Chapter 54 - Shall We Play A Game?

(A/N) Thanks to amara for becoming my editor!

I am so late for this update!

***

(Central Tower... Lowest Level...)

The elevator dinged and Haru was led into a small lobby in the tower's private levels by his two guards. One led the way while the other followed behind.

"Keep moving," the guard walking behind jabbed his rifle buŧŧ against the redheaded teen's back, trying to shove him forward.

To the villain's displeasure, Haru not only didn't stumble but instead stopped to give him a deadpan look from over his shoulder.

"Apart from that being painfully cliche, there is seriously no point in doing that," Haru pointed out, clearly showing he thought the man was an idiot, "I can only go as fast as the guy in front of me, so if you have an issue with my speed, take it up with him."

The villain walking in front turned around, sighing in annoyance, "Oi, stop messing with the hostage," he ordered, seemingly glaring at his comrade from under his mask. He motioned his gun at Haru, signaling him to walk ahead of him, "Just don't cause trouble and you'll be back home when the job's done."

Haru raised an eyebrow, "I could ask what job, but I'll have to ȧssume you're too smart to answer," he shrugged, "Can't speak for your friend."

The first villain gritted his teeth, his forearm mutating into a glass spike, "Care to repeat that?"

He pointed the spike in the Haru's direction only to find the boy's leg hooked around his arm in lock hold.

"I'm sorry. Did I stutter?" Haru queried in the blandest of tones, "I don't like sharp objects pointed at my face," he unwrapped his leg from around the villain's arm and tilted his head at the other villain pointing his gun at him, "I'm sure shooting me won't benefit you, so can we continue our little journey before I lose more brain cells?"

Haru had just learned two things.

First, the villain with the glass spike Quirk was only pretending to be angry and was just testing the skills of his captive. The Uzumaki Clan's sensory ability really was a cheat power against deceptions like this.

Secondly, the other villain was seemingly aware of his ability. The calm facade wasn't just a front, the man was familiar with him.

Whatever was going on, it was clear he was on this group's radar. The question was who was behind them. He may have been on the news in Japan for his involvement at Hosu, but foreigners only knew about him from the Sports Festival. Also, the leader, Wolfram, mentioned having known about him beforehand.

There were only two possibilities he could be aware of.

The League of Villains.

Or...

A sudden throbbing in his head made him grimace in discomfort. 'Damn it!' His eyes narrowed. 'This hasn't happened in a while. The seal is gone, so... What is causing this?' Another throb broke off his thinking.

His line of thought was broken by a nudge to his back, ushering him towards a capsule-like space in the wall alongside the villains. The doors slid shut and the vehicle lurched, revealing itself to be a monorail pod of an underground railway. From the looks of the tech, this must have been a personal space for incognito visits from prominent people to the labs in the central tower.

Two more guards, a man and a woman, stood waiting.

"Is this the package?" the female asked coldly, her hand resting on the holstered gun at her hip.

Haru raised an eyebrow, "Oh my, I'm not a hostage?"

'Fire Style: Ember!'

The cuffs holding his hands cracked as a sudden burst of heat spiderwebbed through the metal. Haru twisted his wrists, shattering his restraints. Before his captors could register what had happened, Haru sank into a horse stance, slamming simultaneous palm strikes in the guards flanking him.

A forceful ripple passed through the two villains, sending them flying.

There was dead silence as the other two villains slowly aimed their weapons towards their escaped prisoner, but refrained from shooting.

Haru straightened up, bowing his head as a vortex of origami swirled around him and scatter, revealing him in his hero costume.

"Shall we play a game...?"

(Elsewhere...)

The UA students and their friends had been climbing the stairwells to avoid detection.

On the 30th floor, they paused for breath. The hero students were in better condition, being used to strenuous training, but to the other's credit, they were holding up pretty well.

"Thirty flights of stairs in heels!" Chitoge ġrȯȧnėd, hardly displaying any tiredness at all as she kicked off her shoes, "What was I thinking?"

Raku was panting, but his Endurance was already kicking in, rejuvenating him, "I don't know whether I should admire or despise women for wearing those death traps."

His comment earned a stiletto embedding itself into his forehead, causing him to slump against the wall.

