Three months, three months of non stop training and Midioriya Izuku could now call upon eight percent of One For All. It didn't sound impressive, didn't sound like any sort of accomplishment that should be bragged about but with one percent he could deadlift a pickup truck, at five percent he could toss that pickup truck several feet in the air and catch it like a baseball.
At eight percent?
He becomes little more than a streak of green to the naked eye while his punches create shockwaves.
He stands at the edge of Might Tower overlooking Minato City of Tokyo Japan wearing his costume, his usually curly hair is slicked back and wavy with two small tufts of hair framing his forehead.
Yagi Toshinori stands beside him, buff and in costume, "Remember young Deku, when you're out there you must be unshakable. You can not hesitate, can not cower for you are a hero and the people will look to you for salvation. You are the future symbol and that means you are more than just a man, you are an ideal."
The boy nods and closes his eyes, he takes several deep breaths before twisting his face into a beaming smile, one that matches his mentor. After months of forcing his lips to remain upturned even when getting the shit beaten out of him it felt as natural as breathing.
"Good, that's what I like to see." The man gently pats his hair, "I'll allow you to take point during patrol for today, consider me your shadow."
"Understood, All Might-Sensei!" The Hero-in-Training exclaims, he takes a moment to focus his hearing, sparks of electricity appearing across his form as he pinpoints any crime in the area. When he does he quickly turns on the Helix Helper Comm, twin lemon yellow cuffs that sat on the ridges of his ears, a Support Item that Melissa gifted him.
With a breath he runs down the side of the building.
[Twenty six. Twenty eight. Thirty miles per hour!] The lovely artificial voice of Melissa Shield, cheerful and full of energy, enters his ear.
He can't help the small blush that colors his cheeks when it does, a part of him still can't believe he's friends with such a smart and pretty girl.
As he reaches the bottom he loosens his restraint and zips through the streets.
[Two hundred and seventy five miles per hour! Be careful, Deku!]
"Whoa!"
"What was that?!"
"Was that Ingenium? Awesome!"
The preteen forces himself to stop as he steps into an alley street littered with the bodies of mutilated men and women.
All of them were bisected as if something had cut them in half. Pools of blood gather underneath them and a stench of pennies fill the area, 'Oh god.'
Izuku covers his mouth feeling bile rise to his throat, his knees quake and it feels like the ground is giving under him, he stumbles to one only to freeze as the cry that drew him here refocuses his attention.
With gritted teeth he moves and reaches the scene, a practically empty park. As far as he can tell it only has two visitors, a sobbing boy dangling in the hands of a large man.
The man stands a good foot and a few inches taller than him. They obviously have a Mutant Quirk as they resembled a red lobster with robust armour, large pincher claws in place for hands that almost scratch the street, and stocking eyes that protrude from the sides of his head.
The child was a few years younger than him, maybe ten or nine with pitch black hair styled in a bowl cut, dark brown eyes, and… an unfortunately large chin that resembled a pair of balls.
Blood is dripping from the assaulters claws and the limitless hero feels his breath stutter. Obviously the lobster man was the perpetrator from the murders earlier so they had no problem killing but child murder was an order of magnitude that most villains didn't cross.
Rage bubbles, but with practiced ease he buries it. Rage would do nothing but put the boy in danger and he can't afford to make a single mistake, he had already failed and there was no need for any more loss of life.
The lobster mutant is probably extremely durable because of their exoskeleton, their claws most likely granted them super strength in the form of a sharp-crushing grip, and their eye stalks increased their field of vision making it hard to catch them off guard.
Realistically Izuku completely and totally outclassed the mass murderer even if he assumed the absolute worst case scenario but wasn't it better to try and deescalate?
Like All Might said; the goal of every fight is where everyone leaves alive and healthy.
"Can I ask you to please let the boy go?" Izuku asks, his anxiety carefully hidden behind his practiced smile, his disgust and utter contempt for the vile man disguised with kindness and patience.
