Chapter Text
I’m Alive… Setsuna was able to think I’m… How am I alive?
She didn’t care… In fact, she barely knew exactly who she was, it was all just a cloud. But even then there was a feeling that surrounded her, to run away and multiply.
As she ran down the serwers away from the crime, Setsuna’s body started to decompose. Parts of her limbs started to fall off, only to regenerate and take their place, being slightly weaker than her previous assailant.
Setsuna’s broken leg quickly returned to normal, allowing Setsuna to start to jog, and then run. Whilst doing so, part of her body suddenly rotted away only to be replaced by something else instantaneously.
She wasn’t sure how long it was, but the first ladder she saw, Setsuna started to climb. Just punching the sewer cover broke her hand, but it didn’t matter as it healed immediately.
A walk soon became a run, and a stride, even as skin, muscles, and organs began to rot and fall out. Setsuna wasn’t sure how far but when she saw a hole she grabbed the ladder and punched it out, breaking her entire arm, but it didn’t matter as it fell off, only to regrow again.
Looking around, there were lights that were unfamiliar, sounds, and a breeze that seemed unfamiliar. But she felt elevated, she wished more for it, as the two feelings that primed her to do so were still relevant.
She grabbed the wall and began to climb, her fingers and toes burying themselves and ripping them off at the wall. She kept running, running over buildings, falling over and getting up again.
And again.
And again.
Until she tripped and fell, causing her body to appear in a dark alley. She fell over and didn’t react fast enough.
*Crack*
It didn’t matter, she just repositioned herself and set her head back in place. After doing so she immediately started to breathe, pant even, finally gaining some consciousness.
Why… Why was I running? A small landing of someone behind her reminded her why.
“Game up Setsuna! We need to have a chat!”
Oh course… How could I forget… Setsuna turned behind and slowly took off her helmet. She could feel the flesh seal on her helmet tear apart as she removed it. The sheer weight of her helmet caused her fingers to crack and fall off, making them fall off as well.
"Mi… Ru… Mi,” It all went black.
<--->
Odin just laughed at that as the signal went dead. She was dead… but so was the entire transportation ring he had been building up over the past few months. Now everything had to change again.
Blinking once or twice sent multiple signals to the storehouses to increase the distribution rates, as well as to arrange multiple meetings with gangs and the Yakuza… Well just one Yakuza but still. Blinking a few times, Odin checked again for tears, before he walked over and chugged an energy break. After doing so and sighing, his calmness turned to anger as the singular pulse. turned to two.
She survived.
SHE SURVIVED! After all that… After all he had done as well! Why was it that she was the one that had lived?
No matter, it didn’t at all… She was weak… And Odin knew exactly what to do.
“Ready my car… And get me a good phone… I have a call to make,”
<--->
*Beep*
She knew that sound, she knew it well, after all two-thirds of her entire life had it at different decibels all of the time. She knew it over the sound, she heard it when she went under to remove yet another lump… Another lump that ‘magically appeared’.
Her eyes woke up… And without any worry began to get up. Immediately tensing what was almost every muscle in her body, making sure she was fine, she took over the sheets and stood up. Only for a man to meet with her collarbone, stopping her from completely getting up.
Looking up, she saw Shouta Aizawa, also known as Eraserhead, looking at her, without any goggles and regular eyes.
“You need the rest…”
“Where…” Her voice was hoarse. “Where am… I?”
“You’re not at the hospital, kid don’t worry. You’re at the Red String Hero agency,”
She groaned. “Even worse. You can’t hide a vigilante here can you?”
“The Red String agency is the only agency that has multiple branches, prioritizing underground hero work. This includes vigilante-free areas… Or those who we deem safe to enter,”
“And I?”
“You’re reckless,” Eraserhead walked back. “Ninety per cent of us underground heroes want you on the street still,”
“I’m hearing a but,” She joked.
“Snarky little…” He shut himself. “That number is zero now… That little… stunt,”
“Stunt… Oh yeah!” She looked at Eraserhead. “You’re welcome,”
“None of that, you were sighting with the hero killer,”
“Can you prove it? Look I’ve been off the streets for a good month, and what just says that since Triggers and fakes were involved… It was just a coincidence,” Setsuna looked at the chair back to her, seeing the sword gift. “Okay other than that,”
“Look… I need to tell your little mentor that you’re awake,” Eraserhead got up. “Turn on the TV, you need to see what you’ve done in real-time,”
As the door closed, Setsuna finally took a look around, noticing a few things. First of all her helmet with the broken visor and jacket were present as well, along with her shoes having taken off.
The next was multiple IV drips that were connected to both sides of her arms. And do not forget about how every limb was wrapped around in bandages.
