The Loser | by Isaac7525

The carriage continued forward on the road without any major delays. Outside, the trio could see that the snow had calmed down even more than before, slightly alleviating any concerns they had. Aizawa's fingers rapped against his knee as he slightly stirred in his seat. Olivia seemed to take notice of this, resting a hand on the latter's lap and offering him a small smile. 

"I'm sure he's at the house. Trust me."

Hearing the woman's reassuring words, Aizawa felt the contortions in his stomach gradually dissipate. Leaning back in his seat in the carriage, he sunk his head into the soft cushioned headrest and slowly let out a long, deep sigh. 

Mr. Ryujin had remained silent the entire trip. He didn't take out a romance novel he kept snagged in his pocket. Instead, his attention was fixated on the bloodied journal entries. Those three horrific sentences continued resounding in his mind, stirring up his focus.

"But what if he's not?" He asked, looking up at the duo. He let out a low wince as a jab from Olive to his hip silently scolded him for asking such a question. 

"You'll worry him," Olivia reprimanded the man, shooting him a glance as sharp as a knife. 

"Right, sorry," Mr. Ryujin scratched the back of his neck as he gazed out the window.

Suddenly, the three of them were sent forward by the carriage screeching to a halt. The horses leading them let out loud, fear-stricken sounds as if seeing something terrifying. The three of them all felt a pang of curiosity, which caused Olivia to stand up in the carriage and gaze out the front.

"There's…people?" Her eyes widened as she gazed upon the peculiar scene with an unsettled expression.

Numerous men all clad in matching white uniforms were sitting in the middle of the road, their pupils glazed over as if in a daze. Olivia watched the scene for a few more seconds before ducking back down.

"C'mon," She opened the carriage's side door and jumped down into the snow-covered road. Aizawa and Mr. Ryujin exchanged glances and tacitly agreed to follow her.

The duo left the carriage and approached Olivia, who had turned to observe the men. Mr. Ryujin put a hand on his hip, his black tail slowly swishing back and forth as he asked a question. 

"Why aren't they moving?"

Aizawa remained silent as he took a few steps forward. His gaze remained vigilant as he scanned the rooftops for any indication of an outside force. 

Olivia and Mr. Ryujin both watched him, their bodies frozen as if struck over with fear. They watched as Aizawa knelt down in front of a man with a stubble and a few missing teeth, which weren't hard to find, as they were lying on the ground around his body like trophies.

Suddenly, Aizawa's eyes widened upon seeing the familiar glaze in his eyes. "Brainwashing."

The duo remained silent, but the air around them, and the way their expressions changed told Aizawa of their reaction to such information. 

"This is Shinso's doing."

"Shinso, the purple-haired boy?" Olivia asked, her eyes widening slightly. She had known the boy possessed a quirk, but she never knew that it was capable of. 

Aizawa nodded with a solemn expression. "I don't know why he'd do this, or why he was out at this time of night in such bad weather, but I'll ask him after we find Isaac…and Shinso"

He suddenly turned back to the coach driver and cocked an eyebrow. "What's the primary source of law enforcement in this kingdom?"

"The Pollinators. They work for the church of Mother Nature." He replied, his gaze vigilant as he too was studying the unsettling scene.

"Tatsama," Aizawa addressed the man with the dragon quirk. Mr. Ryujin looked towards him and nodded his head.

"Get directions to their headquarters and inform them."

He then focused his attention back to Olivia. "According to the map we're not that far from the house. We can walk from here."

"No problem," Olivia said with a small smile. 

The duo began walking forward, but they were halted by the sudden yell of the carriage driver. 

"You forgot to pay!"

At that moment, Aizawa let out a low groan, his fingers rubbing his glabella as he turned around. 

"Unfortunately, I don't have any money."

Hearing his reply, the carriage driver's brows furrowed. His hand on the whip tightened slightly as he gritted his teeth. 

"Y'damn bastards."

With a sudden thrust, he swung the item in Aizawa's direction. The man was instantly taken aback as he weaved away from the attack. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Olivia shouted, her brows curling as she too clenched her fists. 

"I'm not a charity driver; I'm a money-maker!" He cried out. 

The man's logic made Olivia even more angry. She assertively stepped forward towards the carriage. 

"That's not an excuse to harm a pedestrian!" The woman swiftly extended her hand and snatched the whip from him, causing him to yelp as the action sent him forward onto the ground. He landed on the snow-covered pavement and rubbed his rear end at the impact.

Aizawa took a step forward, planting a foot on his chest. "My friend would now like some directions. Maybe on the way we can file for your arrest."

"Arrest?" At that moment, he exploded into hysterical laughter. 

"People here don't get arrested, most of em' are either punished or sent to the asylum to rot away!" 

"Sent to the asylum?" Aizawa was suddenly taken aback by his words. 

"Yeah, dummy," The man scowled at Aizawa, before spitting upwards at him, only for it to land back on his cheek. 

"Those who are mentally wack are sent there, and never seen again."

"Whatever," Feeling uncomfortable from the interaction, Aizawa quickly changed the subject. 

