"Aizawa-sensei, with all these calls," Shoto commented, a bit irritated at the person on the other side of the line. "It started to seem like you're more concerned about me, not Ara."
"..."
"We haven't been doing anything inappropriate and we won't. I respect her like she respects me, and I'm capable of controlling my actions. I've even given you my word on it. What more do you need?"
After a considerable pause, Aizawa replied to him, "No, that's not it, Todoroki. Arata's quirk is Praying Mantis, so..."
Shoto probably wasn't facing Aizawa right now, however he could hear the conflicted feeling in his teacher's tone. It sounded like Aizawa wanted to let him know about something, but he was uncertain.
"So?"
"Todoroki, I want you— be careful— her quirk is—"
Static noise buzzed through their line again, overlapping Aizawa's voice, as Shoto neared I-Island's central tower. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"Your phone signal sucks," Aizawa groaned. "I'll just tell you over a message."
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Their seemingly endless fight is drawing to a close at last, marked by Daigo's defeat to Bakugou's Howitzer Impact. It tears open a rift in Nobu's focus, forcing him to handle both Bakugou and Todoroki at the same time. Following the opening that Bakugou has left for him, Todoroki shoots out a burst of flames and finishes Nobu off next.
If only I could've done this sooner, Todoroki grits his teeth, ice spreading from his right foot to the unconscious Nobu, confining the villain in a frozen cage. The exact second it's done, he dashes towards the bent metal door under Kirishima's barrage. Damn it! It's still not broken yet?
I've wasted too much time! How long has it been since that demon took Ara there? If anything happens to her, I—
"Oi, Icy-Hot! Your focus was shit! Couldn't you even fight properly!? You should've just left the work to the real heroes!"
"Not now, Bakugou."
Todoroki doesn't need anyone to tell him how all over the place he has been. The image of Arata being in Ephialtes's grasp made him sick to his stomach. Not a second has ticked without his mind flipping through the worst scenarios, over and over. Until his limbs were shaking solely because of fury, not because of his ice's coldness.
He really wants to calm himself down by saying that those scenarios are too far-fetched and absurd. That the demonic creep has somehow refrained himself from laying a hand on Arata. That she is holding on just fine behind this door, unharmed.
Yet, Todoroki knows. He knows those worst case scenarios are very likely. A considerable amount of time has passed. He doesn't know what, but something must have happened. Something that could injure her. Something that could wreck her psyche. Something that could leave her throat crushed from screaming—
Shit! If only I wasn't so incapable... If only I was stronger... I could have protected her...
All this possibility merely adds fuel to his frustration and anger. Burning, until his chest hurts, as if it was covered with blisters. Burning that wouldn't soothe unless he saw her with his own two eyes, unless he had her back with him, safe and sound.
Get moving, useless dumbass! Quit getting caught up in emotions! Todoroki chastises himself, nails pricking into his own palms. He glares at the stupid steel door that blocks his way to Arata. Nothing will become better with just wishing. If I want her to be safe, I have to start thinking of a way to reach her.
Please hang in there, Ara... Please be okay... I'm coming for you.
"Step aside, Kirishima," Todoroki growls. Channeling the crackling rage in his veins, a blast of red-hot blaze flares from his left palm. Fire sweeps the door, it slowly ignites yellow and red on the steel panel.
Having learned it from a book... I've never actually put this theory into practice, but I'll have to make it work somehow. This is my best shot at breaking through that damned door.
"Oh, right! If punching doesn't work, we can melt that door!" Kirishima slams his fist to his other hand, grinning. "Great idea, Todoroki! It didn't cross my mind before."
"No, I can't."
"What?"
"Idiot, the bastard won't be able to melt it. Not with the condition he is in," Bakugou interjects with a crass remark, noticing Todoroki's shallow breathing and visible exhaustion. "He intends to make it extremely brittle."
"Eh?"
"Ever heard of rapid cooling, Shitty Hair?"
"No..."
"I'm bringing it as close as I can to the melting point," Todoroki grinds his teeth together, trying his best to endure the scalding sensation in the left half of his body, "then instantly freeze it. The rest will be up to you, Kirishima."
"Uh, I don't get what you guys are talking about. But sure, I'll punch the door down." Kirishima's voice teeters somberly as he cracks his knuckles. "Anything to get that demon off Arata-chan."
Bakugou is about to say that an incapable extra shouldn't have jumped into a fight in the first place, when a piercing shriek cuts through the door. It echoes hauntingly in the botanical garden, the kind of screech that imparts chills to those who hear it. He hasn't gotten over his surprise when muffled screams follow next, each of them is laden with agony and horror.
"What the fuck..." he whips his head to his wide-eyed friends. "This screaming—it's the demon shithead's. What made him lose his shit?"
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Pain. Pure pain is throttling Ephialtes.
Thousands of tiny fangs sink deeper and deeper to his neck. They thrust through the flesh, coming inside his throat. Another savage yank again—an obvious attempt to hack his head off—then an unintelligible, gurgling shriek escapes his mouth as his tissues and bones are shredded apart.
At the same time, they crack and pop, mending the broken as fast as possible, while years of age are leaking from him in an alarming rate. His regeneration ability is the sole reason his head hasn't been severed from his body. It traps his flesh in an excruciating cycle, to be constantly mauled and healed in consecution.
Where did it go wrong? How was it possible for our roles to be reversed?