Izuku sweatdropped before looking at Melissa, "Melissa, how high does this go?"

Melissa stopped to catch her breath, "The 200th floor..."

Shu, who was nearly collapsed against the stairs, jerked up in despair, "Yo... what?"

"That's way too many stairs!" Mineta exclaimed.

"But it's still better than running into the villains," Yaoyorozu pointed out.

***

(50th Floor...)

"I thought you said you were going to help us?" Chitoge growled at Shu as the bespectacled boy was being carried by her 'boyfriend.'

"Honey~" Raku looked up at his 'girlfriend with a not too friendly face, "Not the time unless you want to take him."

Uraraka looked down at Melissa who was beginning to fall behind, "Hey, Melissa, do you want me to use my Quirk on you?"

The blonde shook her head, giving the other girl a reassuring smile, "I'll be fine, but thanks anyway."

She felt herself get picked up piggyback and gasped as Chitoge adjusted her more comfortably.

"Save your Quirk for when we need it," the gangster heiress said lightly, "With my strength enhancement, I can carry her, no problem!"

Raku deadpanned at her, "You just want an excuse to not carry Shu..."

Chitoge practically skipped up the stairs, brushing him off, "I don't know what you're talking about~!"

***

(80th Floor...)

After a long climb, they were nearly halfway there, but now they had encountered their first obstacle.

"The route's blocked!" Iida exclaimed as the others.

Todoroki stared at the opposing barrier of steel blocking their way, "What should we do? Break through it?"

"If we did that I'm sure the security system would alert the villains that someone's in here," Melissa warned as Chitoge set her down.

Shu leaned against the wall for support, scanning the door carefully, "There are sensors and alarm triggers in and around the door. If we so much as knock on it, they'll find us."

Mineta looked at the exit door that led into the main building, "Then why don't we go through this door instead?"

He reached out to open it, causing Izuku to call out in panic, "Wait! Mineta!"

Melissa's eyes widened, "No don't!"

Too late, the door handle had already been pulled.

Shu looked at the door and sighed, "They know we're here now..."

***

Wolfram received a comm message from the security team.

[A door on a high floor just opened.]

The villain leader narrowed his eyes, "I thought you scanned each level and they were all clear."

[I thought they were. I'm looking through the security feeds on the 80th floor now... It seems to be a bunch of kids. They must have been trapped in the stairways when we shut things down and are trying to find the ȧduŀts.]

Wolfram grunted, issuing a command, "Use the barriers to trap them on the 80th floor. Don't let them escape."

He raised his hand to motion at the guards to take care of it but stopped on hearing another incoming message

[Boss! The prisoner has broken his bindings! He's running loose in the private hanger!]

Wolfram froze, placing a hand to his ear, "What? Recapture him! Aren't four of you enough?"

[We've been trying but he's too strong! He's planning on fleeing the island–]

The radio was suddenly cut off into static and Wolfram growled, motioning at the guards, "Send Moku and Acat to go deal with him! Diago, Nobu! Take care of the kids upstairs," he tapped the buŧŧ of his pistol against his head murmuring to himself, "So that's your game, huh? Escape?"

***

The rescue team was didn't waste time in hurrying down the hallway, knowing they had mere minutes before the villains would try to capture them.

"Is there another way to go up?" Todoroki asked breathing lightly.

Melissa pointed toward the far end of the building, "There should be another emergency staircase down at the other end of the hallway."

Iida nodded in determination, picking up the pace, "Let's hurry!"

The sound of slamming metal made them all stop as they saw the massive doors spaced along the hallway begin to shut one by one.

"The gates!" Izuku exclaimed.

Yaoyorozu looked behind to see the same phenomenon happening, "The ones behind us too!"

Iida frantically scanned the hallway for an escape and spotted a closed doorway leading to another room and a security gate about to cut them off from it.

"Todoroki!"

The bicolored-haired boy shifted his right foot, "I'm on it!"

The security gate closed on the ice spikes, jamming in a half-open state

Kaminari clenched his fist, pumping the air, "Yeah! Go, team!"

Izuku ran to the gap in the door, "Come on!"

They all passed through and entered the space with the door.

"We'll need to break it–" Iida began but was interrupted by Chitoge.

"Stand back. I got this," she said confidently, cracking her knuckles.

