(A/N: Sorry for the wait, I sent my laptop to repair since the keyboard was faulty and caused me to always need an external keyboard if I wanted to use it. It's still on repair, but when it's fixed, I should be able to write even at university, where I feel like I lose a lot of time I could use in this. Though, I guess only time will tell if I'll be able to lock in.)
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[8 Bullets]
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…
"Who the hell are you?"
Rikiya Katsukame, one of the Eight Bullets, and a massive beast of a man wearing a plague mask, with muscles on his muscles and using metal gloves to add on to the imposing presence, frowned deeply as he stared down the hallway at the figure standing there with his arms crossed.
He had been in his room enjoying a good movie night, and he'd just stood up to grab a beer—
And then this guy suddenly appeared in the hallway.
"..."
"..."
Rikiya's eyes narrowed behind his mask as the man remained silent even after his question.
The silence stretched a bit more, with both men locking eyes with one another, hoping for the other to budge first.
Until Rikiya let out an annoyed sigh.
"What a pain… You're not a pretty girl, so whatever. If you walk away right now, I'll let this slide." He said, looking away, and waving dismissively at the intruder.
Yet the stranger didn't move.
An uncomfortable silence between the two stretched for a bit more.
Then, Rikiya snorted, turning back to him.
"Well, I was lying anyway. Good job not believing in me."
With an annoyed sigh, he began walking toward the man. Each step picked up speed until—
—Thunk, Thunk, Thunk!—
—he broke into a full charge, the massive difference in size making it look like a truck barreling toward a teenager.
"Hrgh!"
And as he entered combat range, Rikiya groaned as he wound up a punch, putting his full weight behind it as the stranger remained perfectly still.
Then, he struck.
—BAM!—
As the punch echoed in the hallway, its force more than clear enough with the thunderous sound the collision had made, Rikiya's eyes narrowed in delight as he saw his victim still standing there, meaning he hadn't missed.
Though once he paid closer attention, some of that delight wilted quickly.
He had reached his foe, yes. But his hand had been caught by the intruder's palm, making all the force he put into his punch earlier look like a joke.
However, while he was disappointed he hadn't sent him flying, Rikiya didn't feel worried in the slightest.
"Hoh? Man, you've got better reflexes than I expected, but—"
Tssssss…—
Suddenly, orange energy began oozing from the stranger and flew into Rikiya's body.
"—letting me come into contact with you was your last mistake."
The energy poured into him.
His muscles swelled, his frame expanded, and veins bulged beneath his skin—Within seconds, he had grown even larger.
If he had looked like a truck before—
Now he was a damn train.
"Hell yeah… that hits the spot." He let out a satisfied sigh before setting his confident gaze down at the hooded figure now dwarfed by him. "Now then… where were we, little man?"
"Hah."
But to his surprise, the intruder simply let out an amused snort.
Then their gazes met, two glowing red eyes staring straight through Rikiya—eyes that didn't hold a single shred of regret for his earlier "mistake", nor worry despite the apparent difference in power.
Having a bad feeling, Rikiya—whose fist was still caught in the man's palm—winded up a punch with his other hand.
But as he did, for the first time, the intruder spoke.
"I was curious how your power would work on me…"
Ignoring the man's talk, Rikiya's released his punch—but as he did, he met gazes with the man one more time.
Then, the intruder spoke again.
"Turns out it's nothing special."
"...!"
The energy flow abruptly stopped.
At the same time, Rikiya had felt it—something had pushed his caught hand centimeters away from the man's palm, nullifying his Quirk's further absorption.
"The hell—?"
Then—
—BOOOM!—
An invisible shockwave exploded outward, blasting him backward and sending him skidding several meters across the floor.
He dug his feet in before he flew too far, breathing heavily as he steadied himself.
After a quick glance over his body, he looked back at the intruder with a far more cautious expression.
"That's one weird Quirk… I didn't even see what hit me." He cracked his neck slightly. "Now you've got me curious."
Uncaringly, the intruder tapped the floor twice with his shoe.
His red eyes glowed behind the mask.
"Keep that curiosity to yourself."
Then—
He vanished.
His body became a blur of black and red streaks slicing through Rikiya's vision.
In an instant, he was already in front of him.
Then the fists came.
—TATATATATATATATATATATA!—
Rikiya couldn't even react.
Fists crashed into him from every direction, each blow landing with brutal precision.
The man flickered across his vision too fast to track. One moment he was in front of him, the next he vanished—only for another punch to slam into his ribs, his jaw, his gut.
It was like being caught in a storm.
A literal rain of fists.
Only after what felt like an eternity did the barrage stop.
Rikiya dropped to one knee, coughing violently as blood splattered inside his mask.
