RIN'S P.O.V

Every attack is unrelenting. I don't stop. I don't even think about stopping. Blue fire rages all around me, clawing the tree trunks and sizzling the leaves, and I keep going. Burn it all. Burn it all to the ground so he can't get away. Wave upon wave of flames descend upon Lucifer, yet he just dismisses them with a flick of his hand. As though they don't even bother him. I have to do something more. I have to be smart about this.

But smart isn't my strong point. 1A... They're good with strategy. They're the ones who plan everything, right down to the last detail. I don't know how to do stuff the way they can, and not a single one of them can help me. I'm on my own. I have to do all of this alone. Think, Rin. Think. How the hell can you beat this guy? There has to be a way. He has to have a weakness.

I'd say his guard would go down when he's trying to cast one of his illusions, but all of his other potential targets are unconscious. As for me- Well he knows it won't work. I'm a lost cause, not even worth his time. He won't bother trying to pull me under, so what else? What can I do to stop him? The Kitsune was easy, because it was stupid. Stupider than me. But Lucifer? He's a strategist, that much I can see. Even his clothes are enough to prove it. A military uniform. No doubt he's the head of Satan's armies- the one who plans the wars to end all wars.

How do you fight someone like that?

Unless... You don't strategise. Maybe, for once, going all in without a plan is just what I need. Something he won't expect. Lucifer might be my uncle, but he doesn't know a single thing about me. I'm reckless. I'm impulsive. I'm a total idiot, and that might just get me to where I need to be. So, once I've sent out my last torrent of hellfire, I use a nearby tree trunk as leverage to shoot myself forward, sword raised to strike. He barely has time to see me through the flames before I zip past him, slicing open a huge cut on his cheek.

And I keep it up, first opening with a wall of fire, using it as cover, and then erupting through the flames with blade at the ready. For a solid minute and a half, it works perfectly; with such a bright barrier of blue, it's nearly impossible for him to see where I'll come from next. Slice after slice, I spill more and more of his blood, Kurikara's touch sizzling his skin whenever it makes contact. I can do this. I know I can do this, I just have to keep this going. Maybe he'll yield. Give in and tell me where Yukio is.

At this rate, he's got to be in agony.

With a grin on my lips, every piece of me enjoying this just as much as I should, I prepare myself for another strike. Hopefully the one to end this one-sided fight. Launching myself towards him, ready to plunge my blade into his chest, I grip Kurikara's handle tight, anticipation jolting through me. Completely blinding me. Which is why I don't immediately process that Lucifer has precisely gripped the blade mid-attack, cuffing the metal in his fist.

"Enough," he snarls, tensing his fingers around the sword. As he does, it feels as though he's squeezing my throat, every muscle in my body coiling and tensing. Kurikara rattles in his hold, and, for a moment, everything goes quiet. As though the entire world has frozen. Until he finally clamps his fist down, sending metal shards in thousands of different directions. The hilt snaps off in my hands, and, for the only moment I'm allowed, I stare down at where my blade used to be.

Before the weight of everything the now-shattered Kurikara was holding back comes crashing down onto me. My demon heart is free, and there's nothing to protect me from it.

I'm sorry, old man.

~

BAKUGOU'S P.O.V

Shit, my head. Feels like someone set off one of my own damn explosions right next to my ear, my skull absolutely pounding as I try to push my eyes open. It takes more effort than I'd ever admit to anyone, but I manage it nonetheless, forcing myself to look around the clearing. Only, something clearly ain't right; instead of the trees being as green as Deku's mop of hair, the entire place is drowned in an aggressive, blue fire. Dammit, Okumura. Not again.

It's only when I go to sit up do I realise that that ain't gonna happen without a good fight; it's like every single one of my limbs have been pinned to the forest floor, sinking into the bloodied moss. Shit, yeah, I remember. That damn demon completely wiped the floor with us, all whilst Okumura stayed frozen in place. Literally. Not outta fear or some bull like that- he didn't move the whole time. Like the demon had put some sort of spell on him.

I can't just lay around. Screw this. If Okumura's flames are all over the place, then he's gonna need help. Again. Why the hell do we have to keep jumping between saving each other? Still, doesn't stop me from flexing my fingers and shifting my muscles as much as possible, pushing through the pain and the burning sensations fizzing through my nerves. I've felt worse. Good thing too; if I hadn't, I don't think I'd ever have had it in me to stand up.

But I do, taking my ground with a mild sway to my stance. It's hard to focus, probably 'cause of the stupid wounds all over my skin, but I squint and try to figure out what the hell I'm looking at. And, just like back at the shrine, I see Okumura, sprawled on the ground, hellfire surrounding him. Only, this time, instead of spewing from him, it's like the stuff is pouring into his chest. All whilst the demon from earlier advances closer, metal shards dripping from its palm.

Shit. Shit.

Soon as I notice the broken pieces, I realise that damn blade Okumura carries around everywhere is nowhere to be seen. All that's left is the handle, resting in his limp palm. This ain't good. This really ain't good. If he's gonna wake up a full-blown demon, there's no way I can let who I can only assume is Lucifer anywhere near him. Even though it hurts, I drag myself over to the only two people I can think of that might be able to stop it with me, collapsing to my knees beside an unconscious Deku and Todoroki.

"Deku. Icy-Hot. Get up, idiots!" I snarl, grabbing their shoulders and shaking them despite their wounds. I don't give a shit if they're beat up; I ain't exactly in the best shape, but I'm still gonna fight. Nobody's gonna take Okumura away from us- not if I've got a say in it. So long as I'm still breathing, I'm gonna fight. 'Cause, as much as I hate to admit it, Okumura matters to me. You don't mess with the people that matter to me.

Thankfully, Deku twitches awake almost instantly. Releasing a small whimper, he cracks his eyes open for a brief second, before he suddenly jolts up with a sharp gasp. It's like the pain doesn't even touch him, the broccoli-haired loser jumping to his feet in a matter of seconds. Show off.

"Kacchan? Kacchan what's-" he starts, only to instantly cut himself off when he sees the state of Okumura. Yeah, I forgot. He doesn't know about the demon stuff, huh? We were both there on that roof when Okumura first burst into flames in front of us, but he must've been out cold way before it happened. "What's happening to Mr. Okumura?"

"Long story. But I think that demon's Lucifer, and I don't wanna know what he's gonna do to Okumura if he get his hands on him. We've gotta stop him," I snarl, shooting a glance over at the demon in question, watching his claws twist and flex towards our vulnerable teacher. Screw this. "Get Icy-Hot up. I'm gonna stall," I snap, before using a sudden explosion to launch myself towards Lucifer.

Before he can even realise I'm coming, I've blasted a punch directly into his cheek, sending him flying a good few feet into a damn big boulder. Alright, you demon fuck.

Let's dance.