Defective (MHA)

Before the bear's carcass caught up with and knocked the boy down, a hornet attacked the bear out of nowhere, biting his nose, which only provoked the bear. He tried to knock the hornet down with his paw, the paw missed the boy's shoulder, but one claw caught him. It seemed like that minute lasted forever.

Taiko lifted the bear's other paw and got out from under the grip, without realizing how it happened. A moment and a piece of earth flies into the bear's face, blinding him for a short moment, which allowed Taiko to find a well-placed sharp stone and pierce his eye.

The beast roared and blindly pounced on Taiko's last place. The big hornet was flying around, waiting for the boy to give the command. Instinctively, he understood that if he gave the order to the hornet to sting the bear, the hornet would die. In essence, it is a sacrifice for the sake of salvation. Without thinking twice, he ordered the hornet to sting the bear in the nose. The hornet, having lost its sting, died, falling behind a tree, and the bear froze and fell from pain.

Filled with rage and the desire to survive, Taiko went on the attack. He felt a sharp stick, and applying his weight with a running start, pierced the animal's eye with it, piercing the brain.

- A-a-a!!! Die, scum!!! - the bear groaned, whined in death and his gaze dimmed.

Having barely moved away from the bear's carcass, Taiko was taken aback. His bloody body continued to tremble. The trembling in his legs made him lie down nearby and rest with his gaze downcast at the sky. Tears flowed from his eyes, but much less than before. He also felt this at the moment of the hornet's death, which made him sad.

- God... - he covered his bloody face with his hands. Then, having calmed down, he looked at his bloody hands, examining them with interest. Leaning against a tree and looking at the carcass, he did not believe that he had killed a bear many times larger than himself. Continuing to be in shock and literally reliving the moment over and over again, he headed to the nearest stream, where people often swam. Fortunately, there was no one in the small pond today. In any case, Taiko did not pay attention to this, continuing to dive into the water slowly turning red with blood.

The guy, exhausted and slightly shaking from what he had experienced, returned to the hospital without telling anyone the story. There, unpleasant news awaited him. Sato and Kyudai were standing near Akiko's ward. He looked into the ward, but there was no one there.

-Where is she?!

Having made sure that there was no one nearby, Kyudai closed the doors of the ward from the inside.

- I checked the cameras, she jumped out of the window and ran towards the bus stop.

- The third floor is right there. - Taiko calmed down. - How did we miss her awakening?

- Looks like Johnny* got sick and knocked over the jar with Queen Bee. Anyway, she escaped and seems to have settled in Akiko's body.

Taiko rubbed his temple.

Sato beat Taiko to it - Sensei will arrive at the hospital soon. His plans often change and some things can change.

Taiko said - We need to find her before she does something unnecessary. If the heroes and the police catch her, then we will miss her and Queen Bee forever. - Taiko was ready to act. Kyudai pressed a special button that was always with him and looped the hospital cameras. - Old man, punish Johnny, prepare him before Sensei arrives.

He only twitched his mustache in submission and went into his office, inside of which was a secret passage to the laboratory.

***

Running from street to street in a hospital gown, Akiko did not understand what was happening. Some passersby avoided her and were ready to call the police. The Queen Bee had only recently merged into a single consciousness and Akiko's personality had transferred to her. She looked at the reflection of the counter and saw a hole in the eye, inside which bees were swarming. So far, she did not remember Taiko, and her memories were fragmented. The first person she remembered was...

-Mom, I'm coming.

The smell of pheromones of a stronger predator was felt from the direction of the hospital and pushed her as far away as possible. The Queen felt an instinctive fear of hornets and their...King.

***

-Where could she go... -Taiko received a balaclava and black gloves from Sato, after pressing the button under the steering wheel, the car's license plates disappeared into the inside pocket of the car. -So that's how you work. Let's stop by her house.

-Got it. -Sato also put on a mask. -I hope you understand what we're going to do.

