"Are you sure he can handle them?" Locklock asked while the rescue group was running through the halls. Tamaki insisted to be left behind to deal with the three Hassaikai members.
"I have faith in him. He's stronger than anybody here. His only weakness is self-confidence. The pressure to do thing perfectly sometimes leaves him feeling crushed. Breaking his spirit. And yet, he's risen to become one of UA's Big Three under those conditions. So I trust him when he says he can take them down those thugs on his own. If he believes in himself, I believe in him!" Fatgum said confidently.
In the room where the fight was taking place. Well it wasn't really a fight as much as Tamaki keeping the three from moving with his octopus tentacles.
'These guys are here to keep us from getting to Rin and the target. It's strange that Irinaka isn't using his mimicry to help them out though. Did he prioritize the police officers left up top? Whatever the case, these criminals are mine.' Tamaki thought to himself to get determined. His nerves can't make him slip up now.
'Not being able to use my quirk. It felt so weird.' The blonde Yakuza thought worriedly.
'They might be tough, but I just have to make sure they don't get up for a while.' Tamaki thought to himself to plan.
"I'm gonna knock you out. Sorry, this might hurt a bit." The blue haired teen apologized and went to punch the blonde one in the middle. But she suddenly stood up and ran full force towards Tamaki, getting a face full of tentacle. Tamaki moved back as the tentacle that hid the thug's face had quite a bit of blood escaping a cut.
"Surprise! Made you flinch, didn't I? I know you're in a bind here, but you can't hesitate when it come to us. When you're fighting people who're basically human garbage, you have no idea what nightmares these masks might be hiding." The guy said. Poking out his mask was a knife with some blood on the end.
"Whatever that guy's quirk was, it's worn off." The bald one said as he stood up and crystals formed on his body. He then broke apart the tentacles holding him. Tamaki then formed a oyster but it was immediately takes from an unknown force. Right into the hand of the blonde Yakuza.
"You can't kill us, can you? Bit of a handicap dontcha think? Stupid heroes code." The same guy commented.
'Larceny. His power lets him steal anything his opponents have equipped. I guess my shell counts as something he can take.' Tamaki studied in his mind.
"See we've given up everything, even our lives. I was so hopeless once I even tried to jump to my death." The blonde one, apparently his name is Setsuno, said. "'Cept some righteous hero stopped me! You can't understand people who don't see the point of living. And that's why we'll beat you."
"The boss took us from the trashheap and gave us a new life. Even trash has its pride." The no longer bald one said. He now had a head of glorious, lucios...crystals as hair. "He expected more from us. So we became more!" He said as he punched Tamaki in the face with his fist formed into crystals.
[Author: NO MAH BABY!]
Tamaki just couldn't help but remember his friendship with Mirio.
During physical exams at school, Tamaki could only grow a tiny plant out his hand.
"What's wrong Amajiki? With your quirk you should be doing more impressive things by now. Are you are you still feeling nervous? Oh, well. Don't force yourself. Back in line." The teacher brushed off his question and Tamaki walked back into the group of students.
'All sorts of people have quirks. Not just heroes. In outrage quirk training classes, we tried to figure out the different ways we could utilize our powers in the future. As adults.'
His attention was suddenly brought back to the field when he heard Mirio grunt in pain. He turned around to see the blonde boy face planted into the wooden plank with his hand on the other side.
"What the heavy are you doing Togata?" A student asked while laughing. Don't say he's a bad person, because the whole class was doing it.
"That's faceplant looked ridiculous." Another commented.
"I told you guys this is really hard work! Why don't you give it a whirl?" He asked with a smile as he removed his hand from the piece of wood. "It's like five times harder than you think it'd be."
"Careful Togata. You're clearly not very good at controlling your quirk just yet." The teacher advised.
"That may be true now. But next time, or the time after, I'll get it right!" Mirio exclaimed. The class went back to laughing because they kept replaying the faceplant scene in their head.
