My Hero Academia: Next Gen

Chapter 59: Ignite

Eri stared up at Chisaki, her mouth drying out immediately. Her breath caught in her chest as she locked eyes with him, malice and rage hidden behind his glittering eyes.

"You've caused quite a bit of trouble for me, haven't you?" he said, staring down at her. "All this time, you've been living your life oblivious to the irreparable damage you did to your grandfather."

She could say nothing. Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth, all of the moisture having dissipated. He was here. In front of her. Standing like he didn't have a care in the world. How did this happen? How could this happen? She thought he was in prison! She thought he was locked away for good, far far away from anyone else he could harm, and yet here he was. 

"Did you really think you could escape that easily? That you got to be like every other child out there?" Chisaki drew closer, lowering his face closer to hers; he was so close she could feel his breath brushing across her cheek. "You're not like everyone else, Eri. You're a demon. A curse to all who come near you. What did you think would happen? You could control your power and become like those god-forsaken heroes you admire so much?" He tsked and narrowed his eyes.

"At this very moment, pro heroes are fighting for their lives under my rubble, breathing their last breaths, desperately trying to get to me. And why? Because they think that I used you wrongfully. That I hurt you. But we really know the truth. You were meant to be used. You were put here on this earth to aid me in my quest to bring power back to the boss. That isn't my fault."

At the mention of the heroes, Eri felt her heart start to beat again and she breathed out, "Where are they?"

Chisaki froze. Then slapped her across the face, the force driving her to the ground. She landed at the feet of Kessho, who just looked down at her with disdain. "Did I say you could talk back to me?" he said cooly. "I don't think I gave you permission."

A flood of memories of him doing the exact same thing to her as a child rushed through her mind, and fear filled her. What was he going to do with her? Kidnap her? Start up his tests and trials again?

"...we just found one of their bases and... we found a bunch of different file folders all on you. Documents from before you were saved as well as after."

Shinsou's words from so long ago resurfaced and Eri felt her blood freeze. It had been him all this time. He'd been tracking her down. Watching her. All for what? This god-awful drug he'd been trying to make for over a decade now? 

All this time... had she never been safe? 

Eri dug her fingers into the ground as she pushed herself up to her knees. "My father will find you," she spat, feigning confidence despite the way her arms shook. "And he'll throw you back in prison."

He chuckled darkly. "Is that so? Then why didn't he do that when I first escaped?"

"First... First escaped?" Eri's cover fell. "What are you talking about, you've been in jail for years!"

Kessho took her foot and shoved Eri back to the ground. "You wish. The boss has been out for the last five years. What, your little daddy didn't tell you?"

Eri blinked. Five years? There was no way her father hadn't known about it, so why didn't he tell her? Wasn't it better for her to know ahead of time than to be smacked in the face with the truth? Or was that even the truth? What if they were lying to her?

She suddenly realized that there was no truth in this scenario. She had no way of knowing whether or not Chisaki really had been out for that long and her father had hidden that from her or if they were lying just to get under her skin. It doesn't matter, she reasoned with herself, trying to convince herself that she truly believed that. What matters now is that I get out of here. And fast.