A Certain Flying Head in MHA

Avoiding the falling debris and the doing my best to adapt my calculations in the heat of the moment, I managed to reach the illegal entrance to the other side without much trouble.

Upon reaching the other side, one of Hii-chan's decoy dolls waved me over from a short distance. "Kuroko! Over here!" I teleported over to her location, which is an emergency shelter in a small antique traditional japanese house.

"Me and my dolls have been looking for places that survived the initial attack as temporary shelters." She said as she led me further inside, her closed eyes furrowed their brows when she looked down to my arms saw the state Kizuki is in before turning her gaze back in front of her. "This one in particular has been abandoned and the survivors evacuated because that thing got too close at one point and left too big of a contamination." We entered a room and gestured a hand to one of the cleaner futon. I laid Kizuki down as she continued. "Don't worry, I've already purified most of it. Even humans can safety live in this area on a short-term basis without repercussions. The evacuees didn't return because they're afraid that this place will be attacked once more."

"Is there any way we can speed up his recovery?" I turned to her. "A ritual, a potion... Or perhaps a prayer spell?"

She frowned a bit. "Normally, we would just let him come into contact with spiritual energy and let them absorb it to heal their body, but..." She paused, as if picking her words. "Since there are all sorts of Youkai and Oni, the spiritual energy would adapt to their specific kinds of body. The one absorbing it would consciously change it to adapt to their body. There's also the method to use miasma catalysts but they also come the risk of lashing out by themselves." She clicked her tongue. "It's a shame, I've already sealed plenty of that today but there isn't much use now."

Before I could respond, a chime rang out from Kizuki's body. The both of us turned to look and saw a faint golden glow coming from his pocket. I reached out a hand and rummaged through his pocket to pull out a small golden bell.

Holding it in front of my eyes, the bell chimed once again while gently glowing. I found myself relaxing, the metaphorical weight on my shoulders beginning to slack but it was then that Hii-chan's decoy doll quietly gasped, her empty eye sockets open.

"Did that bell purify you?!"

"Hm?" I shaked off the slack and refocused. "Was that what it was? I feel... Lighter? Relaxed?... It felt as if Everything was alright."

She stepped closer and held my hand. After a few moments she let go and reached out a finger towards the bell, cautiously making contact with an item no bigger than the nail thumb.

"No. This is different." She said, her eyes open. The darkness inside her empty sockets seemingly deep and endless. "This isn't purification. At least, not the regular kind." She returned her finger, ceasing contact with the bell. She closed her eyes again. "But this is great. This child's ability is what we need to help Aniki."

"I see... That's good." The leftover tension left my body "What do I... Is there anything I can do to help?"

Hii-chan smiled. "You can stay by his side. I'm sure he'd be surprised to see your face first time upon waking up." She gazed at our joined hand. "The state of mind is more important to a Youkai. Aniki has just been through a distressing ordeal so I implore you to calm him down to avoid a breaking of his psyche."

"I see... Understood." I nodded solemnly and moved closer to where the head would be.

"It won't be long. My other decoy dolls would be here with the paper seals containing fragments of the miasma catalysts."

"..." Fragments? Hold on a minute. "Miasma catalyst?!"

~~~~~~

The sound of soft, rustling water entered my ears.

I felt a mellow sense of comfort as the gentle sway of the waves cradled me in it's arms.

Back and forth, back and forth.

Slowly, as the ebb and flow carried me by its currents.

There is nothing else here. Just me and the water, a solitary peace.

No earthy land beyond the horizon.

No distant sky that bounds the world.

Nor is there shimmering light that blinds my eyes.

Or rather, It was until an intrusive glitter entered my mouth. I did not feel or sense its forthcoming. It was as if it appeared into existence or was already there from the very beginning and I overlooked it.

But it wasn't the mystery that took my attention, it was the sensation on my tongue. It wasn't anything I tasted before, it was a new experience.

The flavour of red.

Suddenly, the waters became turbulent as a storm appeared in the nothingness above my head.

The waves no longer cradling me as they upturned in frightening heights. My limbs locked in place, inhibiting my ability to swim. It was only by the grace of the waters that I did not drown, but still, the experience is akin to being waterlogged. Suffocating in the depths, only to be pushed back to the surface to catch a small breath before drowning again.

There was a thunderclap from above, announcing it's presence. Then there was lighting that fell from the skies, hitting the already chaotic waters.

The flash of lights hit near where I am, their roars deafening my ears. Another struck just a few inches close to me, and I lost an eye.

A whirlpool appeared in the near distance, growing ever so larger by each lighting strike. In no time at all, I was sucked in, the scream that escaped my lips was drowned out by the waves.

Under the waters, I was falling deeper. Then I was held.

This isn't the oblivion that embraced me comfortably like a mother.

This is the hold of a tyrant, and it jostled me back to the surface. I coughed and breathed in putrid air, free from the waters but not from the restraint. I felt a gaze on me from above so I raised my head, to see the eyes, his eyes.

Those red orbs are looking at me.

And a familiar chime rang out.