"Y-you hit pretty hard… for a scrawny guy whose energy I just drained…"
Behind him stood the masked man, leather gloves faintly smoking as he faced away from the fallen giant, not bothering to look back.
"And you resisted more than I accounted for."
Right after the man's words left his mouth—
Rikiya collapsed completely, his enormous body slamming into the floor.
Thus, one of the Eight Bullets was down.
…
°
°
°
| Somewhere else… |
…
"...You… you seem interesting."
Kendo Rappa stared at the figure now standing over the unconscious body of his boring partner, Hekiji Tengai.
They had been doing their usual chores around here, although he was leaving most of the work to his partner, while he lounged around, passing time.
Then, suddenly, that hooded guy appeared and attacked. Despite his partner's Quirk allowing him to create barriers harder than steel, the stranger had simply fired a laser from two fingers and shattered it in an instant—using that brief opening to knock him out without effort.
And thus, that now left only him and the hooded man.
Yet, despite the obvious predicament, Rappa could only feel the rising tension making his blood boil with excitement as he stared at the imposing figure before him.
"Hey…" he called out, eyes gleaming with a maddened hunger. "...Let's fight to the death."
The figure slowly turned toward him.
Then he raised a single fist.
"Come. I saved enough energy for you too."
"HAHAHAHA! THAT'S THE ATTITUDE!" Rappa roared with laughter as he lunged forward without hesitation.
The figure moved at the same time.
—RATATATATATATATAT!—
A storm of fists exploded between them.
Their punches blurred like twin Gatling guns firing at point-blank range, each strike crashing against the other before it could reach flesh.
Small shockwaves rippled through the hallway as their fists collided again and again in a relentless barrage.
And amidst all that, Rappa's surprised eyes widened slightly.
The exchange lasted less than five seconds.
Yet in that brief window, more than a hundred punches were thrown between them.
Then, almost simultaneously, both fighters jumped back, creating distance as the clash finally ended.
Rappa rolled his shoulders, breathing hard but furrowing his brows behind the plague mask he was currently wearing.
"Y-you… why aren't you shooting lasers as you did against that bastard?" He jerked his chin toward Tengai's unconscious body.
The masked figure answered calmly.
"It'd be less fun that way, wouldn't it?"
Rappa blinked.
Then he chuckled like a kid who had just found his favorite toy.
"You get it… You truly get it."
He shook his hands once.
His metal gauntlets that had been covering his fists until then immediately cracked apart and fell to the ground in pieces—the earlier exchange had completely destroyed them.
"THEN LET'S ENJOY OURSELVES TO THE FULLEST!"
Now unrestrained, Rappa lunged again, thirst for battle burning in his eyes.
The masked man moved as well, red eyes flashing beneath the hood.
—RATATATATATATATAT!—
And then, another storm of fists erupted.
But this time, the punches didn't stop at merely five seconds.
They broke through, going on for much longer.
Blows slammed into ribs, jaws, and shoulders as both fighters traded hits in the middle of the hurricane of punches.
Both figures were knocked back again and again, each sending the other sliding across the floor, neither willing to give an inch.
"HAHAHA! To think you'd keep up with my punching speed… just what the hell is your Quirk?!" Rappa shouted as the exchange continued.
His opponent didn't answer.
Then, inevitably, because of the nature of Rappa's Quirk, he had to pull back for a moment.
The intruder didn't let up.
He lunged forward and unleashed another storm of punches, forcing Rappa to raise his arms and block.
—RATATATATATATATAT!—
By the time it ended, his body was battered beyond measure, and the sheer recoil of the barrage eventually sent him rolling backward across the floor.
But as he recovered and looked up at the already approaching hooded figure, Rappa's eyes shone with pure ecstasy.
He dashed forward again.
And another storm of punches erupted between them.
Plenty of hits landed on his opponent—but just as many slammed into Rappa's own body.
Blood burst from his mouth mid-exchange, splattering across his mask and staining his flying fists in the process.
Soon both fighters' hands were slick with blood, leaving red streaks across each other whenever a blow connected.
It was a brutal, savage sight.
Yet exhilarating.
Until at last—
—BAM!—
The hooded man drove a final punch straight into Rappa's ribs.
The impact folded him over and sent him tumbling across the floor.
Seconds later, his back slammed against the hallway wall, leaving him slumped against it with both arms hanging uselessly at his sides.
Broken.
For a moment, he didn't move.
But he wasn't unconscious.
"Hehehe…" he chuckled, blood gargling in his throat as he did. "You… you're an amazing guy…"
The hooded man walked over and stopped in front of him, looming above the defeated fighter.
Both fists were still red, the blood on them beginning to evaporate from the heat and friction of the earlier exchange.
Rappa lifted his head and met his gaze.