Seeing this, he turned on the tv channel, changing it to the news network, not expecting a massive loud sound playing as Breaking News flashed on the screen. After that Setsuna saw it labelled ‘Terrorist Attack? Or has the Hero raid gone wrong?’
“Breaking News… A massive villain attack has levelled an abandoned construction site… Could it have been a terrorist attack? I’m Hideo Takanawa and this is Hero News. Just an hour ago, heroes had entered an abandoned mining sight owned by Kaido Co. From there they found out a major distribution of the drug Trigger, as well as followers of the believers of the quirk Doomsday Theory: Humarise. Also from civilian reports it also seemed that heroes were working in tandem with the cult and the mysterious distributor. A photo captured by a civilian shows a person fleeing the scene, believed to be the Hero Killer Stain,” Trish put a finger to her ear, nodding. “Other news reveals that what seems to be a bio-weapon has been found at the scene. There is no knowing, but it seemed that an assailant not yet revealed stopped the bomb from going off, The expected radius of the weapon would seem to cover the entire Mustafu city Area… There is no need to worry as the bomb has been deactivated. I’m Hideo Tanakawa,”
Setsuna stopped listening, as she began to remember everything that had occurred. Entering, beating some nameless followers… Serpenter… And… And.
Her head began to ache, trying to remember what had happened. But every time she did, it was different. On top, underneath, being torn apart… Which one was real? Which one was her?
It all came back to her, she… was sprayed with some sort of gas… and her quirk… Her quirk went ballistic. She could regenerate faster than she could split, causing more and more Setsuna to grow. And she saw how they all died, some crushed, others hit the wall and their heads became skid marks across the wall. And every time they passed those who were unlucky enough had their entire bodies crushed by the force.
So many… variants of her had died because of this… And because of this, she didn't know what was real or not…
Was she real, or was she just a variant?
The headache got even worse, as well as a loud ringing in her ear occurred. It was deafening, covering her ears did nothing. Especially when she heard the voice.
“Why… Why aren’t you dead?”
It was familiar, and it was clear he was pissed, Odin.
“Do you know who I am?”
“How… How can you talk?”
“Oh please… My quirk was mutated far beyond what you had… That dose of yours,”
“Dose? Of mine?” A green gas. “Trigger,”
“Ding Ding, turns out that variants make the person's quirk factor extremely unstable, causing them unable to control their quirk, quickly killing the user… But you… Despite the gas… You survived,”
“I did… And I’m coming for you. I don’t care how… I don’t care when I’m getting out of here and I’m coming from you,”
“Good luck, it’s a real shame that Imori will spend the rest of her days alone,”
Setsuna’s eyes widened.
“OH? Don’t remember her? You see we never formally met that was as well… As her boyfriend,”
“Wait a minute… You are,”
“Bingo… You see I knew what to do to you… Tokage-san,” It sounded like Hitoshi. “Or perhaps like this,” Giran. “Yes… Everyone you’ve called, every move you’ve made over the internet I knew about… And I helped you prune everything about it,”
“All of those cooks,”
“Sold stuff on the street without my permission, and not once did you think anything about it,” And evil laugh. “You’ve been a pawn to me ever since that faithful day, that day that you ungraciously ruined that radioactive waste with yourself,”
She began to clutch both her ears. “You…”
“I killed your schooling, I’ve killed your aunt’s relationship, I’ve killed your father… and I’ve killed everything that you’ve stood for,” She ripped off both of her ears. “That won’t do anything Tokage… I’ve been in your head for years, I’ve been formulating
you
for years… The vigilante was on you but I made it work. I made you do everything for me without batting an eye. You never helped the Trigger Problem, you made it grow… grow beyond what it ever could have been in Japan. I thank you To-no… Fraction,” A laugh. “It’s a lot like your life really, unable to piece yourself back together,”
Her ears regrew, no matter what she did… It pulsed in her head, Odin. Whatever she thought, Odin. Her entire life.
Odin.
She had to get rid of it right now… And a feeling in her chest knew where to go.
<--->
“Oh, I know exactly what I’m going to do!” Rumi slammed the door open and went inside. “Well? What do you have to say for your-,” The bed was empty, her clothes were gone and the room was cold due to the open window. “She’s gone,”
Shouta looked in and swore. “Get every hero on the line! Code Eight, damnit,”
“What’s code 8? Never heard of it,”
“What it means that a powerful vigilante has gone awol,”
“Well, no time to lose them,” Rum tensed her legs and bounded out the window towards the building next to it, somersaulting and sticking the landing.
Taking a deep whiff and picking up Setsuna’s scent. She ran after her wanting to be protoge for the second time that night, thinking the same thing as she did only a few hours before.
“ Damnit Kit, where are you?”