The air in the USJ felt heavy.....felt curdled. All caused by the mere presence of the nomu-no, the Behemoth, as if sensing his name being mentioned (author-whaa..), the Behemoth hunched its massive shoulders, the mere movement causing a shift in atmospheric pressure. It was a mountain of engineered malice, a nightmare stitched together from the deepest pits of Shigaraki's mind.
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"Behold, people! Behold the Behemoth!" Shigaraki's voice cracked with a manic, high-pitched glee. He stood with his back turned to the monster, arms outstretched as if embracing the terrified students and the trembling villains alike.
"The beast of wrath I am releasing into this world! He will become my tool, my instrument to carve this rotting society anew. And so, Behemoth, as an offering to you, I give you the lives of those present here. Consider them your final test....tempering the fire in your soul. Now, go! Tear the future apart!"
As if responding to its master's dark prayer, the Behemoth shuddered. The ground groaned under its weight before a sound tore through the dome....a scream so visceral, so saturated with agony and rage, that it sent a physical chill through every spine present. It wasn't just a scream; it promised death to all who heard it. In that moment, any ounce of hope that had ignited before went out. The students of Class 1-A, heroes-in-training who had barely begun their journey, looked into the nightmare of the creature before them and realised: This is where we meet our end.
But stories are stubborn things. In the darkest breath of despair, fate often plays a cruel, beautiful joke.
"SHUDUP… Shudup… s-shud up… shud… up!"
The shout was raspy, weak, and utterly defiant. It broke the trance of terror like a stone shattering a mirror. Every head in the plaza turned. Even Shigaraki, his face hidden behind the severed hand of his father, pivoted toward the source of the voice.
There stood a ghost.
Riko. The girl everyone saw lying limply. The girl whose heart they thought had stopped minutes ago. She was wobbling on her feet, her knees knocking together as if they were made of glass. A small, rhythmic stream of blood fell from her mouth, staining the floorboards. Her signature goggles were cracked, a spiderweb of fractures centering around a bullet hole. Her face was covered in blood, her hero suit soaked through until it was a heavy, dark weight against her skin.
Yet, she stood.
At that exact moment, as if the world was announcing her return. A thunderous BOOM echoed from the other side of the facility, the sound of the sound barrier being pulverised. A massive shockwave rippled through the air as a dark blur, the Nomu, was propelled upward with such force that it became a mere dot against the ceiling. It broke through the USJ's reinforced dome for the second time today, vanishing into the stratosphere at the hands of All Might.
The resulting shockwave sent a gust of wind howling through the plaza, fluttering Riko's matted hair. Through the newly jagged hole in the roof, a single, brilliant shaft of sunlight pierced the smoky gloom, falling directly onto her.
In the midst of the carnage, she looked less like a dying student and more like a blood-stained goddess of war descended.
Behind Shigaraki, the purple-black mist of Kurogiri coalesced. The villain was hunched, his voice urgent. "Tomura… the Nomu has been d—"
Shigaraki raised a hand, silencing him instantly. "I saw."
His gaze never left Riko. slowly, He began to laugh, a dry, scratching sound. "You never fail to surprise me, girl. Even a bullet to the brain doesn't seem to put an end to you. How fascinating. I would love to study yo-"
"Bla. Bla. Blaaa. Shud up… I said shuuudd up!" Riko interrupted, swinging her arms around clumsily, like a puppet with its string cut.
"Riko!" Bakugo shouted, his voice uncharacteristically high, his eyes wide with a mixture of horror and sudden relief.
Riko blinked, her vision clearly swimming. "Shud...hmm? Bakugo? Whad yeah say… ha! You crying, you bastard? Hahaha!" She started to laugh, but it quickly turned into a violent coughing fit that sprayed more blood onto the tiles. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, looking at the crowd staring at her. "Oi, why are you all staring at me like that? I'm not dead… though…"
Her eyes finally locked onto Shigaraki. She levelled a trembling finger at him, her voice rising into a snarl. "Yo-you fucking shot me! You motherfucking bastard! I will kill you!"