-Don't hesitate because of my age.

-I still can't believe how much you've changed in a year.

-Now we're all in the same boat. And if the heroes come for us, they'll grab us all without exception.

They stopped abruptly at the house.

-Maybe you'll sit here and I'll do everything?

-No.

-See the door to the house wide open?

-Yeah.

Taiko opened the car door, looking down the street, he didn't see anyone. The boy knew that Akiko's psychological state could be unstable because of the Queen Bee, which he was very afraid of.

Taiko ran into the house. Hiding in the hallway, he looked around the corner into the hall. Both parents and Akiko were sitting with their backs to him, watching the flickering TV. Only after carefully approaching, Taiko saw that the TV was flickering with a gray screen that did not show channels. Only now did he notice how bees were crawling over his parents' bodies.

"Akiko..." Taiko whispered quietly. In response, the heads of both parents fell back, revealing empty eye sockets and mouths from which bees were crawling out.

"Go away." - the girl was afraid of hurting someone else.

"Akiko, it's me. Look at me!" - Taiko took off his mask. He slowly approached and gently stroked her hair.

"Don't look! I-I killed my parents. My bees... it's all them... - Taiko saw her tear-stained face and the eye from which the bees were coming out. He sat down on the floor and leaned against her knees. Her tear-stained eye noticed strong changes in Taiko, a little more mature, with a couple of minor scars, hinting at a difficult history this year. - A-are you not afraid?

- As for me, your bees are cute. - Taiko smiled sincerely, stroking one of the bees. Since the bees' mind is collective, they all felt friendliness. The bees marked him with their pheromones so that in the future they would sense their approach and friendly nature. He even slightly felt their scent, wondering if he imagined it. Only now did he notice that the bees had some kind of reservoir in their abdomen. - Don't be afraid, now I'm with you. - Akiko burst into tears and hugged him abruptly.

She hadn't yet figured out that the Hornet King's pheromones were released only when his quirk was activated. Now Taiko is not quite on friendly terms with his quirk and can neither comprehend nor accept HIS NATURE completely.

A minute later, Sato got nervous and was about to grab his gun, but as soon as he saw the girl holding Taiko's hand coming out of the house, he calmed down. Taiko sat Akiko in the car and whispered to Sato:

- There are two corpses there. - which caused another headache for Sato.

- Okay, get in. - Sato mumbled with a sigh.

The house was probably valuable to Akiko. Returning to the car, Akiko lay down on Taiko's lap, symbolizing that she would not let him go. He didn't mind.

Sato glanced questioningly at Taiko.

- I'll try to solve everything, but now, please don't create any more problems. Go that way and you'll come out to the hospital. All the best.

- Thank you. - On the way back, they walked along the forest, Akiko grabbed his hand and didn't want to let go. Now the only support in her life was Taiko, the only one with whom the Queen Bee felt calm.

- I don't want to go to the hospital...

- I promise, no one will harm you. I will grind into dust those who offend you.

His words sounded incredibly firm and confident, filled with boundless power, as if he could raze mountains to the ground. Taiko shared his confidence with her, thanks to this, her control over the swarm of bees became better.

In the end, Taiko led her through a secret passage in the forest, and they came to the laboratory. They were met by Kyudai.

- What... Taiko? Why did you bring her here?

-Don't even think about nomification. - the mad scientist was already happy, but his mustache quickly returned to its previous position. He answered through a grumble:

-And what are you planning to do? It won't work to place her in the lab, it's not designed as a living area.

-Hmm... Let's wait for Sensei, and then we'll decide.

-He shouldn't be bothered with this trivial matter, and it's better for you not to stand out, so that he doesn't think of anything. Now you look alike. In any case, she needs to be left somewhere for the time of Sensei's arrival. For now, let her stay in the hospital.

Akiko continued to be an immature girl and ignorant of adult matters. Taiko always seemed smarter to her than the others.

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