"Now," His foot pressed down a little harder on the carriage driver's chest, causing him to inhale sharply. 

"Where can we find the Pollinators?"

"313 Mindun Street! The largest cathedral in the city as far as the eye can see!" He blurted out, the air struggling to leave mouth due to the pressure. 

Satisfied with the answer, Aizawa relented his grip and stepped back. "We're still having you arrested. Not having money is one thing, but causing injury for it is another offense."

Olivia turned to Aizawa, her gaze occasionally flickering back to the man. She leaned in closer, her voice a low whisper. 

"Shouldn't we restrain him?"

Aizawa scratched his chin before nodding. His gaze flickered over to the whip on the ground. Its thong of the object was made of a thick rope-like material. 

He looked towards Olivia one more time before nodding. Aizawa slowly approached the whip and picked it up, shooting one more glance at the man. 

"Hold still."

…

Shinso remained frozen beside Oboro. Florence's dead body in the hallway had already strangely experienced signs of rot and decay. Shinso placed his hands over his mouth, breathing in deeply as he hyperactively scanned his surroundings for danger. 

Sweat was beaming down his body. If it were a different situation, one might think he was standing out in one-hundred degree weather. Oboro too remained silent, but he only held his mouth with one hand. The other was slowly reaching for the dagger he held in his coat pocket. 

"Should we keep moving?" Oboro whispered as he found the weapon. 

"And risk ending up like her? Hell no!" Shinso's voice raised slightly, trying his best not to attract unwanted attention.

The entirety of the house was eerily silent, aside from the shaky breathing of the duo. Shinso and Oboro remained still in their spots, though the urge to move to a more secluded spot and seek less danger was slowly creeping up on them. 

The arousal in their lower regions hadn't dissipated at all, instead, it only seemed to grow the longer their positions were vulnerable. His face was already flushed a deep crimson, and his breath was short, but he wasn't sure on how much longer he could endure this before doing something embarrassing to himself. 

"Something is doing this to us," Oboro said in a low voice, his arousal becoming prominent. 

"I-I can't take it anymore," Shinso let out a low groan as he started moving forward, one hand tracing along the edges of the walls in the effort of finding an unlocked room. 

Oboro remained silent as a mouse, moving beside Shinso as he attempted to find a room to hide inside alongside him. Suddenly, Shinso felt a small alcove in the hallway, followed by the feeling of a small round object. 

Shinso trusted his instincts, immediately pushing open the door and slammed it shut behind them. In the dim illumination of the crimson moon filtering through the window, Oboro pressed his body against the door and held it back with all of his energy in hopes they wouldn't get caught. 

"Find something to seal it shut while we plan." Oboro let out a strained whisper, the arousal in his pants seemed to be slowly disappearing since they weren't in the hallway anymore, but the effects still lingered to the extent of residual changes. 

Shinso nodded vigilantly, stepping forward. When he turned his head, he suddenly collided with something hard. This impact sent him back onto the floor, his hand darting to his head in an attempt to manually alleviate the injury. 

When his eyes adjusted to the darkness once more, he caught sight of something horrifying. A man with neatly combed black hair, a monocle, and a gold-trimmed suit was ensnared by thin strands of something he couldn't properly decipher. 

His mouth was left agape, and his head was slacked to the side. The man's eyes were wide open, the pupils petrified with stone-cold fear. His arms and legs were spread out like an eagle, except his elbows and knees were broken, snapped forward in brutal fashion.

Some of these thin strands penetrated spots on his body such as his neck and hands, and warm, crimson blood slowly leaked where the injuries were inflicted. His gold-trimmed suit was in tatters, some of the garments were on the floor, but what took Shinso aback the most was his lack of pants and undergarments. 

He felt his stomach twist into a knot upon seeing the next thing. His genitals had been completely removed, a bloody, gore-filled hole was left where they had been torn off directly from the body. 

Thinking of such an event made Shinso grow nauseous. His face paled as a cold sweat broke out on his body. With trembling hands, he reached for the window and opened it in time for the torrent of vomit to leave his mouth and fall into the snow below. 

Oboro too observed the grisly scene, but he appeared more collected then Shinso. 

"What do you think happened to him?" He asked in a low voice. 

"T-that thing that killed Florence probably got to him too," Shinso gagged, letting out a dry gag out the window as he stumbled back again. The urge to protect his lower regions had now grown to an extreme extent, his grip now vice-like around them as he gazed towards Oboro. 

"Why…take them though?" He pointed towards the bloodied area in between the man's legs. 

"I don't know. But what I do know is that if Isaac is here, he most likely—"

A sharp slap from Shinso halted Oboro from finishing his sentence. In the faint light of the crimson moon outside, he could see the tears gathering in the corners of Shinso's eyes. 

"Don't you dare say that!" He shouted. 

A cold, bitter sensation rushed over Shinso as he immediately covered his mouth with his hands. In the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow dart past them, rushing to another corner of the room. Shinso's body remained frozen, though it carried a slight tremble to it as he awaited his fate.

The boy's heart sank to the depths of his body the moment he heard a guttural feminine chuckle sound behind him.