Chapter 15: Now There Are Two of Them Part 2
"Do I know you?"
Tenko crosses his hands in front of him and starts to tap a few commands on the screen attached to his forearm without looking. No, he will not be thanking Gran for making sure he knows most of them by heart.
Shigaraki's maddening grin spreads more and more across her face before finally, she slumps, her smile falling to a frown while giving him an almost casual shrug. "No…I guess after all these years, we really wouldn't know each other, would we?"
He shakes his head. "Pretty sure you're having your cutscene with the wrong player." He looks around. A few scattered villains keep their distance. Misty guy and bird man watch on but do nothing.
Something's wrong. You don't ever just skip to the final boss like this. Usually, when the boss confronts someone like this, it's to intimidate the player and kill one of their party mem-
Nope, not even gonna entertain that. He's not some NPC that's just gonna get thrown aside during his first raid. But he can't tell anything about her quirk!
No mutations or costume hints to give him anything. But something about her outfit nags at the back of his head…
"Don't worry." Shigaraki's voice pulls him back. She's angling her head back at her minions. "They're not gonna do anything." She smiles but there's no happiness behind it. "I wanted to keep this in the family, you know?"
"I know you made intelligence your dump stat," Tenko spats back.
Shigaraki actually laughs. "See? That right there! That's video game stuff, right? When'd you get so obsessed with those?" She stretches one of her arms across her body, hooking her other arm just under the elbow. "I'm more of a movie gal myself. You see the new hero movie from America?"
Tenko makes sure his HUD sensors are calibrated. They are. "You're stalling."
She wags her finger at him. "Not a bad assumption but nope! C'mon, I'm trying to get to know you! Did you see the movie? It wasn't bad but there were too many jokes and they totally wasted the villain."
The decay user just barely stops himself from agreeing. God, she's annoying.
Shigaraki inhales deeply. "Sorry, just been looking forward to seeing you again," she says in a low voice before clapping her hands. "Alright, let's do this! I'll even let you make the first move." She gestures at him.
Part of him wants to question her but Tenko wasn't about to let her foregoing initiative go to waste. Without waiting any longer, he drops a pellet on the ground, blanketing them both in a smokescreen.
"So you're not a frontal attack kinda guy," he hears her call from somewhere in the smoke. "I respect that. Oh, I'm learning so much about you!"
Tenko doesn't have the best dexterity so his stealth stat suffers from it before the cover of smoke really helps. His HUD automatically adapts letting him see through the cover right where Shigaraki is. She hadn't moved, she was just standing there waving her arms back and forth with a smile on her face.
Hopefully, he won't ever have to find out what her quirk is. He turns up the tasing function on his gloves a little higher than they normally go while getting behind her. 'Gotta make sure this knocks her out.'
He waits for her to turn her head the other way before lunging at her back, hands outstretched-
Only to collide with a blue barrier surrounding Shigaraki. Tenko lets the electricity surge, gritting his teeth while he tries to push through, but nothing.
For her part, Shigaraki giggles while turning around. "You like my quirk? I wanted to make sure no one, especially you, could ever attack me from behind again."
The barrier creates a surge of its own and it blasts Tenko back, the repulsors on his shoes the only thing keeping him from falling. He looks up as Shigaraki leisurely walks out of the smoke.
She smirks at him, raising her arm and creating a fast spinning disk made of energy that was slightly bigger than her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the disk is flung at him and Tenko doesn't need his HUD to tell him to dodge.
"Good!" She sounds excited. "I would've been really disappointed if that hit you."
His sensors scream at him and Tenko barely dives to the ground in time before the disc goes soaring over him like the world's most dangerous boomerang. Shigaraki returns the disk to herself and with a wave of her hand, it vanishes.
"Hey! What about Godzillo's last movie? You know, when they had that new version of Mecha-Godzillo? Is that something you'd like?" She tilts her head and if she wasn't trying to kill them all, he'd think she was genuinely interested.
"Shut up!" Tenko's shoes launch him at Shigaraki and he lands on one knee in front of her, one hand on the ground while he drives his fist to her midsection-
Only to be met by another barrier.
"Aren't video games supposed to make people more creative?" She taunts.
To her surprise, he returns her taunting smile. "They do." She follows his eyes to his hand on the ground. The glove had retracted, freeing his fingers and decaying the ground around her.
He lifts his hand and Shigaraki stumbles, the ground around her crumbling and making her lose her footing. Her shield falls.
