Fury had invaded Tokoyami's heart. Seeing his classmates being injured so brutally and crudely right in front of his eyes made him lose control.
He wanted to get them out of there, create a distraction for the enemy, give them something more dangerous to focus on, and allow Iida and Ojiro to receive treatment.
Now he could only regret his decisions.
Dark Shadow took over, and Tokoyami couldn't be sure if it helped or harmed his companions more, just as Tetsumaru had warned him.
Fortunately, the villains responded quickly to the threat, which ended with Dark Shadow being fooled and chasing a group of men who were in fact the same man through the forest.
Deafening roars, trees torn from the ground, and giant claws scarring the terrain with every swipe as the Quirk lashed out at the clowns below.
—Run Twice, Run!— Twice shouted at Twice while Twice got ahead of them, ignoring Twice, who had tripped over Twice and ended up receiving a claw strike from Dark Shadow that slammed him into the earth and pulverized him into mud.
Twice watched this and couldn't help but swallow. Not wanting to be next, he pushed himself to the maximum and increased the distance between himself and the others. That would turn out to be a mistake.
Without warning, a flashing green blur appeared from the trees, impacting Twice on the side and knocking the wind out of his lungs.
From above, Tokoyami momentarily ceased his struggle with Dark Shadow upon recognizing the bruised figure who subdued the villain with a single charge.
—Midoriya!— the boy called out, relieved to find a classmate in this situation, but immediately panicked. —You have to get away, Midoriya!
But Midoriya Izuku did not listen to his classmate at all. His gaze was severe, his jaw tense, and the pain running through his limbs kept him in a confused mental state, adding to the emotional turmoil that was already gnawing at him.
Run away? No, he didn't want to run away. Abandon another comrade? No, he wouldn't do such a thing, he wouldn't act so poorly, so cowardly. He wasn't going to betray All Might's expectations.
Kacchan was hurt, by his own hand. Iida might never run again, and Ojiro needed urgent attention.
He could no longer stand frozen, disoriented, and stunned like an idiot. It was time to act, to do what he enrolled in UA for, to use the power granted to him for good, for his classmates, for those who needed it.
His fist clenched, the energy bathed him again, and the pain only increased, but he endured it.
—Do we let him finish his transformation and development or...?— Twice asked Twice in an unsure tone. Twice rolled his eyes and lunged at the brat, quickly followed by the others.
—I'm not finished!— Dark Shadow shouted with a mix of fury and glee, jumping after the villains too.
For his part, Midoriya mobilized more energy from One For All, forcing his already exhausted muscles into a second round and charging in the opposite direction.
—Too slow— Twice murmured, stomping heavily on the ground and rising into the air, doing a front flip and landing with a well-timed heel kick. But his foot didn't make contact with Midoriya's head.
The moment the man, or the copy, jumped into the air, Midoriya also stomped the ground, gaining a brief burst of speed and intercepting Twice's kick with his own hook, though not aimed at the chin, but at the descending leg.
A sharp pain ran through the limb, a slight crack echoed in the impact zone, and the clone dissolved into a muddy mass before hitting the ground.
Without wasting time, Midoriya moved at high speed, reappearing before another Twice with his fist on a collision course with the villain's masked face.
However, this opponent was better prepared and grabbed the student's wrist, twisting it and taking Midoriya down with a Jūdō technique.
—I got him, I got him!— he called out to his companions, but screams of agony and surprise reached his ears an instant before a huge limb did, violently sending the man flying.
Still sore and in worse condition than before the fight started, Midoriya got up with gritted teeth and jumped with all his might, narrowly avoiding being crushed by Dark Shadow.
However, as soon as he landed he was tackled by another Twice, who caught him in a rather strong bear hug.
—Hey, monster! You wanted me!? Here I am, give me your best shot if you dare!— the man let out, struggling with an agitated Midoriya.
—L-let go!— the One For All user snarled, his weakened body preventing him from mobilizing more energy.
Dark Shadow's yellow eyes focused on both figures and its arm extended over their heads, ready to crush both of them mercilessly.
