Chapter 36

Warning: this chapter may be a bit too graphic for sensitive writers as it contains blood, violence, and self-harm. Please, tread with caution.

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Nothing I did could free me from Kannon's grasp as he pushed me down the stairway, pulling me away from my friends. I just couldn't move as his hands that held my wrists also held a knife in it. One wrong move and I would be a goner. Sure, that might help stop these villains from erasing everyone's memories about their own Quirk, but at the same time, I couldn't do that. Not when Ollie was scared to death out there.

Ollie. He was scared out of his mind out on top of this building, and there was nothing I could do to help him. I should have been there for him, but there was nothing I could have done, not when it was those three versus me. I just had to trust my friends, that they'd save him, tear him away from this place, and protect him. It was just, as his big sister, I wanted to be the one that was there for him, comfort him, and make sure none of this happened.

Guess I was too late.

Kannon repositioned his hands, jerking my arms upward until my hands were at my neck. A sharp, cold metal brushed against my chin, causing me to hold my breath for a moment. I was afraid that a simple breath would be enough to pierce the sharp edge through my skin.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Kannon asked, as his breath tickled against my ear. Hearing him speak, I felt a shiver down my spine. He wasn't as calm as he was before. There was a darkness in his voice as he continued to push me down the winding staircase. Each floor we'd past, I could feel my heart beating louder, but now, it was racing. Kannon pressed the knife closer to my neck, causing me to gasp in surprise. "I asked you a question, damn it! Answer me!"

"Stop. Please, stop," I begged, feeling the hot tears falling down my face. My pleas did nothing as he continued to march down the stairs.

"Why would I do that? I warned you! I warned you what would happen if you didn't listen. Children need to listen to their parents! Once this is all over, I'll make sure you never think twice about that. Your little friends will be gone! I'll make sure they're all gone when I burn that damn school to the ground," he hissed.

My body froze, causing Kannon to push me down the stairs a bit easier. That school? No. No! He couldn't possibly think—he wouldn't...why? He was a hero once. Wouldn't he want there to at least be a chance for other heroes to emerge.

Unless he wanted to take away all heroes as well as well as erase everyone's Quirks.

"I thought you would've known better," Kannon sneered. "I thought you would've known how selfish those heroes are. They aren't here to save you. Your friends right now, they only see your defenseless little brother. By the time we're gone, they will twist the story that he was the only one in danger and will probably paint you out to be some martyr, leaving you good as dead, just like they did to me! Like father, like daughter."

No. There was no way. My friends wouldn't leave me here alone with this man. They'd come for me. They'd come and save me, wouldn't they?

Time slipped by as Kannon continued to push me down the stairs. I eventually lost count how many flights we had gone down after seeing the twentieth door. This building was huge, but I never knew how huge it was until I started losing track on how many flights of stairs we went down. Kannon went quiet after making that comment of how every would just assume I would be dead just like him.

But I wasn't like him. I never wanted to be a hero. The only reason I went to that school was because everyone expected me to be a hero, especially my brother. Now, my brother was in trouble. He was sitting on the roof of this building, terrified out of his mind. My friends might have been doing the best that they could, but my brother was still in trouble, scared out of his mind.

Just how could I do anything if I wasn't a hero? No. I-I couldn't think like that, not when Ollie needed my help. I needed to get to him, just how? I hardly put any effort into my hero classes. If that wasn't bad enough, this guy's hands squeezed around my wrist, pulling me closer to his chest. It was as if he was warning me that there was absolutely no way to get out of there.

I just needed to get to Ollie. Surely, there had to be a way to get back to him. I just couldn't run from this situation like Raiden once suggested. If I couldn't run, then I had to fight, but how could I fight when this guy was too strong.

That was when a memory popped into my mind. Raiden was the strongest guy in the class, but he didn't always do well when he'd spar against other students. They'd outsmart him. It didn't happen often, but it still happened. Just how?

Kannon kept pulling me closer to him as we continued to descend the stairway, almost making it to the bottom. He didn't want me getting away from him. To even prove this, he held a knife against my throat. All I needed was to get away from him. Thinking about this, it seemed so simple.

I just needed for it to be unexpected.

He turned us around to go down another flight when I noticed him going slower to do so. It was slight, but it was enough. I twisted my hands around and pushed them forwards, shoving myself out of his grasp. As I did so, two things happened. The first was that his knife flung out of his grasp, making me relieved for a millisecond that I didn't have to worry about it. The second, however, wasn't so good. I was too forceful in my escape that when Kannon let go, I lost balance and found myself falling head first down the stairs.

My nose made contact first. The pain shot upward as I somersaulted down, landing right on my back. I grabbed my face, feeling the blood pouring out of my nose, but that was the least of my worries as I knew I needed to get up.