Shigaraki tilted his head, his tone mocking. "Oh? Will you? You can barely stand, and you think you are capable of fighting the Behemoth? Look at him, girl. He is the end."
Riko turned her head slowly, looking at the towering monstrosity behind the villain. A strange, delirious smile spread across her face. She started laughing again, a sound that bordered on the insane. "Hahhaha… you've gotten uglier, bastard. You look kinda like a Titan… wait-"
(author - I ask for your forgiveness in advance, the following is what the supposed spoiler was hinting to.... and if you say, you were able to discern and anticipate the following....stop fukin lying tis was but a stupid spoiler, still if you contest otherwise....welcome to the club, friend, we're both off a visit to a Psychiatrist)
She looked around at her classmates, her eyes burning with a sudden, manic lucidity. She pointed at the Behemoth as if they were in on an inside joke.
"This is it! This is the moment!" she roared, her voice cracking but carrying across the entire USJ. "All soldiers, charge! This is it....We have come to the moment of truth! Our fate is decided right now! There is no future where we let this bastard trample over us! Leave your fears behind! Go and get my vengeance on that bastard!"
She took a deep breath, her chest heaving, and screamed at the top of her lungs:
"SHINZŌ WO SASAGEYO!"
A confused silence followed for a split second.
"Isn't that from Attac-" muttered a low-level villain, blinking in confusion.
"Riko-chan, you're delirious, you-" Momo Yaoyorozu started, her voice laced with deep concern.
Riko ignored them all. She didn't wait for backup. She didn't wait for All Might. With shaky, stumbling steps that gained momentum through pure willpower, she threw herself forward.
"ADVAAAAANCE!" she screamed, a roar of pure, unadulterated defiance.
"Wait, Riko-chan!" "You're too injured!"
The shouts of her classmates echoed behind her, but Riko was a runaway train. She was charging a mountain, a tiny, blood-covered ant running headlong into the jaws of a beast. "I SAID ADVANCE GODDAMITTTTTTTTTT! THE TITAN IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"
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Then, the impossible happened.
Whether it was the sheer absurdity of the moment, the infectious nature of her madness, or the desperate need for a leader, the line broke. To the absolute shock of everyone, the first to follow wasn't Bakugo or Midoriya. It was Minoru Mineta.
"AGHHHHHHHHH! YESSSSS, COMMANDER RIKOOOOO!" the small boy shrieked, tears streaming down his face as he charged forward, hurling his purple spheres with reckless abandon.
It was never clear what it was that pushed them, whether it was a chain reaction. whether It was witchcraft. Or whether it was the absolute refusal to let their classmate charge alone.
Bakugo's face twisted into a ferocious, bloodthirsty grin. "Fine! If you're going to be a dumbass, I'll show you how it's done!" He blasted himself forward, his explosions roaring like jet engines.
Todoroki didn't say a word, but the small smile on his face conveyed his feelings on the matter. The ground beneath him turned into a shimmering highway of ice, propelling him forward as flames erupted from his left side. One by one, the students of 1-A, the frightened, the weary, the broken....found their feet. They weren't just fighting villains anymore. They were following a commander.
The plaza exploded into a chaotic, desperate charge. A wave of teenagers, led by a girl who was technically half-dead, stormed toward the behemoth with the fury of a legion.
Shigaraki Tomura stood frozen, his hand still poised to strike, his mind struggling to process the sheer, unfathomable idiocy of the moment. He watched as the "NPCs" of the world suddenly became the protagonists, transformed by a girl he didn't seem to understand.
"...What the f**k is going on?" he muttered.
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Author's Igloo
Here ya go, lemme know ya thoughts on this. personally proud of this chap I am.
also to ruin ya mood, the rate of updates may take a hit in the upcoming days (as if it wasn't already shitty), as my exams are coming up....though pls do pray that one of those missiles or a natural diasters hit and thwarts it.
And.... that's it, also while ya all are sulking.....there a anime I found recently...shit was refreshing. tis called Journal with the witch.
hmm am i forgeting something...proly not
Adiós habibi.