With a fierce yell, she slammed her fist into the door, shattering it to pieces.

Jiro smirked, "Sweet."

Chitoge placed her hands on her hɨps, smiling, "That's how you do it!"

The dust settled to reveal a massive indoor conservatory.

Izuku's head swiveled around in awe as the group ran down the many paths leading through the diverse plant life in the room, "What is this place?"

"It's a plant factory," Melissa answered, "They use this place to research the effects of Quirks on fauna here."

Jiro suddenly flung out her arm the stop them, "Guys! Hold on!" she motioned her head at the central elevator that ran through the factory, "The elevator's coming up."

"The villain's found us!" Mineta trembled.

Izuku glanced around at the surrounding foliage, "We need to hide and let them pass."

They all quickly moved to stand behind a grove of large bushes just near some open space near the elevator.

"Do you think we use the elevator to get to the top floor once they're gone?" Kaminari asked.

"Only authorized people can use the central elevator," Melissa stated.

Shu scanned the structure, "It's built like a bomb shelter so we can't even try."

Mineta grit his teeth, "Of course, we can't go the easy way."

The security doors to the elevator opened and two villains stepped out, one shorter, round-set man and one tall and lanky man.

"They said the kids came in here."

"They just had to pick a place where to are a ton of hiding spots."

"If Moku and Acat were here, they'd clean them out pretty fast."

"Well, they're busy chasing after that other kid. What was he? Stain's successor?"

"That's not why boss wants him. Some client in the underworld has offered us big money for him undamaged if we found him. Otherwise, they said not to draw attention and leave it be."

Their footsteps stopped, "We see you, stupid kids!"

The UA students stiffened, too frozen in fear to react.

Raku and Chitoge looked at each other and nodded.

Together they snuck past the others to the far end of the bushed and stood up where they were still out of sight.

Izuku gaped at them. 'What are you doing?'

Raku sent him a grim thumbs up. 'Run.'

Just before the couple could reveal themselves and act as a distraction, a familiar angry voice caused the whole group to jolt around in alarm.

"Care to repeat that, you bastard?"

Izuku peered through the bushes to see Katsuki and Kirishima both facing the villains, seemingly unaware of who they were.

On Katsuki's shoulder, Chise stared at the villains in disapproval, her origami fur standing on end.

The shorter villain, Diago glowered at the trio, "What are you doing here?"

Katsuki scoffed, "Huh, that's what I want to know too."

Kirishima tugged at his friend's sleeve, "Hey man, just leave this to me. Okay?" he let out an embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his head as he faced the two men, "Uh, we kind of got lost looking for this party. Can you maybe point us in the right direction?"

"How did they get all the way up to the 80th floor looking for the reception?" Mineta hissed.

The taller villain, Nobu's, webbed hand grew several times in size before he flung what looked like air at the two young heroes in front of him, "Don't lie to me or you'll regret it!"

"Kirishima watch out!" Izuku yelled out a warning.

The attack was blocked by a wall of Todoroki's ice.

Katsuki stared at the ice, "This looks like..." he turned to see Todoroki let out an icy breath.

Kirishima fell back on his hands from the near brush with death, "Todoroki?"

The ice wall shuddered under another attack from Nobu's Quirk.

Todoroki quickly placed a hand on the ground, "The three of us can keep them busy down here," he told the others as he created an ice platform underneath them, "Look for a way to get to the top!"

Izuku looked at his friend in surprise, "What are you doing?"

His answer was the platform suddenly rising off the ground as a large pillar of ice that pushed the remaining group up to the high ceiling above.

"I'll be fine!" Todoroki reassured them, "I'll follow behind you after I clean this mess!"

Shu peered over the edge of the rising pillar, "The skinny guy displaces things with his hands and the fat guys have some really tough beast mode!"

Kirishima looked lost, "What's going on, Todoroki?"

Todoroki looked up at him, "You didn't hear the broadcast?"

The blank expression on both the ash-blond and the redhead's faces told him no.

"Never mind then. Some villains have taken over the tower."

Kirishima's eyes widened, "What?"

"Hold on, that's what this is about?" Katsuki narrowed his eyes, "Where's Haru?"