'She failed her concentration check!' Tenko opens his punching hand and channels the power from his shoes into his glove. Shigaraki only has time to widen her eyes before a blast of repulsor energy from Tenko's glove throws her a few meters back, sending her sprawling on the ground.
He doesn't waste any time, switching configurations and chasing after Shigaraki, Tenko sprays her down with instant hardening foam hoping to seal her to the ground.
Before he can finish, Shigaraki laughs and her foam prison explodes causing Tenko to back up, wiping debris from his eyes. "I underestimated you!" She doesn't have to sound so damn happy about it.
She creates a disc about half the size of her body and with a leap, she hurls it at him, the projectile now even faster than the last one.
Tenko doesn't even think, closing his fist, he creates a small shield made out of the same tech as his gloves and shoes. He barely gets it up in time before the disc collides with him, knocking the wind out of him and pushing the boy back a few centimeters.
With a yell, Tenko shoves the disc away, only to have to spin to the side before Shigaraki can bring a second equally sized disc attached to her hand down on top of him. "Oh, you're fast!"
Seeing the barrier protecting her backside, he gets an idea. Jumping at her, he retracts both sets of gloves and slams all ten fingers on her shield.
Immediately, the shield reacts violently. Constantly fizzing out before coming back, only to reconstruct itself again. Shigaraki's smile that she had worn throughout the fight morphs into a snarl as she raises both of her hands. In the corner of his vision, Tenko notices both the discs that had been attacking him disappear.
"You can only focus on so many things at once, can't you?" Tenko analyzes.
"Should've figured you'd think you're so smart after being pampered by the heroes your whole life." She snaps. "What's wrong? Haven't decayed enough little girls in your life?!"
Tenko jumps back as if he'd been burned, memories racing through his mind.
"Wait, don't go!"
Five-year-old Tenko chased after his big sister, Hana. He doesn't know what's happening! What villain was attacking them?! "Help me!" is the last thing he said to his sister before he grabbed her and she decayed away in his hands…
Shigaraki punching him in the face and toppling onto the ground rips Tenko from his flashback. "H-h-how…how do you know about that?…" the blue-haired boy rubs his jaw with his left hand and he doesn't even know when his right hand started to scratch his neck.
The villain looks herself over. "I know I look a bit more put together than the last time you saw me but…" she switches to a more innocent voice. "Don't you recognize me, little brother?"
Tenko's mind goes blank before a charge of disbelief restarts him. "Liar!" He's charging back at her shield instantly, fingers outstretched to decay it before suddenly, the shield drops. On instinct, Tenko covers his hand with his glove again and tries to stop himself, tripping on his own feet in the process.
Shigaraki moves out of the way and he feels a fist collide with the back of his head, sending him face first back into the ground.
"Don't be dumb, Shimura." Tenko involuntarily flinches while getting to his hands and knees. Shigaraki stops right next to him. "You don't like being called Shimura?"
"No…" he tries to shake away the memories threatening to burst. "I don't deserve it."
Tenko looks up, expecting some fury of emotions but is surprised when instead, Shigaraki's face is subdued, almost pensive. For an attack, it's eerily silent around them, the only sound being Shigaraki's cape flapping in the wind. "You…care about what you did?"
He can't respond before Shigaraki yells in frustration, crashing the flat side of one of her discs against his face. He grunts in pain but can't fall before Shigaraki grabs his collar and sits him up on his knees.
"NO! You don't get to pretend!" She shrieks in his face. "To-to pretend to care now that I'm a threat!" She backs up, breathing heavily.
"I…I don't know you…" Tenko wheezes.
"That's hurtful," Shigaraki says. Some of her playful tone and a small smile returning. "All I ever wanted to do was cheer you on, Tenko."
Dammit, another flashback.
His father's study. A picture of a hero. It was supposed to be a secret but they had found it. Their grandma was a hero! And he was going to be one too! And Hana would be next to him…
"I'm cheering you on, Tenko!"
Tenko's eyes bulge. "No…t-that's…t-t-that's…" he can't get enough air in his lungs to get the words out. That's impossible! Hana is dead! He saw it happen! Hana was-no! IS! Hana IS dead.
But then…how does she know things only Hana would…
"You're starting to accept it," Ha-Shigaraki states it as a fact. "Don't worry Shimura, I'll protect you like a big sister should." She holds her hand out and one of her barriers encircles him completely.
"I want to show you a neat trick," she answers the confused look on his face. "I have a lot of control over these."
Tenko ignores the twist of her hand. 'Alright, she's just trying to use confusion on me and I will not be hurting myself in my confusion! Just gotta take a breath and-'
Wait…
He takes a breath…but then he doesn't. There's no air filling his lungs. He can't breathe. She made her barrier dense enough to not let air through?! He's choking!
