The Cosa Nostra (Part 10)

Kirishima landed on the ground with a loud thud. He might've broken something if he hadn't hardened his skin before landing. Fatgum landed next to him, unaffected by the fall. "Red! Are you ok?!" "...Yea… Yea, I'm fine…" The two stood up and looked around. The room was almost completely dark, save for a single dim light hanging from the ceiling. Fatgum swore. "One of the thugs must've been in the walls, trying to divide the group up." Kirishima did his best to conceal his fear. "Pretty strong quirk, especially since we're all underground." Fatgum nodded, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. "Their target was Eraser Head. You stopped these guys from taking one of our most important heroes." Kirishima smiled a little.

The duo heard footsteps in front of them. A seven foot tall man was standing there, wearing a plague doctor mask that covered the entirety of his face. Fatgum raised his arms, preparing for a fight, as he whispered to Kirishima. "Get ready." Kirishima hardened his entire body. Then the strange man charged forward, his fist reared back. Kirishima smirked, going into his 'Unbreakable' form. The hero in training raised his guard, expecting to smash the man's fist with his powerful defense. However, as the man's fist connected, Kirishima was sent flying across the room. Fatgum looked back. "Red!" Fatgum turned to face the opponent and received a flurry of powerful punches. The man had a quirk that accelerated his punching speed. By the time the assault ended, Fatgum's poncho was smoking from the high speed attacks. The pro hero coughed a little as he looked up at the new enemy. The man stood up straight, rolling his shoulders back. Fatgum took the opportunity to look back at Kirishima. Fatgum froze in shock. Kirishima's hardened skin, even in his 'Unbreakable' form, had turned to dust. Kirishima gasped in pain as he looked down at his arms in horror. Blood was completely covering the student's arms. "You know what I think?" Fatgum turned to the thug, who was now speaking in a very deep voice. "It's boorish to use guns or blades in a fight. Anyone who has those can win. That's not a real fight. It's better to kill each other using just the power living inside of you." The thug raised his arms, very similar to how professional boxers raise their guards. "I wonder if you understand."

The thug unleashed another powerful volley of attacks. This time, Fatgum counter attacked. A yellow barrier appeared in between the hero and thug. Fatgum backed away, shaking his hand. The barrier, being made of nothing more than energy, had felt like a concrete wall. A man stepped out of the shadows, wearing a black suit. "You're too reckless, Rappa." The large thug just crossed his arms. "You're always getting in the way, Tengai." Tengai sighed as he looked up at the pro hero. "It would appear that these two specialize in defense, in contrast to us, in which you specialize in offense and I specialize in defense. Together, our victory is guaranteed." Rappa sighed. Then Tengai activated another shield to protect himself from Rappa's attack. "You can stop at any time, Rappa." Rappa stopped. "Let me fight them alone!" "Master Overhaul gave us his orders and we will abide by them." "He never asked me if I wanted to work with you!" Fatgum looked back at Kirishima once more. He was out of the fight. Fatgum would have to win this one all on his own. The thugs didn't seem to get along, but the one called Tengai would most likely put up a shield again if Rappa was in trouble. Fatgum took a deep breath. There was only one way to win this. Tengai sighed and released the first barrier. "Fine. Go nuts. I'll wait back here." Rappa cracked his knuckles. "Finally!" He walked up to Fatgum. The hero smirked. "So you're an unstoppable spear." Rappa stopped, tilting his head in confusion. Fatgum looked up. "An unstoppable spear versus an impenetrable shield! I wonder which will give in first!" Rappa got excited. "You totally get it! Let's go!"

Kirishima just helplessly watched as Fatgum was bombarded by powerful punches. Despite the hero's fat taking most of the punishment, Rappa's punches were too much for the hero: each and every punch hurt more than the last. The front of Fatgum's poncho had disintegrated, leaving his bare belly completely exposed to Rappa's punches. Rappa backed away. "You're still standing?! Wonderful! We have a long way to go and I'm just warming up!" Rappa began again. "Try not to die on me too early!" Fatgum raised his arms to protect his head. The pro hero smirked to himself. The thugs didn't suspect a thing. It looked like Fatgum was just taking the hits, but that wasn't what his quirk was. He was secretly absorbing the blows Rappa was dealing and storing the power within his body. The energy was slowly eating away at his fat, meaning Rappa's punches were inflicting more and more pain. However, Fatgum will continue to take those hits. If his gamble is off, then Rappa would kill him. If the gamble paid off, then Fatgum will have enough power to defeat both Rappa and Tengai, saving Kirishima in the process. It was a battle of will now: Fatgum needed to survive Rappa's attacks long enough to store away enough energy to forge an unstoppable spear of his own.

