House of Wisteria

Chapter 09

| Welcome to the Patrol |

Tonight, you were accompanied by the #3 Pro-Hero, Hawks, instead of Eraser Head. You much rather preferred him than the winged hero. He talked your ear off as you leapt from building to building, him following after you via flight. The faint smell of ashes wafts to your nose, to which you picked up your pace, momentarily leaving him behind. In his eyes, you were no different than a helpless child, a child who barely scratched the surface of the world that you lived in. He could not fathom the fact that you were the backup that the authorities had requested. But after last night's report from local heroes, and now All Might, The #1 Pro-Hero, had not only praised you for your professional skills in battle, but also your quick thinking and fast decision making. Hawks wanted to see what you were all about himself. You interested him.

You stopped at the edge of the building, the scene before you now unfolding: vehicles everywhere were on fire, civilians were running in different directions, crying and screaming in hysteria. And amongst the chaos, there stood someone standing at the center of it all, a sinister, go-lucky smile plastered on its face. Its body was lanky and boney, with claws at its fingertips; its eye sockets was crying tears of blood. Hawks had to gag back his disgust at the sight of it. He did not understood as to why you were not doing the same. You inwardly sighed, relieved that he no longer was staring at you intensely. From the corner of your eye, you saw red and blue lights coming closer to where you are. 'Reinforcements are on their way.'

"I leave the safety and evacuation of the civilians to you and the others," you say before leaping into the air, and towards the demon. You pulled out your scythe and readied to land an attack.

"Oblivion-Fuji no Kokyū, Go no Kata: Mikadzuki no Sasoriza no mō Fubuki."
(Oblivion-Wisteria Breathing, Fifth Form: Crescent Scorpio Blizzard)

An agonizing, pitched scream vibrated the surroundings, silencing everyone and everything for a brief moment. It turned around with shock and fear, its hand gripping at where you just slashed; but just as the wound appeared, the flesh that was split apart was now stitched back together. "A-A Hashira?! What's a demon slayer doing here?!" Its voice was scratchy and groggy, it made you felt uncomfortable to hear.

From your peripheral vision, you noticed that the other heroes and paramedics were still hustling everyone away from the scene. You decided to buy them some time, so that no harm will come. You swiftly switched out your scythes as it leapt back, trying to get away from you. 'It must be relatively new,' you thought as you ran closer towards it. 'Otherwise, this would have gone entirely different.'

"Harmony-Fuji no Kokyū, Ichi no Kata: Fuji no Haru no Rokkakkei."
(Harmony-Wisteria Breathing, First Form: Wisteria Spring Hexagon)

One moment, you were there, chasing from behind, and the next, you were gone. This startled the demon, slowing down its pace, feeling a menacing chill run down its spine. Attacks from different angles made it screamed in pain as you inflicted wound after wound. After a little while, red feathers were in the sky, making a thumbs up, alerting you that everyone from within the vicinity had been evacuated. Unfortunately, it saw your momentary distraction as a rare opportunity to strike back.

"Blood Demon Art: Undead."

The ground beneath you both shook and cracked open, revealing disembodied limbs. Their clawing and swinging seemed to do nothing, but you felt the impact of the attack tenfold. Your body was cut, your clothes were littered with cuts and your blood. You ignored the pain as you swiftly switched scythes.

"Oblivion-Fuji no Kokyū, Shichi no Kata: Fuji Ren Doku Chēn."
(Oblivion-Wisteria Breathing, Seventh Form: Wisteria Lotus Poison Chain)

You surprised Hawks. He flew back to check on you, perhaps assist you. Upon seeing you hurt, he was ready to swoop down and fly you away to check your wounds but stopped. Good thing he did, as you landed the final blow on it, its head now decapitated from its body. You bowed your head at the disintegrating corpse, to pay respect for its previous life. You looked up to see Hawks there, staring wide eyed at you. You too gave him a thumbs up, reciprocating his gesture that he gave to you moments ago.

He smiles softly, now seeing you in a new light. "Hey, kid!" Hawks swoops down to you, saying, "Let's get ya patched up fast before you pass out!"