"LET ME GO!!! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! YOU HEAR?!"
After the rats caught him, the ones that remained took him to the city where he was teleported away. Now, he was being carried by Kendo through a herd of alphas that eyed him curiously.
Since the fall of Japan, most alphas hadn't seen someone with a quirk like his. His metal skin kept him from being crushed, pierced, or bitten, making him all the more interesting.
As Kendo followed Deku's lieutenant with Tetsutetsu squeezed between her oversized hands, he started to examine the building to which they took him.
For one, there was a giant hole in the roof of the building, allowing some light to enter the dark lair. The structure was fairly intact, especially the walls, and what's more, he saw Shiozaki being healed amongst the crowd with Sero holding her hand for comfort. If that wasn't strange enough, he looked up and saw what appeared to be a zombie girl hanging from chains.
"The fuck...?" He whispered when Iida and Kendo stopped in front of a throne with concrete slabs that resembled stairs. Before long, Kurogiri appeared, followed by a familiar face.
"Mirko..." Tetsutetsu fearfully gulped.
Instantly, every zombie kneeled before her, including Iida and Kendo.
"The hell?" He looked over his shoulder.
Suddenly, Aoyama and Tsuburaba flung Hiryu Rin at his feet, causing the teen to groan painfully.
"Rin?! I thought you were dead!" He cried tears of joy.
"I thought so, too. But not for long I suppose."
"I wouldn't speak if I were you!" Kurogiri interrupted.
"Our king can be greatly triggered by the living..."
Confused at the warning, they slowly started to hear footsteps echoing from a dark hall. Every zombie began to chant as a tall alpha with a black cape touched heads with his queen.
Tetsutetsu and Rin feared the worst when the zombie sat on the throne and raised his hand, stopping the chants instantaneously. It was then they knew the undead king had arrived.
"My king! I present to you, two new subjects! Courtesy of the Reapers for failing to capture him."
"Shit..." Rin gulped before Iida motioned an alpha over that Tetsutetsu recognized.
"Oh, no! Not you too, Fourth Kind," he grieved the reappearance of his old mentor.
Fourth Kind picked up Rin with one hand and hauled him up the stairs. Tetsutetsu tried to break free, but Iida punched him, spilling blood on the ground. The blood triggered Tsuburaba to bite him only to break his teeth. Iida became angry and ordered the rookie to get healed.
Tetsutetsu looked at the blood on the ground and wondered what that was all about. Meanwhile, Fourth Kind dropped Rin in front of the throne, making him tremble in fear.
"See this as a foreshadowing to when you get the real, All Might," Kurogiri revealed.
Practically kissing the ground, he made eye contact with the zombie king while Mirko examined his muscles. Rin didn't like this and did the one thing one should never do in front of a king.
"Don't touch me..." He spat at the queen which angered some of the alphas in the crowd.
Instantly, the king grabbed his throat and began to choke him while staring into the portal of his soul. Tetsutetsu didn't like where this was going and continued his efforts.
"I'M... Sorry! ... PLEASE!" Rin struggled between breaths.
"My king! PLEASE! Killing him would be a waste," he explained, snapping him out of his rage. The zombie king let go of Rin and allowed him to breathe.
"Thank you, my liege," Kurogiri sighed in relief.
Tetsutetsu was relieved. It was a close call, but now he could figure out a way to break free and escape with Rin. However, his feeling of ease was short-lived when the king raised Rin's arm and bit his arm. Blood spewed into the air, followed by cries erupting from Rin and Tetsutetsu.
"NO!!!"
Tetsutetsu couldn't believe it. His close friend and classmate had been bitten by that zombie bastard and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. All his hopes of escaping with his friend were thrown out the window because of that one bite and now all he had left was to avenge him.
"YOU BASTARD!!!" On the spot, rage replaced rationality, and Tetsutetsu broke free of Kendo's grasp before elbowing her in the face and giving her a black eye.
Iida and Aoyama promptly surrounded him, but Tetsutetsu anticipated Aoyama's laser and swerved around it, causing Iida to get hit. He rammed into Aoyama, breaking his ribcage, and met face to face with Fourth Kind.
