MHA Paragon

Looking up from his position on the floor, Kenji stared up at Toga's dad, who loomed over him, his skin a dark red and rippling with muscles underneath, "You should have minded your own damn business. Now look at you, knocked on your ass like a bitch. All for some pussy." 

Toga's dad reached down and grabbed Kenji by the throat, lifting him off the ground effortlessly, "First, I'm going to squeeze the life out of you, then I'm going teach my daughter some manners!" 

Thrashing around, Kenji kicked and kneed Toga's dad in the stomach, but it felt like punching a sandbag. Kenji had never fought before in his life and didn't have the slightest idea what to do. 

'Even with the stat boost, I still make this guy budge.' 

Feeling his airway being cut off, Kenji realized that Toga's dad really did plan on killing him and judging by the bloodthirsty gleam, he wouldn't lose any sleep over it. 

A strange sense of calm spread throughout Kenji's body once that reality settled in, 'If he's trying to kill me, shouldn't I also try and kill him?' 

Perhaps the oxygen deprivation affected Kenji's train of thought, but in that moment, nothing made clearer sense. Reaching up with both hands, Kenji grabbed his attacker's wrist as his void armor encased his arms. 

Before Toga's Father could react, Kenji sunk his claws into his red skin like a hot knife through butter, causing dark red blood to drip onto the ground. 

Toga's Father grunted but didn't let go of Kenji, "It's going to take more than a little pin prick too-" 

Before he could finish talking, Kenji's tail came to life, whipping up and around as the club unfurled, revealing the spike hidden inside aimed straight at the base of the Father's spine. 

Somehow managing to react to the sneak attack, Toga's Father jerked his head to the side, turning the fatal spine-severing stab into a deep grazing cut that split his ear in two. 

The Father roared as he dropped Kenji in favor of cupping his now mutilated ear. Landing in a crouch, Kenji sucked in a deep breath as he balled his hand into a fist and punched the most vulnerable target right at his eye level. The scream of pain and rage from Toga's Father cut off, replaced by a high-pitched squeal-like air escaping from a balloon. 

Gaining the upper hand for the first time in the fight, Kenji wasn't keen on letting it go. Standing up, Kenji brought his hand out and raked his claws across the Father's chest. Blood soared through the air, some of it splashing onto Kenji's face, but he didn't stop. 

Spinning on his heels, Kenji's tail slammed into the Father's stomach, knocking the wind out of him with a woosh of air and breaking his stance. Finishing the spin where he started, Kenji pounced, throwing his entire weight at Toga's Father and taking him to the ground. 

Crouching on his chest, Kenji pulled his hand back and squeezed his fingers together. Toga's Father let out a strangled grunt as Kenji's hand pierced through his shoulder and only stopped when it hit the bone. 

Twisting his hand, Kenji drew out a pained cry from Toga's Father as his other hand shot out, grabbing him by the mouth and muffling his cries, "What did you say earlier…something about squeezing the life out of me?" 

Before he could respond, Kenji's void armor pulsed as a viscous purple ooze started to pour out from his hand. Toga's Father let out a startled grunt that quickly turned into a wet cough as the abyss continued to pour from Kenji's hand.

Seeing the panic settle into his eyes, Kenji jumped off him as Toga's dad started to thrash around. Standing up a few feet away, Kenji watched as the Father writhed on the ground, his mouth and nose plastered with the abyss. 

Unable to take his eyes off the sight, Kenji watched as Toga's Father thrashed and struggled, clawing at his throat and mouth, trying desperately to draw air into his lungs to no avail. His face turned an even darker shade of red as his movements turned sluggish before slowly slumping to the floor and going still forever. 

Staring at the body, Kenji stood in absolute silence as if waiting for the man to come alive again and attack him. But he didn't; his body lay on the floor unmoving, eyes glassy and bloodshot, void of the life and rage that once filled them. 

A soft footstep made Kenji's head snap up, and his eyes met Toga's, which were wide with an unreadable expression. For a moment, both of them stood unsure of what to say to the other. 

Then, without prompting, Toga stepped over the corpse of her abuser and wrapped her arms around Kenji, burying her face into his chest. Silently returning the embrace, Kenji dismissed his void armor and ran his fingers through Toga's hair, "I couldn't leave him alive…he was going to kill us." 

"You didn't have a choice," Toga responded as she looked back over her shoulder, "But what about the body?" 

Kenji opened his mouth to respond when he felt an oppressive weight hammer down on his body. It took every ounce of will for Kenji to remain upright as a terrifying chill passed through his body, as if he was slowly being submerged in freezing water, "T-Toga…get away!" 

Forcing the words out through gritted teeth, Kenji could feel something inside himself coming alive as an intense hunger surged through his body, "Get away!" 

"Kenji?! What's going on?!" Toga took a hesitant step back, only for Kenji to roughly shove her away, and a pool of absolute darkness formed around his feet. Yelping at the sight, Toga scrambled back as the discus started to boil and surge like an overfilled pot. 

Staring down at his feet, Kenji felt a wave of vertigo threaten to knock him over, but his eyes were transfixed, trying to peer through the nothingness and see what secrets it could possibly hold.