His blood is drenching both of them, he can feel it on her skin when he tries to push her away weakly. A futile attempt, because his energy is being sucked dry to repair the lethal gash tearing his neck. Body quaking in utter throes, Ephialtes chokes out a plea. He hopelessly begs to the girl whose jaw clamping his windpipe.
"P— Please... I'm... sorry... Please... let me live..."
But, of course, she doesn't listen. The only answer he gets is another surge of blinding pain as her teeth snap harder around his neck. Ache washes over his sensory nerves, deep-frying his brain in agony, along with a dreadful realization. One that makes him scream for his life when once again, a chunk of flesh is shredded from him.
I am a sinner, but this girl... She is a monster that doesn't hesitate to butcher a human in cold blood.
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With all the screams that have been resounding, Shoto doesn't know what to think. Do they signify the demon's losing ground? Do they mean another threat is present inside that seed storage? Do they tell him that Arata is okay?
What in the world is happening in there?
The fact that nothing that has passed through the metal door is indicative of Arata's condition, flips his stomach upside down. Shoto couldn't care less about the demon, but whatever going on in that room, it has frightened that demon to death. Then, where does that leave Arata?
Faster, I need to get to her faster!
Despite the freezing sensation plaguing his right side, sweat trickles down his forehead. His hand is getting numb from the chills, yet Shoto pays it no mind and proceeds to unleash the coldest ice he can.
Without missing a beat, Kirishima immediately springs to action. "ORAAA!!!"
Kirishima's fist splinters the frozen door, leaving a large gaping hole. Wasting no time, Shoto lunges forth. But, before he manages to climb inside, a flying blur of purple with bat wings whizzes past him and Kirishima, spraying their face with something wet and warm.
"Man!" he hears Kirishima shout. "What the hell is this!?"
Like usual, when it is about catching a villain, Bakugou is the first to react. He sails to the air with an explosion, going straight for the demon. "I'll kill you, damn Satan!"
Shoto wipes his own face roughly, intending to sprint inside the seed storage without a care. Yet, what's on his hand stops him on track.
Blood. Blood was dripped along the path the demon flew by earlier. The question is... whose blood?
Is it Ara's? His heart involuntarily sinks at the thought as he climbs inside through the hole. No, no... Don't assume anything first.
Grey-cyan eyes swiftly follow the growing blood trail inside, to the large pool of blood on the floor. And the girl kneeling on the floor amidst it all. The girl he has been looking for... but he almost doesn't recognize.
How is this possible?
"Is that... Arata-chan...?" Kirishima's voice sounds so far away in his ears.
How did it come to this?
The dimpled cheeks and smile he likes to see are gone. In place of them, a sturdy, green exoskeleton is encasing her jaw, making up for an enormous triangular mouth. It is densely packed with countless menacing teeth. The inner walls of her mandibles are painted with the same color as the demon's blood on his hand.
Did she? Could it be...?
The same thick liquid is dripping from her left mantis foreleg. From the tip of it, until it drops to the puddle of red below. Puddle of red that definitely isn't hers.
Vaguely, he recalls the chat messages he received from Aizawa that evening.
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Tuning out the banter between Kaminari and Mineta from his focus, Shoto frowned at his teacher's strange question. "Have you ever heard of praying mantis' mating habit?" popped up in his chatroom with Aizawa.
"No, why?" he typed shortly.
Rather than words, Aizawa replied him with a picture, possibly one he took from Google. Shoto almost regretted opening it, because there it was, on his phone in full screen, a photograph of a praying mantis crunching another mantis's head off.
Shoto scowled and pressed back right away, dwelling why on earth Aizawa thought of sending that picture to him. Violence between humans was enough for him, he didn't need to know violence between insects as well.
The caption read as "sexual cannibalism" and before he could question the whole matter to Aizawa, another message came in.
"Look it up on the internet, Todoroki."
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Shoto didn't have much time to do a proper research on it, thanks to Kaminari's intrusion. Anyhow, he did manage to skim a few articles. "Female mantis devours males" and "biting the head off" rise to the top of his mind in an instant, blaring like a sick alarm.
How did it come to this? How?
He feels faint from what may not be the pungent smell of blood. Grabbing the door frame with one hand, so his knees won't buckle in front of this horrendous display. Shiver creeps up his limbs, yet he forces himself to take a step closer.
"Ara?" His question lingers in the storage, tentative and hesitant.
His voice seems to trigger something in her, then a pair of bloodshot eyes peek behind her dark bangs. "Sho— Shoto-san?" she rasps lowly, voice cracking and broken. Upon recognizing him, she recoils in shock, green eyes flicking around her in something akin to terror.
Blood is everywhere, and realization begins to sink in her. Scrambling back with her shivering body, Arata tries to get further from him. Red ripples with each of her movement, soaking the seams of her dress, and she chokes out a sob.
"Are you—"
"D— Don't come closer!" Arata cowers, desperately trying to hide her mantis features from him. Her whimper quickly escalates into a distraught, hysterical yell. "Get out! Go away! Please! Just leave me alone!"
How could I do that? Shoto balls his fists, muscles stiffening until they hurt, then inches closer again. I couldn't, Ara. Not when something clearly isn't right.
"Todoroki, I'm not sure it's a good idea." Kirishima holds him off, unease tinging his expression. "Arata-chan... She could be dangerous... I mean, look at all this."
"She's not," Shoto retorts back. "Not to us. Don't say that when we don't even know the whole situation. Kirishima, can you interrogate the demon outside? Bakugou should have caught him by now. I'll try to talk to Ara here."