~~~~~~

I shot awake and was immediately held down. My eyes already flared with a laser as I look around in a frantic hurry. Something came up to my face and I couldn't help but flinch, releasing a blast.

Another chime rang out.

My panic, my fear, my fury, all of them were washed out and my blurred vision started to regain their clarity.

I noticed that the hands holding me down were strong yet gentle. I noticed the scent of familiar soaps. I noticed the colour of the tawny hair falling on my face.

I noticed those kind, brown eyes looking at me in worry. "Welcome back." She said with a soft smile. "You made me worry, idiot."

"Kuroko? What are yo-" She cut me off with a kiss.

"What do you think?" She smirked. "You're an idiot. But you're my idiot. As if I'll let you go that easily."

Her face is closed to mine, and it was then that I saw what I've done. "...! Your hair! I-I'm sorr-" She put a finger on my lips.

"None of that." She sat back straight as she continued to hold me down. It was then that I realised that I was laying down on her lap. "You've just been through something terrible, it can't be helped if you were a little jumpy." She said as she began to caress my head and brushed aside my hair that was in disarray. "Besides, it's just a bit of hair. It'll grow back in a few months."

"Actually, there are some potions to promote hair growth."

"Hii-chan?!" I squeaked in surprise as I veered my head to the direction of her voice.

"It is good to see that you have recovered, Aniki." She said as she and a handful of her decoy dolls bowed. "Your condition has had us worried."

"I-I'm sorry for the trouble..." My voice was barely a whisper. "I..." Some memories came back to the surface of my mind and I couldn't help but gag. "Oh, gods..." I sat up in a rush and took the bucket from the hands of a nearby decoy doll. My stomach was already emptied from before, only the stomach acid and dry heaving came out.

"It's alright." Kuroko was gently parting my back as she consoled me. "Let it all out."

"...I apologise if this seemed rude, but we have to relocate." She said while some of the decoy dolls ran out. "It appears that the battle is drawing closer to our location."

"Battle?" I lifted my gaze from the bucket to her.

"Kizuki..."

"Whatever it is, I'm in."

"I was afraid this would happen. A workaholic after trauma, just like last time." Kuroko sighed as she dragged her hand across her face. She used her hands to gingerly hold my face, she frowned when she noticed that I flinched and gently turned my head to meet her serious gaze. "I know I can't stop you, but we will be taking a well-deserved break afterwards, understand?"

A shiver went up my spine, in a good way. "Yes ma'am!"

"Good." She nodded and held my hand. "We'll be going out now, Hii-chan." And we teleported out in the eternal night sky.

I immediately felt the wind pick up in large gusts, not strong enough to blow us away but enough to get my attention. I took Kuroko into my arms in a princess carry and stabilised us into the air as I turned my eyes to the battle nearby. "Is that?..."

"A miasma catalyst, yes."

What's in front of us is a giant mass of darkness, blending in the backdrop of the city and the sky as it seemed to continue getting bigger. Cenn is taking it's full attention with her great strength, every time she was injured she immediately recovered and her blows grew more powerful. Reiko-nee is doing her best to cut up the miasma with her scissors and the fragments that fell off were quickly surrounded by Hii-chan's decoy dolls and barraged with papers seals. There are other supernaturals helping them out and covering for them, all organized by someone I don't remember but is part of Dusk's Grace because of how close Mugi-chan is with them.

"T-this..." I took a shaky breath. "It's because of him, isn't it? Because of what he's done on our side of the world?"

"It is." Kuroko agreed. "All the resentment, the despair, the desperation, and negative emotions... Hii-chan told me that it will continue to grow for a while, even if the battle on our side is finished. Because everything that has happened has already been ingrained in the minds of plenty of people-"

"Then the miasma would continue to feed on that and grow." Memories of Gensokyo popped into my mind.

"She said that the best we can is to keep culling it for a few days." She took my head in her arms. "But there is an alternative."

A chime sounded out from my pocket, it rang across the battlefield. When it reached the giant of darkness, it slumped and slacked, not even retaliating when it was attacked.

"The bell? I see." I watched as the darkness twitched and began attacking again. An idea went to my mind. "I have an idea."

"You're going to absorb it, aren't you? You've always bragged about the energy capacity of Gensokyians."

"Exactly. It wouldn't take long, but if I absorb everything now it should get into a more manageable size for everyone to watch over for the next few days. Then we can focus on helping our side." I smile to her. "Best part is that I don't even have to let go of you to do it."

"Sounds like a good plan." She smirked. "You can help them, I can watch over you and make sure you don't go overboard, and I get the princess treatment? My, you're quite greedy aren't you?"

I laughed as the smoke bubbles and rolled off my neck and cascaded like a tsunami towards the battlefield.