It never worked with Kacchan or his other school mates or his teachers, he doubts it'll work on the killer but one always had to try.
The Villain whips their head around and looks shocked for a moment at his sudden appearance before it turns into laughter, "And what are you going to do if I don't, pipsqueak? Going to run home to your mommy and tattletale on me?"
His voice remains level, "I'm sure we can work this out, you can't possibly want to kill him, right? He's just a kid."
The criminal snorts and squeezes the younger boy tighter to prove that yes, he did want to kill the child. Though that plan was quickly thrown out the window when the preteen had somehow disappeared from his view and appeared on top of his arm prying it open like nothing, "Hey!"
The victim drops from his grip but before they can hit the ground the Hero-in-Training has them in his arms, just as he begins sprinting he feels something shift. The energy that's used to empower him spreads to the boy in his arms, concocting him in an invisible protective barrier that he knows for certain will prevent them from injury involving One For All.
He comes to the sudden realization that All Might has never taught him how to properly rescue civilians and prevent injuring them with his awesome might because he doesn't have too.
His Quirk does it for him.
He sets the younger boy a few dozen feet away from the mutant, underneath the shade of a large tree, "Wh… whoa!"
The preteen smiles at the awe he hears, "Stay here, once I'm done we need to get you checked over, alright?"
They nod rapidly and Izuku rushes back to confront the lobster man.
The Villain scowls, clicking his claws in agitation, "Why did you do that?! Huh?! You know what that kid did to me?!"
"No, I don't and I don't think it really matters." He replies, "Nothing he could have done justifies killing him."
"Agh!" The would-be child killer screams and rushes forward, he throws wide haymakers that Izuku easily side steps, "He drew nipples on my perfectly chiseled chest while I was sleeping! I don't even have hands to clean it off!" A moment later both his claws were stopped dead.
The hero student looks at the others chest and spots two black circles where his nipples should be and can't help the snort of amusement, "That's–"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The criminal howls, "It's not funny! It's not! I don't deserve to be made fun of just because of the way I look! I'm a person too! I am! And anyone that says otherwise deserves to be ripped in half!"
The boy looks taken aback at the outburst, the intense sparks of electricity dying down as shame forms in his chest.
Izuku shouldn't find amusement in his suffering, no matter how slight it might be in the grand scheme of things. Those feelings don't belong to a Hero, especially not All Might's successor, "I… I didn't mean–" He's headbutted and feels his nose crunch but his grip holds firm. "I'm sorr–" The Villain ignores him and smashes their heads together again.
"Fuck off!"
Izuku grunts as he raises one of his legs and kicks out pushing the criminal back, he briefly considers amping One For All as the other digs their claws into the ground to slow the momentum but realizes it would be overkill. As they stop he rushes forward and circles around them, "Whirlwind Woe!"
The mass murderer stares out confusingly only to yelp in surprise as his feet are lifted off the ground, a tornado forming around them, tumbling him around like he's the last quarter in a piggy bank.
Just as the violent winds disappear the Villain is punched in the face, between the eyes, disorienting him as he's knocked into the ground.
The limitless hero walks over and picks at the yellow line of his sleeve pulling off a tape-like material, Binding Cuffs, another Support Item Melissa had made. He stretches it and wraps it around the criminal's wrists ignoring the grumbling protests, "Helix Helper, call the nearest Police Station."
[Connecting you now, Deku!]
The boy waits until someone picks up, "This is hero student, Deku; I need medical assistance for a child victim, they may have stomach trauma, I've subdued a Villain with a lobster mutant Quirk who assaulted the victim and who I believe is responsible for a mass murder in the area."
"... I have pinpointed your location Deku. Two squad cars and an ambulance are headed for your location, please remain in the area for questioning. Is your… instructor in the area? Did they grant you permission for Quirk use?"