Todoroki shook his head, "He was at the party when everyone was taken hostage. From what we just overheard, he's helping us by drawing some of the stronger villains away from where we need to go. I'll explain more when I can. We have no time now."

A chunk of ice from the wall vanished as Nobu stepped through it with Daigo following behind.

Katsuki readied himself for a fight, "So that guy's Quirk is displacement, huh?" he glared at Chose as she yipped in his ear, "Move, fluff."

Chise raised a paw, batting his nose before vanishing in a cloud of buŧŧerflies.

Todoroki finished pushing the ice column up, allowing his friends to escape on a walkway a couple of stories up, and stood up, his right side emitting a wave of cold air.

Kirishima hardened his arms, getting into a guarded position.

Daigo snorted at them, "So you want to pick a fight?" his skin turned purple and he grew into a large ape-like monster, "Then let's see how tough you really are!"

Todoroki swung up his right arm, sending a wave of ice spikes towards the villains. Nobu dodged away but Daigo charged forward with a roar, shattering the oncoming ice.

The trio of young heroes jumped out of the way, avoiding the attacks.

Katsuki blasted himself in the air so he was facing the exposed villain's back, "DIE!"

A shuddering boom shook the floor as a giant explosion hit Daigo from behind. The villain let out a cry, disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Katsuki landed on his feet, thinking his enemy must be stunned.

This turned out to be wrong as Daigo appeared from the smoke, having recovered almost instantly.

Kirishima pushed Katsuki out of the way, hardening his body, "BAKUGO!"

The beast villain's fist slammed into the redhead's crossed arms, sending his body flying into a distant wall with a sickening crash.

Katsuki's eyes widened in shock and concern for a brief moment, "KIRISHIMA!"

A shadow passed overhead, causing him to look up.

"SCREW OFF!"

A female blonde figure slammed her feet into Daigo's head from above, smashing the villain into the cement.

Everyone watching froze in shock.

The girl performed a front flip, landing in a crouch, "It's been a while since I could beat someone up freely," Chitoge stood up straight, her arms crossed over her ċhėst, "These guys really ruined my night."

Todoroki instantly refocused on the fight, barking out an order to his allies, "Dodge."

Katsuki blasted himself into the air and Chitoge jumped back, avoiding the wave of ice sent toward Nobu.

The skinny villain waved his hands, carving up the ice wave effortlessly.

Todoroki was forced to jump to the side as an air bullet was thrown at him. Katsuki landed behind him and Chitoge moved to they all stood back to back.

"You children really know how to fight, don't you?" Nobu taunted, "Where'd you come from?"

Katsuki clicked his tongue, "Right, like we'd tell a couple of weak ȧss villains."

Todoroki's eyes were cold, "Why would we tell you anything?"

Chitoge looked at the two boys, not wanting to look stupid, "Yeah, what they said!" she blurted out.

Katsuki looked at the girl, "Leave this to us, blondie."

She raised an eyebrow, "Ex-cuse me~?"

Katsuki blasted towards Daigo, "I don't know anything about you, so you'll only get in the way!"

Chitoge pushed her over her shoulder, "What's with your attitude?"

Todoroki prepared to engage Nobu once again, "Not a good time to argue!"

Chitoge hmphed, slowly walking towards where Kirishima was punched as the others fought, "Neither of these guys is my type."

***

(Play: Fall Out Boy-Light 'Em Up (Lyrics Video): youtu.be/Z5LJ2NX2ggQ)

***

(Meanwhile...)

Haru raised his head, now dressed in full costume as several sheets of origami paper fluttered around him.

"Let's finish this quickly, yes?"

Smirking the female villain, drew her MAC-11 pistol, "Ara~ Ara~! Trying to escape alive?"

With a deadly buzz, the handgun fired off a rapid stream of bullets.

Haru didn't have a chance to respond, the bullets peppering through him.

The villain clicked her tongue, "He tried to escape so now he's dead."

Her partner growled at her angrily, "We were meant to keep him alive!"

She shrugged, "So? I don't like to waste time. Not my fault."

"Ara~ Ara~! I don't waste time either," a mocking voice said behind her.

The woman twitched and turned to glare furiously at the unharmed boy standing a short distance behind her, "What?"

Her partner instantly ran towards Haru, his arm turning into a claylike substance as it grew in size.