In a panic, Tenko looks around frantically while his hands clutch his throat, which is still trying to take in air in vain.
"Your pain." Han-Shigaraki relishes the word. "Is only just starting…"
Tears start to well up in his eyes, his throat is burning. Tenko isn't sure how much more he can take. His body keeps trying to involuntarily bring air into his lungs but every time, it fails and it hurts.
But, he isn't even sure it's real at first, he sucks in a breath and it works! Air had never tasted so good. His lungs fill with oxygen, clearing Tenko's head.
He realizes her barrier is gone and is only able to get a glimpse of Hana's shocked face before a very familiar scarf wraps her up and a fist collides with her face, making her go limp.
"Aizawa!" Tenko exclaims. It's then he realizes his sensei's quirk is active and he has both Shigaraki and Kurogiri in his sight, explaining how he could breathe.
"Get up the stairs with the others, Tenko, now," his teacher tells him, not taking his eyes off the villains. The blue-haired boy didn't need to be told twice! He scurries up to his feet. It was ok now. Aizawa was here which means combat was over and they can get their epilogue cutscene.
At least he thought so until Hana starts to laugh.
"Hey, Midoriya?"
"Yeah, Kaminari?"
"Do you think our dads are proud?"
He's probably asking since the Kurse had just finished yeeting them both through the second floor of an office building and now they laid on top of broken supplies and debris.
"Hey, Kaminari?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
His new-found cousin can't stop himself from breaking into giggles and darn it, it's infectious because Izuku does too.
"Alright alright." Kaminari groans, getting back on his feet before holding his hand out. "Here."
"You regen faster than me?" Izuku asks, eyeing Kaminari's injuries before letting the other boy pull him up. "That's not fair."
"Yup. Got a little enhanced strength and speed from my dad too. Not to mention his dashing good looks." Kaminari dramatically flips his hair back for effect.
"I can literally turn into anyone," Izuku deadpans, balancing himself on his own two feet.
Kaminari hums. "Okay, that is really cool," he concedes. "Your clones are still distracting it?"
Izuku shakes his head. "Not for long. And I checked, he doesn't have a black hole grenade on him. That's how our dads beat the one they fought."
"…shit."
Izuku can't help but agree.
The roar from down on the street catches both of their attention. "We're almost out of time," Izuku says urgently. "How's your storm manipulation?"
"It's scary how much you know about my powers." Kaminari tries to lighten the situation. "And I got the basics down."
"Okay, well…" Izuku looks back and forth between the hole in the wall they flew through and Kaminari. "We don't have to beat it, just keep it busy until help comes…hopefully…make some storms and batter it around. I'll keep the decoys up."
Kaminari nods, spinning Thunderstrike in his hand while the boys run to the hole in the wall and look down, seeing the Kurse destroying another clone. "Cowards!" It shrieks.
The Kurse holds its hands up to its face when the wind picks up, starting to slowly push it back. Random lightning strikes the creature, pushing him back further.
Izuku sends another batch of clones of himself and Kaminari and like he hoped, every time the Kurse attempts to swipe at one of his illusions, it throws off the center of balance of the creature, pushing him back even more.
"We keep this up and maybe we can-"
"There you are!" Izuku is interrupted by the Kurse looking up and right at them. Against the storm, it roars and digs its hands into the street, ripping up a huge slab of concrete and before either boy can do anything, the Kurse chucks it right at them.
"And we are out of time!" Kaminari grabs him and jumps out of the hole right before the slab hits them.
They both hit the street rolling hard. The slab impacts the building creating a dust cloud as it did so. "I'll stall him and then you hit him with some supercharged lightning, got it?" Izuku hisses to his companion, who gives him an affirmative.
Before the dust settles, glowing green lines cover Izuku and when they fade, a Dark Elf kneels in his place. But the elf Izuku had turned himself into was different, only one he had seen in his grandfather's book. His armor was more decorated with symbols and he had no mask, giving a clear view of his pale pointed face, ears, and bald head. He had turned himself into Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves.
"Start charging," Izuku says in the deep, almost distorted voice of the elf king before walking out.
The Kurse roars in anticipation but stops when he sees who walks out of the dust. "My lord?" It's almost funny to see something so big walk up to him with so much hesitance. "It is you?"
Trying to remember everything he was told, Izuku keeps it simple. "Kneel."
And the Kurse does, he kneels, head down, with no hesitance. Oh, his dad would probably be ecstatic if he saw that.