Ignoring the pain that had shot down my back, I rolled to my side and looked up the stairs. Kannon sprinted down them, pulling another knife out of the inside of his suit. There was no way to get past him, not if I wanted to end up in the same situation again. I wanted to run up the stairs to get back to my little brother, but it was impossible.

If I was going to get out of this alive, I just needed to outsmart him for a bit. Before he could reach me, I pushed myself up to my feet and started running through the first door I could see.

On the other side of the door, I was nearly blinded by the amount of white that coated the hallways. The lights were on too, making it way easier to see, which was good and bad all at the same time. While I could see, I could see everything, including the hero costume I was in, stained in blood and somehow ripped in various places in the sleeves and pant-legs.

I wasn't even a few steps away from the door when I felt someone grab my wrist before slamming my back into the wall. I winced before forcing my eyes open. It was just my luck. Kannon stood in front of me, with one hand on my wrist, holding it high so that I had to nearly stand on my tip toes. The other held a knife in a position that silently said he was ready to stab me with it.

He wouldn't do that. He needed me. He needed my Quirk, but seeing the crazed look in his green eyes, I wasn't so sure anymore.

"You ungrateful child!" he shouted. "Helen did a shitty job raising you. Now, you will pay for your mistakes."

My eyes widened as he plunged the knife towards the arm he was holding up. For a split second, I couldn't think, but I didn't need to. It was just like the day of the entrance exam. Instead of thinking, my body just reacted. While Kannon's hand was racing towards my arm, I lifted my one leg and kicked up just below the knee. It was enough for him to stumble back a bit, but not enough for him to let go. Feeling my heels touch the ground, I yanked my arm downward, forcing him to go down on the ground.

It would've been great, but he still didn't let go. I ended up falling on top of him. When I did, I felt something sharp press against my left arm. The pain took me off guard, giving Kannon the advantage. He let go of the knife that was in his hands and tossed me off of him.

I would've gotten up, but I could feel the cut in my left arm skidding across the floor. With the floor being cold, the blood seemed to want to rush out more. I grabbed my arm in defense, trying to stop the blood, but before I could look down at it, I felt something slam onto my hair before jerking it upwards. The hairs on my head felt as if it was being yanked out, but they didn't. If my hair was pulled out, I wouldn't feel the pull towards him.

"Disgusting!" Kannon shouted. "Absolutely disgusting! You really think you can get away from me this time? You're a fool. You will turn into Nobu Eto right now, stop this little teenage rebellion of yours, and you will do exactly as I say, or else I'll force you to watch your friends die. You hear me?"

Kannon started to kneel down, keeping one foot on my hair as he did so. He raised the hand with the knife in it, almost as if he was ready to stab me in some way, but that never happened. I could feel my heart racing as I looked up at him.

If I didn't know it before, then it was that very moment I knew Kannon Smith had gone completely insane. Nothing could help him now.

The knife started to dive down, plummeting towards my left shoulder. My body tensed as I nearly closed my eyes out of fear. I only stopped because a beam of light slammed right into his chest, causing him to stumble back. His foot was no longer on my hair, giving me time to sit up and turn around. Kannon was about ready to stand up, but the knife was no longer in his hand.

"Change of plans," Katio's voice said. "How about you just stop while you're ahead, before you get hurt."

I didn't look back at my friend, but it made me feel so happy that he came and just in the knick of time. If it wasn't for him, things would've gotten worse than they already were. I just didn't look back because I knew I couldn't rely on him. With Kannon doing everything in his power to see me suffer, I needed to think fast.

A crazy, almost impossible idea started to slip into my mind. The moment it did, I started putting it into action. I grabbed the knife that was lying on the floor. Kannon seemed to have noticed it as he started to reach for it as well, but I was quicker. I had no idea how I managed to do it, but I shifted my weight to the side and swung my leg around. When my leg made contact with Kannon's, he fell backwards, giving me time to grab the knife and run over towards Kaito.

Seeing him standing there where the door to the staircase nearly blinded me. I wasn't sure if it had to do with the white walls around us or if it was because he chose to use bright colors, orange and yellow, for his Hero Costume. It looked similar to most heroes, having yellow boots, gloves and a cape, all over a basic orange heroic looking suit. Even his eyes were nearly hidden by an orange mask.

He smiled when he saw me, and honestly, I would've smiled too, but I didn't. I just ran into him, wrapping my arms around him. I knew he'd watch out for Kannon for me. I just needed to relax for a moment and catch my breath without anyone watching me.

Kaito wrapped one arm around me as I felt his other arm stretch out in front of him, almost as if he was preparing himself to shoot another beam of light. He seemed so calm as he did so, which was different from how I was feeling. Sweat was pouring down my body as my left hand clenched the knife.

Soon, everything was going to be over.

"I think it'd be best if you stopped," Kaito suggested. "You're outnumbered."