Before the preteen can answer, Toshinori's voice comes through loud and clear, "Yes! And yes! You do not need to worry, I was in the area at the time of confrontation keeping an eye on my pupil! He had my full authorization to subdue the ruffian."
"Understood."
Izuku looks towards his mentor who stands on top of an adjacent building overlooking the park and throws a thumbs up which he returns with a wobbly half hearted smile. He looks towards the ball chin boy, still standing where he left him and walks over forcing a more confident appearance.
"How are you?"
The younger child excitedly jumps up and down, "You're Deku, right?! I saw you on the news and I couldn't believe someone so close to my age was going to be trained by All Might! You were so cool! You were like bam! And wam! And woosh!" The other kid excitedly plays out the fight, "I can see why All Might chose you! I was a little jealous but I could never do what you did!"
The preteen tilts his head, "Yeah you could have."
The victim looks wideye, "I don't really have the kind of Quirk to, to fight off bad guys. I just have this rubber chin." He flicks at it, making it wobble.
"That's an awesome Quirk!" The older boy compliments, "You can bounce off attacks with no problem! I can just imagine having a Quirk like that being able to shrug off that headbutt by just tilting my chin up! "
"Ye… yeah?" The elementary schooler rubs his arm in embarrassment.
The Hero-in-Training nods, "Yeah." He looks the boy up and down. "Can I ask, why did you draw those nipples on the man's chest? That wasn't very nice."
The other shrugs, "I don't know, I… I guess I just wanted to make fun of someone for a change."
Izuku hums and crouches slightly down, "You get picked on huh? I'm sorry to hear that but that doesn't give you the right to hurt others like they hurt you. A future hero helps others, you saw me try and talk to that Villain right?"
"Yeah… I don't really understand why you were apologizing and trying to talk with that monster."
He barely understands it himself, the lobster mutant is an unrepentant mass murder who tried to kill a child a few years younger than him over a prank but at that moment… "Because he was hurt. Just like you, people picked on him, called him names, made him feel less than human, and no one deserves to feel that way. Right?"
It didn't excuse his actions, didn't suddenly erase what he did or make it anyway justifiable, but it gave context and context always matters.
Doesn't it?
The younger kid gives a shaky nod, tears welling up in his eyes, "Ri… right. If I knew all this was going to happen I would have never played that prank."
"Even if nothing happened, you still shouldn't have played that prank. Do you think All Might would have done something like that?"
"… No." He wipes the tears away, "But you laughed didn't you? I heard you."
The hero hopeful nods, "I did and I shouldn't have. That isn't the kind of person I want to be."
"Me neither."
"Good." Izuku ruffles the others' hair, "Thank you for talking with me."
The victim blushes, "Thank you for saving me. Do… Can I take a picture with you?"
The limitless hero blinks in surprise before nodding, "Sounds fun! Let's do it."
The boy pulls out his phone excitedly and sets up the camera, he stands next to his savior and takes a picture.
~Paragon~
The Crawler otherwise known as, to a very select group of people, Haimawari Koichi, roams the Naruhata streets of Tokyo, the moon illuminating the way for him.
Though roam might be the wrong word.
He glides.
His Quirk, Slide and Glide, repels him from the ground allowing him to move swiftly in any direction he chooses.
He's a plain looking twenty two year old man with a lithe frame standing at five foot-seven with a pale ivory skin tone, short brown hair, large brown eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, and a sharp oval face. The vigilante wears an All Might hoodie with motorcycle black elbow guard, black compression tights underneath matching motorcycle knee and shin guards, and red-black High Top sneakers.
"Come on, Koichi! We've been patrolling for a couple hours and we haven't run into any villains, I think it's safe to go home." Pop⭐Step or Haneyama Kazuho, his friend and partner, complains as she bounces from rooftop to rooftop with her Quirk, Leap.
