appearing behind her with scratches appearing in my trench coat and side. VOID slowly oozed out, making my assailant smirk in return. I decided that the fight had been for too long. It was a waste of time to let her have her fun, so I decided to end it. Coating my right leg in all the VOID I could conjure, even absorbing some of the surroundings to aid my attack, I reeled my leg backwards before performing a powerful attack.
Izuku: [RECOILLESS TRUE ROUND KICK: CALL OF THE VOID].
A tornado formed around us as I performed the roundhouse kick, sweeping both myself and Chara into the air. Cuts and scratches dug deeper into her as she stifled a gasp, eyes rolling to the back of her head as she fell unconscious. I breathed a sigh of relief, landing safely on the ground as the tornado dissipated. But what happened next was unimaginable. Chara, with one final breath, said one word.
Chara: [RESET].
In an instant, I felt myself back in my attacking stance, looking on in confusion. Where was the destruction? Why was I back in my attacking position? And most importantly, where was Chara?
Izuku: W-What?!
I couldn't believe it. What did she say? Reset? My brief understanding of what Frisk had talked about in our fight beforehand only caused me more worry. So this was the power behind a reset: The ability to go back to a previous place in space-time. It was unheard of; even I couldn't fathom this power.
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab the back of my head.
Chara: Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?
I suddenly felt my strength getting weaker, my power being sapped. I watched as my SOUL appeared in front of me as it began to be drained of energy and colour. Then, shocking me to my core, Chara grabbed it and began to absorb it. I cried out in pain as I could only utter one word, one question.
Izuku: H-How...?
I stared at Chara, looking at her sickly sweet smile as I felt the pain dull as my SOUL was reaching its end.
Chara: It's as you said - I'm a monster.
My vision blacked as I felt the last remnants of my SOUL absorb into hers.
—————————————————————————————————————
Getting back to it (shorter chapter but yeah)
—————————————————————————————————————