Haru jumped backward into the air, weaving his hands in a series of hand signs, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

He raised a hand to his lips, expelling a scorching orb of fire at the two villains.

The clay villain changed his arms to liquid clay, forming a wall.

The fire Jutsu hit the muddy mass, exploding is a dying hiss.

A rattle of gunfire filled the hanger as the two guards Haru had previously knocked down joined the fight, shooting their rifles directly at the young hero.

Haru was already crouched in a defensive stance, his head bowed and his arms crossed over his body while bullets pointlessly slammed into his robe and sugegasa.

"Wind Style: Zephyr Shield!"

The air shimmered as an impenetrable windshield shimmered under a mass of bullets before sending them ricocheting them back.

The flying bullets were suddenly blocked by a large wave of salt.

The wind died down as Haru's eyes flicked towards the female villain and his chakra flared as she fired a series of salt crystals at him, "Shikigami Dance: Fueguchi One!"

He swung an arm, forming the whip-like weapon from his arm before swinging it in a deflective arc.

The spears of salt crystals shattered as they were stuck, causing the female villain to frown.

Her partner pounded his fist together, "If you know what's good for you, just sit down and don't struggle. I don't like to hit children."

The female villain took a step back while the other two, activating their Quirks

The barbed length of the Fueguchi One trailed back to be absorbed into Haru's body as the boy smirked, "I don't either, but for you, I'd make an exception."

The ground under the clay villain crumbled as he charged, swinging his arms up over his head as he formed a large sledgehammer from his clay.

"Fire Style: Calidus Brachium!"

In a flicker of movement, Haru appeared directly in front of the charging villain, grabbing his face with a burning hand and slamming him into the ground.

"Coordinated Light Formation!"

A sealing formula appeared on the villain's face, binding him in place.

With a yell, the glass villain changed his arms into spikes and jumped towards Haru's unguarded back.

Two hands grabbed the spikes, pushing them apart while pulling the villain in. The villain only had a moment to register that an exact replica of his target had emerged from the boy's back before he was headbutted.

The fourth villain raised his hand in a gun motion, firing a white beam of energy.

The clone pulled away from its original, taking the strike before vanishing.

Haru blinked, "Memory erase? Five-second intervals?" he jerked, avoiding another shot before leaping back into the air, landing on the nearby wall

"You're wide open!" the female villain raised her arms, summoning a massive wave of salt, seeking to crush Haru underneath it.

Haru slammed his hand on the wall surface, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

There was a sound of twisting metal as the water pipes in the walls burst, shattering the walls, and sending a wall of water down on the salt wave.

The liquid hit the salt, dissolving it and rendering it useless.

Haru projected himself from the wall, spinning in a double barrel roll summersault while releasing dozen of paper blades from his body.

The memory-erasing villain pulled out his rifle to shoot again, managing to fire off a couple of rounds.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!"

Haru swung a hand down in a chopping motion as he landed.

A second later the gun split in half causing the memory villain to jerk back.

The glass villain tried lunged at Haru again, earning a swift elbow to the face. He shifted his head, avoiding the majority of the blow.

Haru followed through with a slash to the face.

The villain tilted his head back, feeling the rush of wind passing over his face as a few stray hairs from his bangs were shaved off.

Before the villain could recover his balance, Haru slammed a palm to his stomach before slamming him with a full roundhouse kick.

The blow sent the villain flying, only being saved from some major injury by a salt wall cushioning the impact of his fall.

Haru whirled around, his palm igniting into flame as he blocked the memory villain's glowing fist.

An explosion of colliding energy sent a shockwave through the hanger, the Jutsu and Quirk canceling each other out.

The villain sent a punch to the gut, followed by a sharp right to the jaw.

Haru, using open palms, deflected them and hooked his toe around the man's ankle before leaning back, avoiding a bullet shot at his head from the female villain.

"Wind Style: Eight Trigram Gale Palm!"

A concentrated blast of wind shot from his hand, hitting the villainess and sending her flying.

The memory-erasing villain drew a pistol from a back holster, firing off a shot. The attempt failed as Haru drove his wrist upwards, knocking his arm up as the gun went off.