The idol and fellow vigilante is a freshly turned adult with a slender build standing at a respectable five-foot two, a warm ivory complexion, magenta pink hair that usually rests slightly past her shoulders done in pigtails, and matching eyes that especially pop underneath her painted on black mask.
Unlike her partner who is bordering on copyright infringement she wears a devilish themed one-piece black leotard with two heart-shaped openings, one in the center of the chest and a smaller one in the back below two bat wings along with a reddish-pink bow tie, pair of silver pearl earrings, black elbow-length gloves, a black super-miniskirt with three hearts on the belt, and black knee-high boots.
"Yeah, it's a pretty quiet night huh?" He replies with a shrug, "Let's hea–"
"CRuNcH!"
A loud noise echoes the streets, Kazuho sighs as Koichi zips towards the noise.
She pouts and follows watching from above as her friend stops in front of a rather large and muscular villain. It wasn't the biggest they've ever seen nor fought but they stood double Koichi's height and wore a husk of small glossy red clanker of a car as a scarf.
Which looked equal parts ridiculous and intimidating.
Though the intimidation points he earned were quickly stripped when she noticed a license plate covering his junk and ass.
The villain was ripping apart a parked SUV looking only for a moment to examine its parts before tossing it aside like garbage, "Vroom! Vroom! Haha!"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm the guy who always comes when he hears destruction in the making; I'm the Crawler!"
"Huh?" The criminal turns with a confused face before smirking, "What are you a roach?"
Koichi humphs as he stands up, "Never heard that one before, big guy but I gotta ask ya to cease and desist this wanton spoliation of private property." He crosses his arms like a disappointed parent.
Both Kazuho and the car themed villain tilt their heads at spoliation, "Huh?"
"I got most of that but what the heck does spoliation mean? That's not a real word." The female vigilante narrows her eyes as she leaps down onto a guard rail of an apartment balcony.
The large man twists to look up with wide eyes, "Who are you?"
The girl scoffs, "You don't know who I am?"
He shakes his head.
"I'm Pop⭐️Step!"
The vandalizer purses his thick lips and shakes his head again.
"Up and coming Pop idol?" She throws out there, "I was on the cover of INDIPOP and SUPER."
"Don't really pay attention to that stuff." He says as he cleans out his left ear hole with the tip of his pinky.
"I played at LUMINOUS?"
"The, huh?"
"My song 'Kekka Alright' was number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for five weeks straight!" Her face starts turning red in agitation when all she sees is a blank look on his featureless face.
"Pop?" Koichi calls out hesitantly.
"Not now!" She screams out between clenched teeth, he raises his hands and takes a step back.
"Listen poop stain–" The criminal starts, ignoring the scream of rage from the girl above him, "I'm sure you super duper famous or something but I have more important things to worry about."
The older vigilante clears his throat, gaining the large man's attention, "So, why are you destroying this car?"
The other's face brightens, "Oh!" He clears his throat, his voice taking a more crazed tone, "I am Super Custom YO649Z Mk.ll and I will optimize myself to perfection and become the greatest car in the eastern hemisphere and if you think you can stop me roach man that I will squish you like the–" His eyes begin glowing a bright yellow as he leans over the Crawler with a sadistic smile.
"And that's enough of that!" A booming voice echoes throughout the street, a moment later the car themed criminal lays on the ground knocked out cold and standing in his place is All Might.
Koichi's eyes widen and his heart stutters as he looks upon the form of the greatest Hero alive,"A…all… all…" He stutters in astonishment.
"Yes! It is I, All Might!" He rests his closed fists against his side, "And I Am Here!"
The area fills with awed silence before it's broken with him clearing his throat.
"Oh!" A younger voice squeaks from beside Koichi, the younger man jumps in shock as Deku falls in a basic boxing stance, "The day is saved now that Deku is in the area!"
The silence that follows him is less than awe inspiring, the boy sighs and slumps, "Sorry, I got caught up in the moment."