"Sorry, Fourth Kind..." Tetsutetsu closed his eyes and crushed his skull into the ground.
Kurogiri, Mirko, and the alphas gasped, feeling obligated to deal with the threat, but for whatever reason, the king signaled them to stand down, which Tetsutetsu could care less about.
"I'm going to end it! Right here! Right now! All the people you killed! Their deaths were not in vain because I was the one that avenged them! Thanks to my unbreakable spirit!!!"
Tetsutetsu screamed at the top of his lungs and swung with all his might, but the zombie king foresaw this and ducked around it. Tetsutetsu froze with fear. He missed. But not the king.
With the brush of a finger, the zombie king spread a decay-like essence throughout his body. By the time Tetsutetsu realized his mistake, he'd already disintegrated into a million pieces.
Although it took him a few seconds, Rin froze upon seeing Tetsutetsu's remains and filled the lair with his horrific screams, followed by the sound of puking.
"You...! MONSTER!!!" Rin cried before feeling the virus spread through his body.
Meanwhile, he stared at Rin as he began to have convulsions.
"I swear...! One day, someone will come for you! And when they do, I hope they kill you..." He used the final moments of his life to look him dead in the eye.
"Tomura... Shigaraki..."
Those were his last words before exhaling his final breath. His eyes went empty, and his skin went pale, assuring the surrounding alphas that it was safe to greet their new brother in arms.
Lifting him in the air, four alphas, including Tsuburaba, carried him away with the zombie crowd as a way to welcome their new family member.
A life for a life.
While that was going on, Shigaraki sighed at the pile of remains he had created and clenched his fist. As Kurogiri expected, Shigaraki was disappointed in himself.
Everything happened so fast that he reacted without thinking. If he had remained calm, perhaps he could've figured out a way to unharden him. But no. His old personality got the better of him. Of course, he wasn't the only one with regrets.
Kendo was on her knees in mourning, which he found strange. For whatever reason, she hated what her king had done but didn't know why. She didn't know Tetsutetsu, so why did she feel sad about his death?
Those feelings vanished, though, when Midoriya and Tsu appeared with Manga and Shishida's bodies. Manga's body was beyond repair, but the sight of Shishida made Shigaraki's blood boil. Strangely enough, the sight of Tetsutetsu's remains made Deku feel the same way.
"Deku! How could you let All Might escape?! Your teammates slaughtered! This is unacceptable!" Kurogiri quickly got on his case, but Shigaraki screamed at him to let him pass.
Kurogiri complied in defeat and stepped aside.
Approaching the throne, Deku bowed respectfully and begged for Shigaraki's forgiveness for he knew he failed to capture all the humans in Kamino. What's more, two alphas were killed.
Shigaraki stepped forward and stood in front of him intimidatingly. Deku closed his eyes in preparation for the worst but was surprised when he lifted his chin to meet his red eyes.
Deku couldn't believe it.
One of his first known failures and his king forgave him. He was truly in his debt. However, that sense of security vanished when Shigaraki dusted Manga and Shishida without warning.
All the alphas, including Kendo, Tsu, Aoyama, and Iida came to a standstill and feared what would become of Deku. He remained still, glimpsing at the remains of his fallen comrades and questioned why he would do this. Why kill them and not him?
From Shigaraki's viewpoint, they failed to capture children and died as a consequence, so... It served as a reminder to Deku of what he was truly fighting for.
After making this known, he assertively sat on his throne, compelling his queen to join his side. Mirko whispered something in his ear, and he glared at Kurogiri.
"Of course, my liege... I'll inform the Stalker of the change of plans."
After Kurogiri left, Shigaraki directed the others to prepare. Iida, Aoyama, and Shiozaki were in no shape to hunt but the others were. Until they captured worthy candidates such as Bakugo or Eraserhead they couldn't return home. As for All Might, he planned something special for him.
Deku eventually came to his senses and departed with the others. As much as he hated to admit it, his king was right. He had a promise to keep, and he wasn't going to fail this time around.
Not when her life was on the line.