BOOM
The world slowed to a crawl as my enhanced senses kicked into overdrive. A leg, thick with corded muscle and tensed like a coiled spring, hung suspended mere inches from my face, separated from crushing my skull, or at least trying to, solely by Excalibur still sheathed inside Avalon.
The impact sent papers spiraling through the air. The sonic boom rippled outward, a visible wave of force that shattered the glass doors behind me along with the nearest windows into fragments while spider-webbing cracks through the rest.
I could hear each individual shard hitting the floor, it was... unpleasant.
"Lady Mirko," I said, keeping my voice steady as I bowed my head slightly, maintaining eye contact through the gesture. "Nice to see you again, under better circumstances than before, thankfully."
She said nothing, her expression however said too much. That grin of hers blew into something indescribable. It stretched across her face, too wide to be entirely human, all teeth and barely contained violence.
Her crimson eyes found my blue, she still had the same look as before, the one where we first met, the look of someone who lived for the fight, who relished combat. She really did make me wonder if she was related to Bakugo, maybe they were distant cousins.
She pushed against Avalon, her leg still pressed against my defense, trying to drive me backward through sheer force. The floor beneath my feet groaned in protest. I took a step back.
Was she stronger than before?
The muscles in her leg rippled, and I could feel the raw power behind them. She actually seemed as strong as I was without Mana Burst, though my instincts told me I was still faster. Had she been training specifically for a rematch?
The thought was both flattering and concerning.
She fell back to give us some space, before rushing at me once more, her powerful legs launching her into the air.
Time seemed to dilate as she rose, her white hair streaming behind her. She twisted at the apex of her jump, bringing her leg down in an axe kick that would have split concrete. I raised Avalon to meet her, the impact reverberating through my arms.
The ground under me cracked, no, it cratered, tiles exploding outward from the point of impact.
Without missing a beat, another kick came from the side, her body pivoting impossibly fast. I parried, the force sending vibrations up Avalon. Thankfully Avalon was stronger than I was. Both she and Excalibur could take much more damage than I ever could.
The sidekicks and staff members of Ryukyu's agency pressed themselves against the walls. I could hear their hearts racing, smell the adrenaline flooding their systems.
She dashed toward me once more. She jumped, turning her body in the air. Her legs found the ceiling, and pushed. The ceiling tiles cracked and fell like hail as she launched herself downward.
Another sonic boom reverberated through the hall, this one strong enough that some people even fell to the floor. The rest of the people around us clutched their ears.
Mirko clenched her fist, her trajectory aimed directly at my face. I could see the micro-expressions on her face, why was she so damn happy?
Did she want to break my jaw? What did I do?
I looked around and saw the danger I was placing these people in, so I decided to end it.
My heart thrummed. Mana burst, flooding my veins in a singular moment, time slowing even further.
I was at my strongest right now and far above what Mirko could handle.
I took a single step back. Her fist inched closer, cutting through the air. Just as her knuckles were about to meet my skin, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her body, I grabbed her wrist with the hand that wasn't holding Excalibur.
The sudden stop sent shockwaves up her arm. She stayed dangling in the air for a fraction of a second, her momentum completely arrested. But Mirko wasn't one to be caught off-guard for long.
Using my grip as a pivot point, she twisted her entire body, her leg sweeping around in an arc aimed at my neck. It was a beautiful move, the kind that probably even I wouldn't be able to do.
It didn't matter though. I activated Avalon.
All of this had happened in 1.2 seconds.
Her leg met my skin with the force of a freight train. But nothing happened. Not even a blowback. It was nice to be separated from the world if only for a moment. Her smile widened, showing even more teeth.
Then came the roar, not from Mirko as you'd be expecting but from someone else.
"Mirko!"
My heart thrummed at the voice. It carried a sense of familiarity.
Mirko's bunny ears, which had been standing straight up like antenna during our fight, suddenly flattened against her head. She broke my grip with a violent twist and burst through the door, leaving a Mirko-shaped hole in what had been a perfectly good wall.
From the stairs, a woman came running to the floor, her footsteps heavy.
Ryukyu. The Dragon Hero.