The symbol laughs, "It's fine, we'll work on it."
The vigilante looks at both of them with confused eyes but before he can find the words his partner verbalizes his exact thoughts.
"What is happening right now!?" She leaps down, landing next to him with a bewildered expression, "Where did you guys come from?" She turns and looks at the preteen with an air of second hand embarrassment. "And what was that entrance, not even The Crawler over here has ever been that cringey."
Deku rubs the back of his head awkwardly, "Sorry about that, All Might thought this would be the perfect moment to practice making a heroic introduction."
Koichi nods slowly before a wide smile spreads across his face, "That… is so cool!" He exclaims. "It's nice meeting you Deku." Turning towards All Might he bows in a perfect ninety degree angle. "And you as well All Might!"
"Likewise!" The preteen reciprocates the smile, "I've read so much about you Crawler, you've done so much good for Naruhata! Despite being a vigilante you've gained the respect of several notable heroes like Ingenium and been credited with the apprehension, rehabilitation, and reintegration of several Instant and Next-Level villains!" He then turns to Kazuho with an equal amount of zeal. "You're also super cool, Pop⭐️Step! Without your no nonsense attitude and quick thinking a lot of situations would have gone out of hand! Not only that but juggling being an idol with your vigilante work is super impressive."
The young man breathlessly laughs while the idol's face warms at the genuine words of praise.
All Might nods as he rests a palm on one of the young vigilantes' shoulders, "Yes! Yes! While I can not condone the illegal actions you both take, you would have to be a fool not to see the good work you do."
The older vigilante swallows thickly, "Re…really?" His voice cracks.
The larger than life hero gives a firm nod as he moves away from him and stands next to the boy, "Though I would suggest getting your Hero licenses sooner rather than later, you've had a long string of good luck with heroes and police looking the other way but one day that will run out and I would hate to see someone who so clearly embodies what it means to be a hero thrown in a cell."
The self-appointed guardian blink behind his sunglasses, "I, um, can't get a hero license, I'm too old?" His tone is questioning, he'd been told that the only way to become a Hero is through a Hero Program and the only programs available in Japan were for High school students.
With the exception of All Might's but obviously that wasn't an option.
Both the hero and his student looked confused.
"No." Deku shakes his head, "Of course there are ways to obtain a license besides going to a Hero Highschool, if that was true it would significantly reduce the pool of heroes."
"It is the path less traveled but one that is just as viable as the traditional one." All Might chimes in, "Simply go to the Hero Public Safety Commission official website and it should direct you to the proper channels."
"Bu… but, it can't be that easy." Koichi retorts weakly, "Right?"
The girl remains silent with a thoughtful expression.
The young Hero-in-Training shakes his head, "Of course not but nothing worth having ever is, right?"
"Well said, my young protégé! The walk through the path of heroism is a long and bumpy one but worthwhile if I do say so myself! Give it some thought young Crawler and Pop⭐Step, I have a feeling you won't regret it if you do." The number one hero nods at his own words, "Now, we should be leaving you–"
"~BOOOM!~"
A mushroom cloud of smoke appears out in the distance before the earth shakes, both Koichi and Kazuho are thrown off their feet before a blast wave reverberates across the area; windows shatter, stone cracks, cars are pushed from the sheer force with the two of them being lifted from the ground and thrown several dozen feet away.
"What the hell was that?!" The idol looks around and notices both All Might and Deku are gone.
"~BOOM!!!~" "~BOOM!!!~" "~BOOM!!!~" "~BOOM!!!~" "~BOOM!!!~" "~BOOM!!!~"
"Oh god, no." The older of the two mutters in horror as he witnesses half a dozen atomic sized explosions go off.
The idol stares out in disbelief, she turns to look at her partner who sits frozen, "Koichi… wha… what do we do?"
He doesn't reply, the words stuck in his throat.
"Koichi!" She snaps at him, her eyes watering.
