hero's shadow // mha

51) lessons to be taught

(cw: character death, potential child death)

Sorahiko stares down at the twitching Nomu by his feet. Curved, jagged teeth pop off smoking gums like buttons on a fabric that's been stretched too thin. They bounce and clatter away, and Sorahiko tracks them with his eyes until they disappear into the darkness.

"Eesh," he mutters, shaking his head and using his boot to lift up what remains of the Nomu's face. "You really are falling apart, aren't ya? Not a pretty sight to see."

He turns away, leaving the quickly decaying creature to the other heroes on the scene. If he held more empathy for these things, maybe he'd feel a little bit upset by how brutal the Nomu is now meeting its end, but as it stands, Sorahiko really couldn't care less about their feelings at all.

If they even have feelings, which he doubts.

Taking just a moment to look at everything around him, he decides that everything has ultimately gone to shit. The whole city is in shambles, and with what occurred tonight, things won't be getting better anytime soon, he knows.

This is just like how it used to be, back when there were no such things as a Symbol of Peace or a Pillar of Hope. Back when there wasn't even a strong system of heroes.

After this incident, criminals will only become more aggressive and daring than ever before.

All of the stuff that he and Nana worked to fix... it'll all slowly start going down the drain, and Sorahiko can't let that happen.

He can't continue to lie in wait anymore.

There were six Nomu in total, and even one proved to be a hell of a lot of trouble for Sorahiko, which is a problem. Endeavor, even with all of his firepower, was getting a little overwhelmed back there.

So if more of these creatures come out in the future to attack again, in a time when they'll probably be even stronger, even more intelligent, who knows what level of destruction they'll bring about then. They have to nip this in the bud. Now. Before things worsen.

He guesses it was a good time to come out of retirement after all.

The very dead, human body of a pro hero he's not familiar with lying in the middle of the road is proof of that. Sorahiko grimaces, nose wrinkling as the smell of death hits his nose already. It looks to have been a quick end, judging by how the only major injury to the body is the missing head.

And where is the head? Sorahiko doesn't see it yet. The Nomu didn't eat it, did it?

"Sir, he–he's over... he's..." A boy with dark blue hair struggles to properly tell Sorahiko what he's thinking. His suit of armor, which must have been previously white and pristine, is splattered with blood that's still dripping down the polished material as he walks over to the pro hero. "The Hero Killer, sir. In the alley. And... Native. He..."

Iida Tenya, right? That's who this is. Sorahiko remembers his name from the Sports Festival. He fought against Midoriya during the final rounds and was pretty damn close to beating him. And that last name of yours... how weird of you to be here now, kid.

Before he can respond or do much of anything, two medics are darting forward to block Iida and direct him over to the ambulance that's rounding the corner. It casts the street in bright shades of blue and red, and Sorahiko simply squints and walks to where Iida was pointing.

Stepping inside the dark alleyway, Sorahiko is greeted with Stain tied up and leaning against the brick wall, unconscious. He looks like he's seen better days, and Sorahiko can't help but feel a little satisfied despite everything else. At least one good thing came out of tonight.