Even before I saw her, I could feel her, a kindred spirit. A brother from another mother as Mina would say.
"MIRKO! STOP BREAKING MY STUFF!!"
The familiarity was definitely coming from her.
Ryukyu, the dragon hero, stood at the top of the stairs, her chest heaving with exertion and anger. Her blonde hair was slightly disheveled, as if she'd been in the middle of something important when she'd heard the commotion.
I stared at Nejire at my side, who still hadn't seemed to notice the full situation, her ears evidently ringing from the repeated sonic booms.
I thankfully had already learned to instinctively tune them out, my body adapting to combat conditions without conscious thought. I deactivated Avalon, returning to the physical realm fully.
Ryukyu jogged to the doors, her heeled boots clicking against what remained of the floor tiles. She surveyed the damage, the broken glass that clattered across the floor like deadly diamonds, the cracked walls, the cratered floor, the hole Mirko had left in her exit. Her hands balled into fists, her knuckles going white.
She seemed about to explode, and I could actually see wisps of smoke curling from her nostrils.
"That woman has no regard for others. I can't believe she's my only friend. Fuck!"
The curse came out so much out of left field that several of the sidekicks flinched. It was clearly not the composed demeanor they were used to from their boss.
"Ryukyu-senpai?" Nejire muttered, blinking in confusion. It seemed this wasn't a side Ryukyu showed often, because when Ryukyu met Nejire's eyes, she pulled herself together with visible effort. She straightened her blazer, smoothed down her hair, and coughed delicately into her hand. Then she snapped her fingers, the sound clean.
My instincts screamed at me for some reason, every nerve suddenly on high alert. Then a man appeared as if from nowhere, materializing beside her like a ghost. It intrigued me immensely. Invisibility? Teleportation?
"Call our insurance company," she said, her voice back to its professional tone. "Tell them it's a Code M."
The man nodded without a word and disappeared just as suddenly as he'd appeared. I filed that away for later consideration.
Ryukyu walked over to us, her movements slow and deliberate, as if she was using the time to compose herself further. She stared out into the streets through the shattered windows, where a crowd was beginning to form.
"Would you like me to bring her back?" I asked Ryukyu, who still hadn't seemed to fully notice my presence, lost in her frustration.
"No, it's fine, she's long gone by now." Her eyes squinted as if trying to track Mirko's path through the city. "I'll make her pay for all this when I catch her. Every yen." She paused, finally turning to address Nejire properly. "Nejire, what happened? Did Endeavor show up again?"
The question caught me off guard. Endeavor? Did the number two also have to deal with Mirko's battle hungry nature?
"Uh," was all the normally talkative Nejire could reply, still holding her ear and looking dazed.
"Uhm, Ryukyu-senpai," I interrupted, stepping forward slightly. "I know what happened."
Her eyes turned to me, and they widened, recognition dawning on them.
"Arthur Pendragon, right?" she asked mid-sigh, the exhaustion clear in her voice.
"Indeed I am."
"She told me about your little scuffle." She rubbed her temple with two fingers. "I can guess what happened. She started a fight. Created a sonic boom, broke my windows, traumatized my staff, etc, etc. Am I right?"
"You're remarkably accurate."
"Dammit, I shouldn't have had her here. So much for wanting to spend quality time together." She shook her head ruefully. "How did she even get a whiff that you had accepted to intern here?"
Nezu, maybe? No, he wouldn't have done that, would he? Then again, the principal did have a particular sense of humor. Then again, Mirko hadn't seem prepared for our encounter if her first reaction was anything to go by.
Was I and by extension Ryukyu simply this unlucky?
"Are you okay?" she added, finally looking me over for injuries.
"I'm fine, thank you."
"Yeah, I thought you'd be," she added as she quieted down, but that only lasted for a second before she turned back to the destroyed entrance. "FUCK YOU, MIRKO!!!"
The scream startled everyone, Nejire, myself, and the few people on this floor who had gotten out of their stupor from the short yet intense fight that had just occurred. Several of them scrambled for cover, thinking another attack was coming. Ryukyu's clawed hand traveled through her blonde hair once more, as if doing it calmed her, maybe it did.