"Did you see that?! He got him to kneel to him!" Loki points at the screen, laughing happily. "He's taking after me more and more! That's my Izuku!"
"You are embarrassing us," Maw says, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Loki turns to him, a giant orange foam finger that says 'Izuku #1' on his hand. "I don't know what you could possibly mean."
He sees Kaminari sneaking up on the side but he can't let this chance go. "I have been away a long time. Are you the last?"
"No, my lord! No!" Izuku has to swallow his fears. The Kurse sounds so happy. "We gather our strength! The Mad Titan allows us to spread our darkness to half the people of every planet we invade!"
It takes everything he has to remain neutral, almost uncaring as he thinks Malekith would act. "And where do our forces lie?"
The Kurse nods eagerly. "We have set base on Lamentis-1." He looks up. "To think you have-" he stops, eyes narrowing. "My king…" The creature slowly stands. "How did you heal the face wound the Thunder God gave you?"
Oh…OH! Well, Uncle Thor never mentioned that little detail when talking about the dark elves. Guess it's now or never.
"Now!" Izuku yells, turning back into himself. Kaminari shouts and drives Thunderstrike forward, casting a huge bolt of lightning that strikes the Kurse in the chest. It yells in surprise, bringing its arms up to try and shield itself.
Izuku stores the information he learned for later, he's gotta make sure to let his dad know but right now, it's time to take advantage.
The greenette slides by the Kurse's leg, grabbing it to stop and bring himself to his knees. They're never gonna be able to actually stop this thing, but hopefully, they can slow it down!
Conjuring his daggers, Izuku stabs the creature several times in the back of his legs. The ankles, shins, back of the knees, he slashes anywhere he can think to stop it from walking.
A low growl catches his attention and he looks up to see the elf glaring at him. His stabbing hadn't affected it at all…
"You dared to impersonate my king!" The Kurse slams his foot into Izuku's chest hard, causing the boy to cry out. He feels something crack inside him before being sent flying down the street.
"Midoriya!" The Dark Elf is on Kaminari before he can do anything else, the blonde just barely dodges a swipe before hitting his opponent in the stomach as hard as he could with Thunderstrike, letting loose a miniature shockwave.
But to his horror, the Kurse just cackles at his attempt. "Feeble." As if to prove his point, Kaminari is swat away like he was a bug, landing close to Izuku.
"Your corpses will make excellent decorations." Kaminari looks up, blood leaking from his mouth, eyes not completely in focus. The elf chuckles and raises his fist but stops when Izuku, mustering up some of his leftover strength, jumps onto the Kurse's shoulders from behind. The creature just now realizing the Izuku next to Kaminari was a decoy.
"Don't touch him!" Izuku brings his dagger down as hard as he can through the eyehole of the elf's mask, a sickening squelch reaching all their ears. But again, the Kurse doesn't react.
"You are entertaining at the very least." He reaches up and grabs Izuku's arm, a sharp crack making the green-haired howl in pain once more, but is quickly cut off when he's slammed onto the street.
"N-!" Kaminari can't even finish his exclamation before Izuku is thrown into him and both boys are sent flying again. He doesn't think he'll ever be able to admit how thankful he was for Kaminari hugging him close in the air and taking the brunt of their landing.
As quickly as he could, Izuku creates a dozen copies of his friend to distract the Kurse for even a minute so they could breathe.
"I.." Kaminari is panting. "I think…we need a bit more practice on this-on this team part." He tries to laugh but groans holding his side.
"You should go," Izuku says, lifting himself on his good arm. "Get Koda and get out of here. I can keep it busy with my clones and stuff while you make sure everyone gets out of here."
"No way, man," Kaminari says with a lot more certainty than he was speaking with before. "I'm not leaving you with that thing."
"Just listen-"
"Dude." Izuku promptly loses his retort. Kaminari's reply and it being in Asgardian no less, take him off guard.
"You're as hard-headed as your dad…" judging by the smile, he took that as a compliment. Is this why his dad stabbed Uncle Thor all the time? He's starting to see the appeal. "But I'm not sure what we can do against…"
"I know right?! We need someone like All Might to even put a dent in him!" Kaminari moans.
"Yeah someone like…" Izuku jolts. "I think I got it! I know what we can do! How's your flying?!"
Kaminari glances between him and Thunderstrike, looking unsure. "Um…define flying?"
"It'll be just like flying!"
"Your attempts to reassure me are welcoming, Dark Shadow, but I do believe we have different definitions of flight!" Tenya chops his arms as best he could on top of the sinking boat.