Haru twisted his hand, gripping the villain's wrist and pulling his arm away from his body. His other hand slammed into the man's shoulder, dislocating it.

Hearing her comrade cry of pain and picked herself up, placing a hand to the communication device to her ear, "Boss! The prisoner has broken his bindings! He's running loose in the private hanger!"

[What? Recapture him! Aren't four of you enough?]

"We've been trying, but he's too strong! He's planning on fleeing the island–"

Haru kicked away the memory villain, his origami encasing the man in an inescapable prison as he proceeded to weave more hand signs, "Lightning Style: Storm of Midnight Fire!"

A roar of thunder filled the hanger as a stream of bluish-purple lightning shot from his hand.

The villain cut off her communication, coating her body with hardened salt to protect herself.

The attack struck her, shattering her armor and causing her to get pushed back, but otherwise did little damage.

Haru ducked as the glass villain swung at him from behind, knocking the sugegasa from his head. Haru grabbed his headgear, placed it back on his head as he slid around, performing a swiping kick that knocked the villain down.

He jumped in the air as tendrils of salt began to wrap around him. He unfurling a pair of origami wings, beating them with a dull thrum

"I thought you'd join the fight soon," he turned his amber-colored orbs towards the female villain, "Did you finally gather enough salt from the ocean air after I melted your last big attack?"

The villainess glared at him, flinging her arms in his direction, revealing several waves of salt that shot into the air, forming into giant hands, and reaching to grab the redheaded teenager.

"Shikigami Dance: Zennyo Ryuo!"

With a roar, a giant white dragon appeared, its jaws ripping through the salt limbs like nothing.

The female villain swung her arm, flinging a wave of crystalized slat shards towards the creature. The dragon moved to protect its creator, taking the blow before transforming into a cloud of paper blades.

"Paper Shower!"

The tempest of blades rained down, causing the entire hanger to shake from the force.

Haru remained floating in the air, but his face looked surprised.

"He broke free?"

The dust cleared to reveal the clay villain had broken from his restraints and had blocked most of Haru's last attack with his clay.

The female villain attempted to use her communication device again but found it wasn't responding.

"That lightning attack short-circuited your commlink," Haru stated, sinking to the floor, "And the only way you'll free your friend is if I let him go," Haru glanced at the glass villain trying to free his partner.

The clay villain pulled out a syringe, stabbing it into his neck, "Fine."

Haru twirled in place, sending out a barrage of origami shuriken from his sleeves.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A large fireball shot toward the glass villain, forcing him to dodge as the other two villains prepared for an attack.

Haru rotated his hands, creating a naginata to block the clay villain's sword. The force of the strike sent the young hero sliding back a short distance. A sharp pain ripped through his arms from the shock.

"You've gotten stronger..." Haru spun his weapon, causing a whirlwind to swirl around him, "Then I'd best take things up a notch before your backup arrives!" the naginata dispersed as the white ring on his finger glowed, revealing the kanji for sword, "Summoning: Onikiri*!"

There was a loud bang as sheathed katana appeared in his hand. Haru gripped the sword's diamond strength, carbon sheath in his hand, briefly reveling in the weight of the steel blade for the first time in actual combat. His thumb traced against the complicated network of sealing formulas etched into the black surface, remembering the weeks that went into its design and creation.

"Yukine! Kyo! Asmodeus!"

A Bengal tiger, a peregrine falcon, and a large snake appeared at his call, the serpent curling around his shoulders while the cat crouched at his side. The falcon circled above, shrieking defiance.

The villain activated their Quirks, preparing for the fight of their lives.

Haru vanished from sight, appearing in front of the glass villain, slamming the hilt of his weapon into the man's stomach.

The villain coughed, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Asmodeus coiled around Haru's arm, wrapping himself around the unconscious villain's body.

Haru's head snapped around and he turn to see Kyo tackling the clay villain while Yukine had grown in size, pinning the female villain to the ground.

"Hah!" he raised his hand in a seal of confrontation.

Yukine scattered into several sheets of paper, releasing the numerous sealing tags hidden in his body to cover the female villain and bind her in place.

"Kyo!" Haru waved his hand in dismissal, dispersing the feline as he turned to his next target.

The clay villain glared at him, his eyes deranged.