"Sorry, sorry, I just... she gets on my nerves sometimes. She acts like a child. A destructive, expensive child who doesn't understand the concept of property damage or insurance premiums."
"Yes, she's quite the feral rabbit. I concur."
"Thank you," she said in a sigh that seemed to come from her very soul. "Finally, someone who agrees with me. Do you know how many times she's done this? Just shown up, picked a fight with whoever caught her interest, and left me to deal with the aftermath?"
Nejire still hadn't said anything substantial. Her eyes simply darted between Ryukyu and myself. I could feel her eyes sporadically landing on me.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ryukyu said, once more passing her clawed hand through her hair. "So much for first impressions," she added in a whisper that my enhanced hearing picked up easily.
"Indeed," I replied, extending my own sympathies. This was not how I wanted this week to go, much less start. I'd hoped for something more... conventional. Ryukyu turned to me, a small smile finally breaking through her frustration.
"Very well then, let's have your internship begin properly, despite this chaos." She gestured around at the destruction. "I have two propositions for you. Nejire and I's patrol is coming up soon, but I know you are who you are, and who you are is someone who has been doing this for a long time." She actually had a proud look, maybe I wasn't the only one who thought we were kindred spirits. "So you can go on your own for today if you'd prefer. Take the right side of the city, we'll be taking the left. Or you can join us, get the full intern experience. So, what do you want?"
I looked at the still slightly befuddled Nejire. Then down at my suitcase where my hero costume lay waiting. Finally, my gaze landed on the now shattered glass doors that led to the outside, where a city sprawled to the horizon.
"Can I really go out alone?" The question came out more eager than I'd intended.
"Indeed. You've proven yourself more than capable, and honestly, after seeing you handle Mirko without breaking a sweat, I'd be insulting you to suggest otherwise."
It had been so long since I'd had that freedom, the simple autonomy to patrol without someone watching over my shoulder. And she was giving it to me just like that? This had been the best decision I could have made.
"Then yes, I'd prefer to go at it alone."
"Change into your costume then. Your intern license is at the desk; just ask for it." She pulled out her phone, checking something. "I'm letting you go alone only for the morning, and only this city you hear me, if I hear even a whif of you going outside this city consider your internship here finished. Come back at 13:30 for lunch. After that, you'll be patrolling with me. I want to see how you operate. Understood?"
Each word she spoke made my heart thrum with that strange familiarity. She really did seem kindred somehow. Maybe because of our quirks? The dragon recognizing the one who carried a dragon's heart? Weird, but not unpleasant.
"Understood," I finally replied, then turned to give Nejire a proper goodbye. "See you at lunch, Nejire. I'll do whatever pose you'd like me to do in my suit then, promise."
"You really don't need to, Arthur. Especially not after... all this." She gestured vaguely at the destruction.
"I said I was going to do it, so I'm going to do it," I replied with a genuine smile. "A knight keeps his word, above all else."
And then I was off, grabbing my suitcase and heading to change, my steps quick with melancholy.
God, I was so fricking excited to be back on patrol! To do what I was trained to do! To do what I had been born to do!
A/N: Ryukyu may feel a little OOC but that's cause we really don't see much from her, all we see is her being a nice person and taking responsibility for actions from others, she's well meaning but then how is Mirko her best friend, she has to be a little crazy too, I'm sure of it, it's just that she hides it well.
Oh, one more thing. Some fucker is profiting from this on youtube in those ai videos recounting the story, not one, but multiple, whoever you are, fuck you. I saw that one of you put this on their fucking patreon.
You deserve to be sent to the fiery pits of hell. White hot waves of searing hellfire will crash over your body and pour into your lungs so you boil from the inside out.
Locusts will crawl up and into every orifice and wriggle through your minds scratching at the back of your eyes. There will be no beginning, there will be no end, there will only be suffering.
A knife slices at your Achilles heel, and a ret hot poker will be rammed up your arseholes on the hour ever hour, until- oh wait there is no until because it will never end. There is no time in hell.
Phew, I think that is a good comeback, have them read out this.
Either way I hope you all enjoyed this. Send those stones, I need them lol.
Thx for reading. Author out.