"Perhaps we can table this discussion for a later date?" Tokoyami's usual stoic voice has a sense of insistence in it while he secures himself to Tenya's back.
"Of course, if you are ready, Tokoyami?" Iida stands on one side of the boat, lowering himself into a runner's stance.
"The villains make that mute." As if to emphasize his point, the boat rocks again from another attack.
Iida takes a breath while his engines roar to life. 'I had hoped to save this until the sports festival but that doesn't matter when lives are at stake!' The engines explode as Tenya screams, "Reciproburst!"
Before Tokoyami can process anything, Tenya is across the ship, planting his feet on the railing and jumping as hard as he can.
The two teenagers are launched into the air, sailing over the water. "Now!" Dark Shadow intertwines herself around Tenya's leg and he spins midair for only a couple of seconds before catapulting Tokoyami and Dark Shadow even further ahead.
"Go, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami calls out.
"I got this!" The quirk races back over and grabs Tenya and drags him back just in time for the two to land at the edge of the Flood Zone. "Wow! If we're being honest, I didn't think that would work."
Both panting boys only have time to throw her a glare before a splash interrupts them. "You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you!" One of the villains had already made his way to where they were and had jumped out of the water at them. "Nice t-urk!"
A grey scarf tugs the man out of the air and into the waiting fist of Aizawa-sensei who downs him instantly. "All of you get back up to the main entrance, now!" Two more villains yelp as Aizawa rips them from the water with his capture weapon and batters them together.
Tenya looks around his teacher to see Ojiro kneeling next to Asui who had mostly submerged herself in the water, along with Yaoyorozu and Jiro who stood behind him on land, and looked worried.
"We got out of the Conflagration Zone at the same time they were leaving the Mountain Zone." Ojiro gestures to the girls. "We saw you guys land and came over."
"Thank you for everything, Ojiro. Ribbit," Asui says, getting back on her shaky feet.
"It was nothing."
"Sensei!" Aizawa spins around after sending another villain flying to see where Jiro is pointing. Tenya gasps at the sight in the central plaza. Shimura is on his knees in front of Shigaraki, and it doesn't look good.
After making sure the rest of the water villains were still a far way off, Aizawa sprints toward the main villains. "Yaoyorozu! You're in charge! Get everyone back to the main entrance!" He calls out behind him.
All the teenagers look toward their vice-representative who looks uncertain for a moment, looking out over the facility before making a decision and hardening her resolve. "We are going to do what Aizawa-sensei wants us to do!…however, with a slight detour."
"With all due respect!" Tenya chops. "Aizawa-sensei told us to head back to the entrance!"
"I think…" Yaoyorozu looks even more hesitant than before. "I believe if our class rep was here, he would say something to the effect of, sensei never said we had to head there first…"
Tenya's mouth can't decide if it wants to zip shut or hang open so it alternates.
She points to the area across from them. "We have everyone from the mountain, conflagration, and flood zones. We'll go across and stop at the landslide and ruins zones, picking up our classmates, before making our way back to the main entrance. We will drop off any injured and the rest will proceed and help whosoever is in the downpour zone. Any objections?"
"Shouldn't we split up so we can get to the people in the downpour zone faster?" Asui asks, putting a finger to her mouth.
Yaoyorozu shakes her head. "We are a small group and I am afraid if we split, even in half, we will not have the numbers necessary to help any of our classmates in their respective zones. I believe this way, we can proceed the fastest. Are we agreed?"
"Yes!"
Shigaraki's laugh is high and shrill, her whole body shakes inside the capture weapon. "You think you're gonna get away that easy, Shimura! Nomu!" It happens in a blink. Hana is free and the monster has Aizawa up in the air before slamming him face first into the ground.
The man tries to free himself but it only results in the Nomu slamming him down again.
"Well? You were the one the heroes chose to save? What are you gonna do?" Shigaraki taunts. "Surely, they gave you some lessons while they babied and coddled you. I bet they told you things like it wasn't your fault and you shouldn't blame yourself!"
She raises her hand. "Well news flash, Shimura!" Her voice gets low and laced with venom. "I blame you. For all of it!" Hana drops her arm and with a stomach curling-crunch, Nomu twists Aizawa's arm, breaking it and causing a muffled scream to erupt from the man.
"Stop!" Hana looks at him curiously. "P-please just stop…Hana…"
To his surprise, she flinches but recovers quickly. "So you believe me?"