A malicious laugh echoed through the halls, causing me to freeze. I tore myself from Kaito and looked back at the man. His green hair was sticking out in every direction while his crazed eyes were glued on me. While I tried to calm down, I felt my breaths growing deeper and deeper.

"You really think so? The way I see it, you're still outmatched, or are you blinded by how terrified my daughter is? Between the two of you, you'll never beat me. You should surrender, unless you want to die a slow and painful death right in front of her," Kannon challenged.

Kaito was about ready to charge at him, but I quickly stopped him by pressing my hand against his chest. I didn't mean for my right hand to go there, but it did. My head turned to look at him, seeing the confusion washing over his face.

"Please, forgive me," I whispered before I closed my eyes and transformed into Nobu Eto. When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was a couple inches taller than Kaito, taking him off guard.

"Tami—" Kaito warned, but I ignored him as I looked back at Kannon. His mouth curved into a smile that made me want to run away.

"So, you finally give up," Kannon noted. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses. Now, step away from the boy, and we can get this done as painlessly as possible."

I shook my head as Kaito held onto my right arm, pulling me closer. He was doing exactly what I wanted him to as I could feel him begging me to stop. If I did, the fighting would continue. Only I could stop this.

"Don't do this," Kaito begged.

Instead of listening to him, I just shook my head. "No. I'm—I'm ending this, once and for all."

Kannon's smile slowly started to fade away as he started to realize what I meant by that. I didn't let him stop me though as I turned back to face Kaito and raised the knife in my left hand. Before Katio could do anything, I pulled away from him.

There was a spontaneous "no!" being cried from both Kaito and Kannon, but I ignored them as I slammed the knife into my right wrist. My eyes squeezed shut as the knife ripped into my skin, forcing the blood to splatter all around me.

As much as the pain started to tear at my right arm, I didn't regret it. I hissed and cried at the burning and aching sensation that had forced its way into my arm, but I wouldn't have changed a thing I did. If I did anything different, then Kannon would have always found a way to fight all this.

Behind me, there was a thud. I turned around, my left hand pulling my right arm closer to my chest. I did everything I could to stop the blood, but it still poured around my hand and dripped onto the ground. Looking down at it, I could feel my stomach turn. My right hand was no longer there.

Without it, there was no way Kannon could power up that machine again. He would no longer be able to force people to forget their Quirk.

Kannon was powerless.

"Turn back," Kannon begged as he looked up at me. He was sitting on all fours, as he fought back the tears in his eyes. "Turn back!"

I shook my head, as I felt Kaito's hand pulling my shoulder. My face was hot from the tears that poured. "I'm—I'm sorry. I can't. My hand is gone. I-I had to—I had to st-stop you. I couldn't—I—"

My words never truly escaped my mouth as Kannon dropped his head and lied on the ground for a moment. He almost made me feel bad for him had it not been for everything that he had done in the last twenty-four hours.

Kaito tugged at my shoulder once again, only this time, I didn't fight back, I turned into him, feeling his arm wrapped around my shoulders as he ushered me away from the man and back to the staircase. All I could think about as we walked through the door was the hot tears making their way down my face. The pain in my right arm was too much for me to handle, but I knew if I turned back into myself, things would be much worse than they already were.

We took a few steps up the stairs before I let the image of Nobu Eto fade away. When I did, I felt my right hand growing back, only the pain of where the knife had cut through was still there. Looking down, I could see the deep cut looking fresh with blood oozing out of it. The pain was far worse than it was before, but I couldn't let my mind be distracted by it.

Instead I just started rushing up those stairs with Kaito not far behind me. He didn't seem to ask about how I was able to pull off the stunt I just did, but I was glad he didn't. Any moment, Kannon could realize the trick I had just played on him, noticing that there was no hand that was chopped off. If that happened, I needed to be as far away from him as possible.

I just hoped Kannon would never notice that I turned into Nobu Eto after he was found Quirkless and missing a right hand. All I could focus on at that moment was getting back to my brother.

Author's Note:

Yeesh! You know how many times I had to rewrite this just to get the scene right? Oof! Most of the time, it was me forcing myself not to have Tami inner-monologue what she was about ready to do, or give hints that she was going to turn into Post-Eto and play that trick on both Kaito and Kannon. Other times, it was coming up with the perfect way for her to do that without it seeming too fake.

Jokes on Kannon with that, but uh, looks like Tami didn't really need to fight in order to win this fight, so for this chapter's question, what is your favorite BNHA non-fight scene? I know this is a pretty broad question, and there are lots of awesome parts of BNHA. My personal favorite has to be when Deku went out of his way to make a candy apple for Eri. It was so sweet!!

Okay, that's all I have for now. Tune in next week for the next chapter of INH! Hope to see you then. Take care!!

Character Spotlight: Nobu Eto
Quirk: None (as it was forgotten)
Likes: Inventions

Song: Brawl from My Hero Academia.

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