Later that evening when the sun was setting and everyone was walking home. Tamaki and Mirio were walking together.
"Mirio. You're amazing. Even if you can't do something, you're still so positive and cheerful. It makes everyone around you smile. That's just not how I work. If I worry about messing up, I'm done. My mind goes completely blank and I freeze." Tamaki said while looking down at his feet. "You'll become an amazing hero. One who shines like the sun."
"What are you saying?" Mirio asked. Causing the two to stop and Tamaki to face him. "You're making me sound like some awesome pro hero or something, but it's not like that. Honestly, Tamaki. The only reason I'm able to do my best is because I have you here inspiring me." Tamaki gave a surprised look and Mirio noticed it. "For real. I'm not really all that strong when it comes to most things I try. Then here's you. Even though I know you get crazy nervous, you keep working hard and refuse to run away. So I don't want to loose to you."
"What?" Tamaki questioned.
"You think I'm better than I am and think you're not as hype as you are. That's why you call me things like 'the sun.' Like come on, I'm not that great. You have an amazing power dude. And it's just going to get better, I'm sure of it. And you know what else I think? Deep down, you're a smiley, fun, supper cheerful guy. So if I'm the sun, you must be something even more amazing than that. Let's see. Ooh! I know!"
Back to the present. Tamaki got a determined look in his eyes.
"Yes. I've got a light that can swallow even the sun's. What's why I'm Suneater!" Tamaki said with confidence. Apparently instead of hitting his face, the fist of crystals hit his hand with tentacles with some type of armor on them. Then another voice was inspiring the boy.
"I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm scared too." Rin told him as they were at a caffe with Mirio and Nejire too but the other two went to go order some food.
"Really?" Tamaki asked. He wouldn't expect her to be scared.
"I'm always scared of how it would affect the people I care about. If I failed helping someone, if I didn't run in, and what would happen after? Worry and predicting, clouds my actions." She explained while twirling her cup of coffee.
"What do you do?" Tamaki asked to maybe get help for his own doubt.
"I do it anyways." Rin said with a smile and it somewhat shocked Tamaki. "I life started off with me standing by and watching the world move by me. I've regretted those years my whole life. And constantly remind myself what I could have done. So now I act first, and handle the consequences later."
"So, you just go? Even if your quirk doesn't seem strong enough?" Tamaki asked while looking down at his hand. Clearly he was talking about himself.
"The strongest heroes are the people with the wills to get back up, when they've been knocked down. Tamaki, I've seen more than enough of that in you, with a quirk that can beat anyone. So if you're ever feeling down. Just know I'm rooting for ya in the stands. Because I know 100% that you can do it." She said with a smile and thumbs up.
'I can't loose now. Not when she's counting on me.' Tamaki thought to himself. The crystal guy made the crystals on his arms to grow larger, aimed right for his face. They broke away when they came in contact with the hard material of shells that covered Tamaki's face.
The teenager formed his arms into large tentacles that also had the hard shell platings on them. They attacked the room, giving to space for the Yakuza members to think of their next move. Minus the potato sack one. He was knocked out cold from the start.
"This isn't looking good. Tabe, wake up! Time to eat!" Setsuno shouted to the knocked out member. Welp...apparently that woke him right up. With enough hunger to take a huge chunk out of one of the tentacles. Enough for the other half of it to actually come off.
"Yum. Seafood. No gross ink." The guy plainly commented. He then quickly got to work of eating more of the large octopus tentacles.
"With those teeth and jaws, he can devour anything in an instant! And he digests whatever he eats in seconds. It's ridiculous. Tabe's stomach will never get full. I'd actually say you two are a match made in heaven!" The blonde said with admiration for his friend.
'Of course. Eraser must have realized this, that's why he took him out before he left. But it's fine. I've got plenty of space to move. I can dodge his attacks.' Tamaki convinced himself in thought. However when he attention was focused on Tabe. The shell mask of his was taken by Setsuno's quirk and Tamaki got a face full of crystals.