"I'm not sure…" Tenko says hesitantly. "But if somehow it really is you…I don't know how you've respawned…but if it's worth anything…I'm sorry. For killing you. For mom and everyone, I'm sorry Hana so please…don't hurt sensei 'cuz you're mad at me."
Hana's face switches to disgust. "My name is Hirona now. And you think you can fix everything with a sorry? Killing me? Everything he did to me over the years?!"
She actually laughs a little. "No, you can't. And how noble of you, I bet you want me to hurt you instead, hm? Well, no worries there little brother. We're gonna fight, I'm gonna hurt you and when I feel better, then I'm going to kill you."
She makes a disc that's almost as big as her. "Shall we begin?" Tenko quickly types the command into his system. He's got another surprise for her and hopefully, it'll give him an advantage in the fight.
Hana hurls the weapon and Tenko jumps, the repulsors in his shoes activating to give him enough lift to get over the blade but this time, he doesn't come down.
He uses a few short repulsor bursts from his hands to orient himself but after, he's left high in the air above everyone else, held up by the repulsors in his feet.
"So you can fly now too?" Hana asks incredulously.
"The old guy I live with prefers to call it floating!" The bruises on his shins won't let him call it anything else.
The look of excitement on his maybe sister's face does little to help his confidence. "Well sorry, but you're not the only one who can float!" Her disc returns to her and hovers just off the ground in front of her. Hana makes sure to give him another egotistical look before stepping onto the disc like it was a platform and like she said, using it to float up to his level.
"Looks like you got nowhere else to run?" She says in a fake 'I'm feeling sorry for you' voice. "Don't feel too bad! It's just like one of your video games! Except now, it's game over."
A loud BANG from the entrance startles both of them and they look down to see the facility's entrance doors fly off their hinges. "It's fine now. Why?" Tenko nearly falls in relief when he sees All Might step through the doorway, ripping off his tie. "Because I AM HERE!"
"It looks like…" Tenko can't help himself. "We're getting a continue."
Toshinori is angry. No, he's downright furious. Both at himself and the villains for allowing this to happen. But he'll have time to dwell on it and kick himself later. Now? Now he has a job to do.
He moves. In a flash, every villain on the ground in the central plaza is knocked out and he's brought Aizawa back up the stairs. "I'm sorry, Aizawa. I should have been here."
"Just shut up and save the kids." After leaving Aizawa with Uraraka, he looks up to see two figures in the sky. One was young Tenko, making good use of the tech he was given. So the other must be the leader young Ashido described-
Toshinori stops when he gets a good look at her. The hair, the bodysuit, the yellow boots, that white cape…for a brief moment, his mind plays a trick on him and he swears he sees his old master up in the air once again. But it's not…
But then something else happens. Something he's never experienced before. He looks back and forth between young Tenko and the villain when suddenly, One for All pulses inside him.
It's like a ripple that originates from his core and spreads throughout his entire body. And it is cascading with emotions.
He didn't know how, but he knew it had something to do with seeing the two teenagers floating above him. He feels waves of anger, nausea, and even happiness before it is all consumed by despair. One for All ripples again. Don't ask him how, but it's like his quirk is sobbing at the sight before him.
"What's wrong, All Might?" The villain questions, taking a step forward on her platform. "Do I…remind you of someone you know?" Her smile widens. "Or maybe…someone you used to know?"
More images of his dead master clutter his mind, this time he knows where the sadness he feels comes from. The girl above him continues to flash between her and Nana.
The hero doesn't know what's going on, but he knows he's heard enough. With a mighty leap, All Might lunges for the villain, attempting to grab her, but the platform she's on vanishes, causing her to fall and subsequently, dodge his grapple.
Toshinori looks down to see the girl creating small platforms under her feet letting her run down to the ground in a weird sort of 'air walk.' With a flick, he's on the villain again, but a hulking black mass blocks his way.
No matter, the veteran hero winds up and punches the bird man, intending to send him flying (pun most definitely intended) but to his shock, the man doesn't move. Instead, he returns the punch All Might just threw at him, forcing the hero to dodge.
"All Might, meet Nomu! He'll be the one kicking your ass today!" As if spurred by his leader's words, Nomu throws a flurry of punches at him, putting Toshinori on his back foot as he moves to block them.
He jumps back and the Nomu roars, getting set for round 2. But an explosion from the downpour zone grabs everyone's attention as a figure soars out of the zone and to them.
'Wait…' Toshinori realizes. 'That's two figures…'
"You call this control!"
"You can criticize my flying when you learn it yourself!"