Kirishima finally managed to get back to his feet, but he couldn't move forward. His arms were still bleeding. He couldn't believe how easily he had been tossed aside by Rappa. "...I… I thought I had gotten stronger…" Kirishima dropped to a knee. "...my ultimate move… was… useless…" He began to cry. "...Now… Fatgum will… will… die…" Kirishima clenched his fists. "...I'm still… still… useless…"

Kirishima sat on the couch in his class's dorm. Chris was sitting across from him, bandaged up from his night time fight with Jason. Fumikage and Kaminari were also there. Kirishima looked up at Chris. "How do you do it?" Chris looked up from his phone. "Do what?" "How are you and Jason always able to run head first into battle without a second thought?" Kirishima stared down at the carpet. "I mean, I guess it's because you guys have insanely powerful quirks. You're incredibly strong, Jason started using his equally powerful quirk, and here I am with the ability to make my skin harder. Everyone in the class has powerful quirks that let them charge into battle knowing they'll come out on top. Except for Kaminari." The blonde electrical student threw a pillow at Kirishima. "I'm never charging your phone for you again." Kirishima smirked a little bit before frowning again. Chris, who had been deep in thought, looked up at his red headed friend. "You have it all wrong. Jason and I are always expecting to die." The three students looked up at Chris in shock as he continued. "In the forest, when I fought Muscular, I could've sworn I was a goner. Jason, who was pretending to be quirkless for years, always ran into a fight to protect others. So we don't fight because we know we'll be ok. We fight because we know what will happen if we don't." Chris slightly smiled. "A very smart man once told me that once you start running, you'll never stop running. That's why you have to fight: even if you know you'll lose."

The poncho's hood fell off, revealing the pro's short blonde hair. Fatgum was at his limit. He had no more fat to protect himself, and his stored away energy needed just a few more seconds. Unfortunately, Tengai noticed the yellow energy beginning to cover the hero's right arm. "Rappa! He's up to something! Finish this quickly!" "Fine! If it'll get you to shut up!" Kirishima hardened himself again and jumped in front of Fatgum, once again activating 'Unbreakable'. The hero shouted. "Red?!" Rappa unleashed another volley of blows against Kirishima. The student planted his feet and kept his guard up. "I'll never back down again! If I break, I'll just harden again! I will become a hero! I'll become the shield that protects my friends! I'll become the shield that protects everyone!" Rappa smirked, putting all of his strength and weight into a left hook. "Alright kid, bring it on!" Kirishima, still covered in his own blood, stepped forward and hardened his right arm. "Red Gun Turret!" Their fists clashed. Kirishima heard something crack and break. This time, it wasn't Kirishima's skin. Rappa backed away, holding his now broken hand. "What the hell?!" Kirishima stepped forward again, swinging another punch. A barrier came up, blocking the attack. Tengai sighed. "You lost, Rappa. Luckily I'm here to finish the job."

As Kirishima fell, Fatgum caught him. Tengai and Rappa looked over in awe. Fatgum was no longer a morbidly obese looking man, but now looked as if he had worked out every day of his life. Fatgum smiled, yellow energy spiraling all around his arm. "We made a big mistake, and you villains are about to pay for it!" Rappa took another step back. "Tengai, I don't think your shield will hold!" Fatgum reared his arm back, smiling brightly. "We all underestimated the hero named Red Riot, and his unbreakable spirit!" Fatgum let loose his punch, which shattered the barrier and sent both Tengai and Rappa flying. The thugs were tossed into the far wall. The unconscious opponents fell to the ground. Kirishima managed to smile before passing out in Fatgum's arms.