Tokoyami panicked, his mind flashing back to the scene of Iida with the injured leg and Ojiro taking those shots because of his inaction. Something stirred inside him and, consequently, in Dark Shadow.
It could have been the fear of hurting a comrade, or the helplessness he felt over the immense potential he hadn't developed and, as a result, couldn't do anything to protect his classmates. Perhaps it was Tetsumaru's words, Aizawa's, or his own will.
Perhaps it was a mixture of all the above. Or maybe none of it.
The limb descended menacingly. Tokoyami stopped fighting directly, stopped thrashing. Dark Shadow stopped roaring, stopped being impulsive. Midoriya forcefully channeled more power, ready to completely break his legs and jump to the side, while Twice narrowed his eyes, preparing to throw the brat out of danger at the last second.
Just before that, Dark Shadow's fist suddenly opened, slamming against the ground violently and kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
The entity froze, its erratic movements gone. Tokoyami didn't scream, nor did he become scared or twist any further. His mind was concentrated to such an extent that he didn't pay attention to the rattling and buzzing sounds coming from behind him.
Intense beams of light bathed the gigantic figure of Dark Shadow, making it shrink little by little as the dust faded.
The light then hit the villain and the student, momentarily blinding them. Both remained still in their place, with deep furrows in the earth beside them where Dark Shadow's fingers had dug in.
—Reinforcements!?— Midoriya Izuku thought with a slight touch of relief.
—Tch, so they had contingencies. But oh well, I have a hostage here. I could make them wa—
Twice was cut short by two projectiles that pierced his shoulders, weakening his grip and allowing Midoriya to wriggle free and escape.
The wind was stirred furiously by the helicopter blades, clearing the cloud of smoke and allowing Midoriya to glimpse a winged figure flying over his position and heading towards the camp.
*************************************
—... I didn't think they had such preparations. But oh well, you know, it didn't turn out to be that useful at the end of the day— Shigaraki commented in a flat voice to the exhausted and battered students surrounding him as the sound of the helicopters reached their ears.
Around him, the panting figures of class 1-B and one member of 1-A also had a flash of relief and excitement on their faces when they noticed the arrival of the reinforcements.
—Anyway, you can let me go now, brats. This day was more or less fruitful, and I'd like to go back home— Shigaraki said as he tried to free his arms.
He was buried in the ground, sunk from the neck down. To his shame, the villain couldn't finish off any other student.
Shigaraki had to admit that he did, in fact, underestimate class 1-B. Not only couldn't he quickly finish off the group of scared girls, but when a second group of students joined them, things went to hell for him, and he ended up in this situation.
The intervention of Honenuki Juzo, Tsuburaba Kosei, TetsuTetsu, and Shōji Mezō tipped the scales in the brats' favor and impeccable teamwork resulted in Shigaraki being trapped.
Another mistake to rectify in the future.
—Shut your mouth, fake villain!— TetsuTetsu spat with a sneer, ignoring his half-deteriorated arm that his classmates were trying to heal. —You're going to prison, you idiot, you and your perverted little friends!
—... Is that the best you can come up with, kid? Is that your idea of intimidation or something?— Shigaraki questioned with slightly wide eyes.
—You asked for it, handsy!— TetsuTetsu roared, trying to break free from his classmates to punch the annoying guy's face.
At that instant, a gate of darkness formed above the students and two injured Nomu emerged from it.
The students reacted quickly and dispersed, creating distance between themselves and the monsters whose nature they did not know. From their perspective, these things were unpredictable, sometimes strong enough to fight All Might, and sometimes weak enough for a student their own age to defeat them.
They would have believed that in the past, but not now, after having witnessed Terumi Mei's dominance in close combat. Shōji, Kendo, and TetsuTetsu knew better than anyone.
—Tomura, Hawks is here, along with some mutant-type and superior strength police officers. Moonfish is a lost cause, and the armed Nomu is being held by Terumi Tetsumaru. Dabi failed his mission too, and I don't know where Twice ended up— Kurogiri reported hastily, not caring if the brats heard him.
—Don't worry, because I'm here!— Twice exclaimed, appearing from somewhere and jumping next to Tomura and Kurogiri.