Izuku won't take that jab lying down. Even if technically he was laying on Kaminari's back with his good arm around the other boy's neck while the blonde hung onto Thunderstrike with both hands.
It was all he could do while the mace flew them through the air. "Alright, next time, I'll throw Thunderstrike!"
"No way! Get your own magical flying item!"
"But yours is right there!"
"Hey! It's still following us right?!" Kaminari looks around, blatantly ignoring his intelligent argument. Besides, the Kurse roaring and blasting the doors to the downpour zone open seems to be answer enough.
"Aim for Shigaraki!" Izuku tries to point at the villain leader but winces, his arm isn't there yet.
Kaminari leans and sets them on a collision course but a portal appears in front of them, threatening their plan. "I don't think I can avoid it!" Kaminari screams.
Before Izuku can think of anything, a loud clap from the plaza surprises both boys, a clap from All Might who had created a strong rush of air with it aimed right at Kurogiri. The portal man cries out before being blown away, his portal disappearing.
"Kaminari, use Thunderstrike!"
"I'm not a Pokémon!" Kaminari straightens his body when they are near the ground next to Shigaraki. Izuku tightens his hold but his friend shows no discomfort as he swings his weapon at the villain who had put up a shield.
With a loud CRACK! He strikes her shield. Shigaraki screams just as the attack hits and she's sent hurling away.
"Midoriya, use hypnosis!" Oh yeah, he totally gets why his dad stabbed his brother all the time now. But that's for later. For now…
Izuku lets go of Kaminari, trying to stand on his wobbly feet when another green light overtakes him, transforming him into Shigaraki again. "Nomu, to me!" The monster listens, standing in front of her in an instant.
"Young Mido-"
"Nomu!" Izuku ignores the hero, creating an illusion of her normal self next to her. "From now on you will listen to this boy, Izuku Midoriya, and no one else!"
"You brat!" Shigaraki was back. "Kill that kid, Nomu! Kill him now!"
Izuku's not sure when he was moved, it caught him so off guard he had turned back into himself, but one second the Nomu was in front of him, and the next he was standing by All Might.
But to all their astonishment, the Nomu hadn't moved. It just stood there, looking blank as ever. "Nomu! Didn't you hear me?! Kill the green-haired kid!" Shigaraki orders again.
All Might tenses but nothing happens. The confusion is pierced by the shriek of the Kurse who, unlike Nomu, seems to have no qualms about killing Izuku as he comes close for a strike.
A strike that never lands thanks to All Might grabbing the elf's arm. "I am afraid I cannot allow that!" The number one hero ducks the next attack and lands a solid blow to the Kurse's face and finally, even if only a little, the monster staggers.
Of course, that just makes him angrier. After being hit with two more punches, the alien gets ahold of All Might's arm and heaves him away.
Well, All Might could probably use some help, couldn't he? Izuku smirks before speaking.
"Nomu."
The creature turns to him.
Izuku points at the Kurse.
"Smash."
If Nomu could smile, he thinks it just did. With an elated roar, Nomu streaks toward the Kurse, rearing its fist back. At the same time, All Might charges as well, both powerful warriors' fists colliding with the elf's chest at the same time.
The ferocious hit blows Izuku's hair back while the Dark Elf screeches from the impact, which sends it flying away. All Might lands next to the Nomu, eyeing it warily.
"It's ok!" Izuku calls out. "He's on our side now!" For his part, the Nomu ignores All Might and jumps after the Kurse to continue its assault.
"I suppose stranger things have happened!" All Might jumps to continue the fight as well.
"What…" Izuku turns back to Shigaraki, who looks gobsmacked. The sound of fighting now in the background "is happening…"
Izuku chuckles, coughing up a little blood. "What's wrong? Can't handle a little mischief?"
Kurogiri appears next to his boss. "Shigaraki, perhaps we should-"
But she's having none of that. "If it's the last thing I do, kid! I swear-"
"DIE!" An explosion Izuku never thought he'd ever be relieved to hear sounds near them before Kacchan tackles Kurogiri by his metal plate.
"Wha-" Shigaraki can't finish before a tongue wraps around her and throws her to the side and a cascade of ice encases her up to her shoulders.
Kacchan lets off a few small explosions against Kurogiri threateningly. "Move and you die!"
"That's, uh, manly." Kirishima laughs nervously, running up to his friend. "But maybe we should try something a little more heroic?"
"Move and you'll die quickly!" To be honest, that's actually a bit of an improvement in Izuku's opinion.
"Kaminari, I think we're good. You should get Koda." The other magic user nods at him and takes off back to the downpour zone.