"Now do it… finish it. End this fight to the death."
The figure didn't answer.
He simply raised a fist.
Then—
—SMACK!—
His punch crashed into Rappa's face, something cracking loudly on impact.
Rappa's body slumped to the side, unconscious.
The hooded man flicked his hands, shaking the blood off them.
"Sorry," he said flatly. "I'm not into that."
That made two less of the Eight Bullets.
…
°
°
°
| Another room of the underground facility… |
…
Gentle stood before three opponents, his eyes narrowing as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"To think I'd run into three of the Eight Bullets…"
Ahead of him stood Toya Setsuno—a lanky blond man whose Quirk allowed him to pull objects from others into his hands—Yu Hojo—a bald, stern-looking man capable of generating a sturdy, diamond-like material from his body and shaping it into weapons—and lastly, Soramitsu Tabe—a man draped in a mantle stitched tightly over the place where his mouth should have been, whose Quirk allowed him to eat anything with monstrous jaws.
"Who the hell are you? And how did you get in here?" Toya asked, glaring at Gentle.
Yu paused for a second. His eyes narrowed… then widened in recognition.
"Hold on. I've seen this guy before. He's that dumb idiot who uploads videos on YoTube doing crimes while trying to look cool."
Toya stared at him blankly for a moment before turning back to Gentle with a mocking grin.
"Don't tell me he thought it'd be a good idea to attack the Shie Hassaikai? Talk about stupid!"
Soramitsu said nothing.
But from the fixed, hungry look in his eyes… nothing good could be passing through his head.
Gentle sweatdropped slightly.
It truly seemed he had gotten himself into quite the predicament.
"But I suppose I can't leave everything to Rockinesis…"
His gaze briefly shifted to the camera he had placed earlier when he noticed the fight was inevitable, positioning it so it could capture everything.
A stationary camera wasn't ideal for filming combat, and La Brava often couldn't keep up with the speed and fierceness of some battles. That was why he usually cut his videos right as the fights began, only showing the aftermath of his victories.
Partly to avoid letting the authorities deduce his identity.
Partly to hide the tricks he kept in reserve for when he was outmatched.
And partly because he thought showing himself dispatching several of his enemies without showing the violence was pretty cool—very gentlemanly as he'd call it.
But this time…
This might be the most important video he had ever recorded.
He couldn't let Rockinesis be the only one stealing the show, even if he could only have a stationary camera to record it.
"Hoooh…" He exhaled slowly, his gaze sharpening as he looked at the three opponents ahead of him. "Very well, gentlemen… let us do what we must."
As he spoke, he tapped the earpiece hidden beneath his hair.
"And I'm counting on you, La Brava."
{"Gentle… don't lose!"}
At once, a pink energy began to surround him.
His hair spiked upward.
His moustache followed suit.
A confident smirk spread across his face.
"I won't."
…
°
°
°
| Evacuation path… |
…
Chisaki ran desperately down the hallway.
Sweat streamed down his forehead, and the sound of his hurried footsteps—along with his ragged breathing—echoed through the empty corridor.
Every few seconds, he slowed just enough to slam a hand against the walls beside him, activating his Quirk and raising thick barriers of stone behind him to block his pursuer.
But no matter how many walls he raised… No matter how thick they were… No matter how long he ran…
The footsteps behind him never stopped.
Each wall shattered with a thunderous crack.
And after every collapse, the same calm, steady steps resumed—like a hunter patiently chasing its prey.
"Damn it…" Chisaki hissed between breaths. "I can't let it end here. The boss's vision… I can't let it die with me!"
With every passing second, those footsteps grew closer.
So did the panic clawing at his chest.
At one point, he even reshaped the corridors themselves, tearing open new paths and sealing others behind him in an attempt to confuse the intruder.
But it made no difference.
No matter what he did… He couldn't lose him.
'What are those idiots doing?! Why did I even bother raising them into sacrificial pawns over this past year?! Can't they hold off a single intruder?!'
His mind went back to the Eight Bullets. In paper, and to the rest of the underworld, they were his henchmen. People worthy of carrying the name of the Shie Hassaikai.
But that wasn't the whole truth.
They were pawns he was ready to discard if it ever became necessary when the police discovered what was happening here, or when something else that risked the whole operation arose.
They were there to assure his escape, and with it, the survival of the Shie Hassaikai.
He and the boss.
So long as both existed, even if everyone else died or got imprisoned, the Shie Hassaikai would live on, and so would their ambition to rise to the top of the underworld.
That's why those eight existed, to ensure the core of the Hassaikai would remain.
And yet, despite the fact that he had been running like a madman for so long, none of them had shown up to sacrifice themselves.
Not even his more valuable pieces outside of the eight, like Kurono or Irinaka, had shown up.