Well that would have been if he didn't make another quick plate of shells. Thank goodness for his reaction time. But that didn't stop the crystal guy from punching Tamaki across the room.
"You're the one that wanted to fight three on one, right Suneater?" The blonde one teased. "Did you think that you'd get the best of us by waving around a couple of oversized appetizers?"
'I'll manifest the neurotoxin from an octopus's saliva in my arm. If he eats it, he won't be able to move anymore.' Tamaki thought as he created the tentacles and right as Tabe was about to eat them, they weee snatched.
"Those tentacles were too big to steal before. But small ones are no problem. Setsuno said as he held the handful of octopus. Tabe suddenly moved back and the crystal guy suddenly came in and tried to attack Tamaki. First attempt didn't work when Tamaki moved before he could get hit but the second one got him pinned against the wall with a crystal hit into his side.
'Their teamwork is incredible.' Tamaki complimented worriedly in his mind.
"We may be a bunch of trash. But that doesn't mean we don't have strong bonds." The crystal guy said. His name is Hojo by the way.
"Yeah but, bonds or no, you'll still be arrested soon. Your futures are lost no matter what." Tamaki said.
"Heh. Like that matters." Setsuno said while stealing the pouches of food Tamaki had on his belt.
"We haven't had a future for some time. One of us didn't fit into society and was tossed aside. One was betrayed by his lover and buried beneath a mountain of debt. One was used as a tool by someone obsessed with money. But when it was discovered that the gems he produced were worthless fakes, he was beaten within an inch of his life and left for dead. That's why he means so much to us. Who cared what happen after this? He picked us up and gave us worth again. I'll kill anyone who gets in his way." Hojo said.
'They don't follow him out of fear. It's more like they're brainwashed.' Tamaki realized and wanted to change that.
"You really just want to be used up and thrown away?" The teenager said in protest.
"Even with your back against the wall you can't understand, can you hero?" Hojo asked as his other hand enveloped in crystals. Tamaki knew he didn't have any options left than to go after their trust in one another. So he transformed his foot into a chicken foot and flung a piece of crystal into Setsuno's eye.
'Larceny only works on things he can see. That's why the police couldn't brandish their guns.' Tamaki studied. Even thought he wasn't in the best situation to study.
"Die!" Hojo exclaimed as he attacked Tamaki's abdomen with the pillars of crystals. Only to clash with his own. "Hold on. Don't tell me. Did he...eat my crystals?"
"When you weren't looking!" Tamaki exclaimed and enclosed the chicken foot that now had the somewhat see through rocks coming out of it.
"Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!" Tabe said over again as he ran to go devour Tamaki. However Tamaki held Hojo in front of the Yakuza member and he hesitated. Which gave Tamaki the chance to make his leg grow and push them all into the wall opposite of him. Knocking them all out.
"You trust each other. You watch each other's backs. I can't understand your circumstances or anger, or sadness for that matter. But I do understand your strong bonds. You're more than teammates. I get that. Friends don't eat friends do they?" Tamaki said in understand then felt a sudden wave of fatigue hit him.
The raven haired boy still had enough energy to tie the three up. He also took their masks in case they had anything else hidden in them. Like another knife. He went to catch up with the others but he suddenly fainted as he went to leave. That fight took a lot more out of him than he realized. So he's just gonna take a quick, we'll needed nap while a lot more fighting happens.
=•=•=•=•=•=
Kami: *knocks on Author's office door* *doesn't hear a no enter so he enters* Hey Author. It's almost time to post the next chapter.
A: *unholy demon screech as yeets chapter at him*
Kami: Was I suppose to know what that meant?
A: Sho, sho let them read that while I wrap up this Christmas special.
Kami: Wrap up or you have more than half to write?
A: *pauses* *starts hyperventilating* *thus produces Pterodactyl screaming*
Word count: 2464