Izuku looks up to see most of his classmates now gathered in the plaza with Yaoyorozu walking up to him. "You're hurt." Her quirk is already beginning to glow.
Oh, right. He was still covered in scrapes, had a bloody head, messed up arm, and a leg he couldn't fully stand on. Meh, could've been worse. Izuku shakes his head. "I'm fine. We should-"
"You think this is over!" The ice around Shigaraki explodes with over a dozen flying discs soaring away. Todoroki protects himself and others with walls of ice. Kacchan lets off a few explosions to destroy a few of them but they're too small and fast and he's forced to jump off Kurogiri.
Shigaraki sends a noticeably bigger disc at Tsu, faster than anyone can react. Well, almost anyone. A large blast from the air is heard and Tenko tackles the girl out of the way just in time, the blue-haired boy looking around after as if confused about how he got there.
"Shigaraki, I insist on a tactical retreat." The villain looks livid at her subordinate.
"But I still haven't-" she gasps, barely turning her head to the side to avoid Izuku's throwing knife, which is still able to leave a shallow cut on her cheek, drawing blood.
She glares at him, summoning more discs and Izuku gives her a smug look in return, conjuring more knives. Shigaraki bares her teeth and glances around. Most of his classmates were getting their bearings. All Might had just thrown the Kurse to an airborne Nomu who punched the elf back into the ground.
Dark brown eyes find their way back to Izuku, filled with hate. "You'll pay for today. Kurogiri, let's go. We're done." She's covered in a purple mist and like that, they're both gone.
Izuku releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. That was it then. It was almost over. All that was left was…
The Nomu screeches as it hits the ground next to them, the Kurse on top of the prone monster drilling it with as many punches as he could. The Nomu catches one of its hands in its beak and squeezes down hard, causing several cracks.
The Kurse roars, standing up and lifting the bird creature from where it had clasped itself. The elf tries to pry the Nomu's mouth open but a body slam by All Might sends him tumbling instead.
All Might and the Nomu stand together, staring down the Kurse. "You are all beneath me!" It screams before charging.
The Kurse charges All Might, throwing a wild punch which the hero ducks and retaliates with a hit to his ribs. The elf stumbles toward the Nomu who begins with a powerful backhand to its face.
Stumbling back further, All Might tries to take advantage, going for another punch, but the Kurse catches the fist and hits the hero back hard in the face. Nomu nearly catches him off guard, but the Kurse blocks its next punch with his arm.
While his attention is on the Nomu, All Might is able to land a crushing blow to the elf's back, throwing him off balance, letting Nomu jump in the air and deliver a devastating blow to the Kurse's head, but the alien persists, punching Nomu in the stomach hard enough to send it flying.
Now turning all of its attention to All Might, the Kurse is relentless. Blocking a punch, he rips and gashes at All Might with one hand while continuously punching him back with the other. The number one hero grunts, but holds true even as he spits up blood.
"Fear not…" All Might sets his feet. "For a hero…can always break out of a tough spot!" He puts his arms together and spreads them apart, hitting both of the Kurse's arms, breaking his attack.
All Might doesn't wait, launching a fury of punches so fast that Izuku can't keep up, all he knows is every hit was generating a torrent of wind around them both.
The Kurse roars and tries to set his own feet but before he can, the Nomu returns and mirrors All Might, launching its own plethora of punches too fast to see at the elf's back, the wind has gotten so intense it was knocking students off their feet, but no one can seem to take their eyes off the spectacle.
"I hope you understand these words, villain!" All Might pulls his fist back, as does the Nomu, the air quivers around the hero from the sheer power he's cultivating. "Go Beyond! PLUS ULTRA!"
All Might drives his fist into the Kurse's face at the same time the Nomu roars, driving its own fist into the elf's lower back. There is an explosion of dust and wind and anyone left standing falls and covers their eyes.
When Izuku opens them, All Might stands triumphant. The Nomu holds its hand out and screeches in victory to the sky. The Kurse lay seemingly unconscious on the ground, black smoke leaking from its body.
"We have arrived!" Izuku and the rest of the class turn in time to see Principal Nezu with what looks like the rest of the UA staff behind him. "Create a perimeter around the students and clear the facility of any remaining villains!"
"Yes, sir!"
Izuku hops to his feet in excitement, nearly forgetting his injuries. But they don't forget him. He whimpers and feels like he's gonna fall again when a surprisingly giant but gentle hand stops him.
He looks up to see it was the Nomu, looking down at him. Finally, Izuku lets himself relax a little. They were going to be ok.