Had something happened?
Had they all been wiped out before he became the target?!
'Fuck… FUCK!'
Frustrated to the limit, Chisaki kicked up the pace once again.
The chase dragged on until his lungs burned and his legs trembled.
Finally, he staggered to a stop, bending over with his hands on his knees as he sucked in desperate breaths.
He was close.
So close.
Just a hundred meters more…
And he would reach the hidden exit he had prepared as an emergency escape route.
He just needed to catch his breath.
Just a moment.
Then he would stand and—
"Why did you slow down?"
"...!"
Chisaki flinched violently and jumped away from where he stood.
He spun around, searching frantically for his pursuer.
But the hallway behind him was empty.
"Did you hear something?"
The voice came again… Right beside him.
Chisaki snapped his head to the side.
There—clad in black—stood the same figure from before, upside down, suspended in the air as if gravity meant nothing.
—Watching him with the same cold gaze as before.
Chisaki's hand shot forward instantly.
"Kgh…!"
But just like before, his palm stopped centimeters from the man's face.
The invisible barrier blocked him completely.
"Ack—!"
-Thud!-
Then, the same unseen force suddenly exploded outward, slamming Chisaki into the corridor's wall with crushing force.
Before he could recover, the masked vigilante was already standing in front of him… Blocking the only path forward.
He was cornered.
Taka had caught him.
"I thought you'd run faster if your life depended on it," Taka said calmly, looking down at him with clear disdain. "Guess there's a limit to what even desperation can achieve."
"Why…?" Chisaki snarled, fury and desperation bleeding into his voice as his carefully built plans collapsed around him. "Why is a bastard like you doing this?! Didn't you retire?! Why are you here?!"
"You should know yourself," Taka replied plainly.
That answer snapped Chisaki out of his anger.
'I should know?'
He had never met Rockinesis. He had only heard of him.
What's more, the vigilante had never even appeared in this city during the times he had been active.
So what the hell did he mean?
Was it the Hassaikai's crimes that had drawn his attention? There were dozens of organizations like his—and plenty far worse.
Then what?!
What could possibly—
Chisaki's eyes trembled as the answer finally surfaced.
"That kid…?"
"So you do know." Taka's voice carried a faint hint of amusement.
"How… how could you possibly know about her?"
There was no record of her existence, no documents, and no trace of her birth.
Chisaki had made sure of that.
And it had been a long time since she escaped—long before this vigilante had even begun operating.
So how?
A leak?
No, that was impossible.
He had personally explained to every subordinate what would happen if information leaked.
In detail.
Graphic detail.
He had made sure none of them would ever dare talk, no matter what their puny conscience told them.
Then how?
How—
-Pat-
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.
"No need to rack your brain over it," Taka said calmly. "You didn't do anything wrong in covering her up."
He paused.
"You were just unlucky."
—BAM!—
"Au—urgh…!"
A brutal punch slammed into Chisaki's stomach, folding him instantly.
Saliva spilled from his mouth as the air was violently knocked from his lungs.
Before he could recover, he felt himself lifted by the collar like he weighed nothing—
And tossed aside like trash.
He slammed against the metal floor and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
Coughing, he looked up.
The dark-clad figure was already walking toward him.
"There's a saying that no good deed goes unpunished…" Taka said with a quiet sigh, shaking his head slightly. "Of course, the same can't be said about bad ones. Plenty of bastards get away with whatever evil they're willing to commit."
He crouched down.
His face stopped mere centimeters from Chisaki's.
Red eyes gleamed through the mask as they locked onto him.
"But that's not your case."
He straightened again, looming over the sprawled villain.
Then he raised a hand.
A sphere of light formed above his palm, radiating heat intense enough to make Chisaki shield his face.
"I came here personally to make sure you don't get away unpunished. So, goodbye, Overhaul."
"No…" Chisaki muttered.
For a moment, time seemed to slow down. The heat and light were blinding him enough to bring a strange sense of calmness.
One that allowed for frustration and anger to no longer blind him to the truth.
That this… might be where it ends.
The Shie Hassaikai.
His plans.
His boss's dream.
All of it—ending here, at the hands of a damn vigilante.
Another deluded madman corrupted by Quirks… playing hero while deciding right and wrong for the world.
That's where the calm ended.
A vein bulged across Chisaki's forehead, and his eyes, afraid until then, shot at his enemy with a hatred so deep that it might as well burn like the energy in his hands.
Then—
"NO!"
His Quirk activated.
Both palms slammed against the floor—
—BOOOOM!—
—and everything changed.
…
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-To Be Continued...-
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(A/N: Time to begin with the full fight. Hopefully you guys like the action.
Also, I'm moving the self-promotion down here cause of evil reasons.)