Haru grabbed the collar of his robe, pulling on it. It scatters into several sheets of paper forming a paper clone that took Onikiri from his hands.

The villain lunged and Haru, now in his base costume, grabbed his sugegasa, spinning in the air before sending it in his attacker's direction.

The headgear phased through the man's body as he turned into clay, his entire body growing larger as he got closer.

Haru sank into a fighting stance, "Fire Style: Calidus Brachium!"

He spun away from the villain's blind attack, his burning hands slicing through the clay body.

"You think that would do anything?" the villain taunted, creating a massive sword, swinging it in a wide arc.

Haru shifted his body to avoid getting cut as his hand gripped the blade, snapping it in half. The hardened clay turned to liquid, rendering it useless.

"Fire Style: Celestial Prison!"

A series of crimson red flames lit up on the tips of Haru's fingers before he slammed them into the villain, knocking him back.

The villain grunted, his body reverting back to normal. He stared down at himself, groaning at the pain burning through his body from the X-shaped mark covering his ċhėst.

"What did you do to me?"

Haru reached out a hand, accepting Onikiri from his clone before hooking it horizontally on the back of his belt, "It's a sealing technique my parents stole. If you try to use your Quirk, the mark will cause you extreme pain and suppress your power. It was created to restrain criminals in prison."

The villain suddenly smirked, revealing another syringe that he stabbed into his neck before Haru could react, "Oh really? See how it works with a double dose!"

He let out a psychotic laugh, revealing a blackish-looking tongue.

Haru's eyes narrowed at the sight, noting the symptoms. I knew it! He's been using Trigger! Even worse, he's an addict! With this kind of dosage, he'll probably die!

The villain let out a screaming yell, his body convulsing as it tried to transform but the seal kept suppressing it.

Haru gritted his teeth, dashing towards the man. Screw the dosage! He'll kill himself in a frenzy if he keeps fighting that seal!

He quickly drove his palm towards the villain's ċhėst, "Eight Trigrams Medical Sealing Jutsu: Anesthesia Strike!"

Haru tapped his pinky, thumb, and middle fingers at precise points to the left, right, and below the villain's sternum before completing the seal with a gentle press to the center of the formation. At each touch, a circle of golden chakra rippled from each point and a trio of sealing circles appeared, forming lines that joined together at the center of the man's ċhėst to create a larger seal directly over his heart cavity.

The whole procedure happened so quickly a blink of an eye would have missed it.

The villain's eye glazed over and he slumped to the ground.

Haru let out a sigh, "So much for a criminal subduing seal. Note taken. It does not necessarily work on drugged-up individuals," he looked over at the clone kneeling over the restrained memory-erasure villain, "How's he doing?"

The clone looked up, "I reset his arm and gave him a painkiller before putting him to sleep. He'll be fine until security takes him."

The female villain cursed in frustration as she tried to free herself, "Damn you! You were playing with us!"

Haru popped a vein, twirling a finger in her direction, "Shut up or I'll spin you."

The villainess kept on spouting all kinds of profanities as she was telekinetically floated and subjected to violent spinning, "You already are!"

Haru kept spinning her until he had moved her over to the wall with her other two comrades. He looked down at the last villain at his feet.

"Damn. I just had to take a Hippocratic Oath to get a field license," he laid the villain out and placed his hands over his body, "I'll have to remove the drug from his system before it spreads."

He waved at his clone and it handed him the scroll marked for medicine on the binding. He opened it and summoned a syringe from the many seals inside. Normally there was no antidote for overdosing on stimulant-type drugs, but luckily scientists had developed a formula that could suppress the drug until help could arrive.

As Haru was injecting the antidote the door to the hangar slid open.

"You're late," he stated, not bothering to turn around as he withdrew the needle.

"Never took you for the mad scientist type," a male voice mocked.

Haru wove some hand signs, resealing the syringe and making the scroll roll itself up, "I don't have all night for this. I've wasted enough time," he snapped his fingers, encasing the unconscious villain in origami and moving him towards the wall.

His clone picked up the scroll and dispersed, scattering into a flurry of paper.

Haru placed a hand on the ground, slowly getting to his feet.

"Shikigami Dance..."

***

*Onikiri is a sword known as the legendary demon slayer in Japanese lore.