He turns to look at her with pain and uncertainty, "I don't know… I don't know."
~Paragon~
Vaccine Man, a creature born from the Earth's rage and loathing at the ants that crawled on its back, stood in the devastation it had caused with a proud smirk as false protectors lay at its feet.
"Ugh…"
Though that smirk soon turns to disgust as one of the heroes who tried to face it, groans. The pitiful insect fruitlessly struggles to his feet but a harsh kick sends him away, it watches with amusement as his body skips against the ground before landing with a resounding thud.
The monster resembles a large humanoid man standing at an impressive six foot-seven with glossy indigo skin, a stocky build, and two rounded antennae that sat on top of his head. It was completely bare, unashamed of its naked form with no genital or hair to speak of.
Its ear picks up the soft crying of a girl, slowly it walks towards the noise, its frown turning into a maniacal grin. As she comes into view its left arm bulges and grows, reaching for her the palm of its hand is large enough to completely engulf her.
But suddenly and without warning a boy shrouded in green lightning appears, his back is towards it as he scoops the girl in his arms.
It's no consequence to Vaccine Man, that just means it gets to kill two kids.
Except…
"Texas Smash!"
A jabbing fist connects to the side of his face, its flesh ripples at the blow as its feet leave the ground and is thrown hundreds of feet across the expanse.
Vaccine Man's whole body tingles in pain, confusion paints its features as it halts himself midair and turns towards the person who threw the blow.
"Villian." A man, taller and larger than him grits out through an upturned grimace, "That was a warning, turn yourself in or face my mighty fists."
"Who are you?" It asks with distorted features, fury drools from his tongue.
"Wrong answer!" The hero blurs forward, faster than the human eye can possibly perceive.
But its eyes aren't those of humans.
It dodges.
And it keeps dodging.
The inordinately powerful human's arms move like hurricanes but the creature can't be hit. They suddenly pause, a thin sheen of sweat covers his face as he narrows his eyes at it.
"No human‐" It spits the word 'human' out like a curse, "Should possess such power! Who are you?!"
"I'm the Symbol of Peace: All Might! And you speak as if you're not human?" The… symbol questions.
The creature scoffs, "You dare confuse me with you hairless apes?!" It roars in disgust as its body morphs into a truly monstrous vestige; its height surpasses All Might's by two whole feet with spikes protrude from its skin, its muscles expand to the size of boulders while its teeth, nails, and antennae sharpen into fine points, and tusks grow from the side of its mouth. "I am the wrath of mother nature! She has given me life so I may destroy you disease-causing germs and your civilization! I am: Vaccine Man!"
"I won't let you do that." All Might resolutely says.
"Stop me, If you dare."
The two stare at the other for a moment before they both blur and meet in the middle.
~Paragon~
Izuku feels the girl he rescued shake in his arms as he crosses the desolate terrain into Musutafu, his home city. It remains untouched by the incursion on Shizuoka Prefecture with the attacks being centered more in the north end.
He sees people milling around the streets either staring at their phones, gathered around t.v displays, or looking up at digital billboards as the news unfolds. Many seem unbothered, their faith in All Might's power so strong that despite the eradication of large areas in Shizuoka the danger had passed with his presence.
The preteen remembered a time that he would have felt the same unwavering belief in Toshinori but he knows that the symbol's time limit is fast approaching; eight hours have passed since their day had started and though the man had, for the most part, simply monitored just being in his muscle form drains him.
At his mentor's current peak he's only about thirty percent weaker than at his prime but as more and more time passes his muscle form efficiency decreases along with his ability to properly channel OFA. As of right now the man is probably one-tenth as strong as he once was.
The hero hopeful can almost feel All Might straining himself, can feel the embers of One For All dulling inside his master and yet burning too hot for him to safely contain. It must be his imagination, his fear of the consequences if the ultimate hero doesn't finish the fight soon.
Izuku stops in front of U.A High School, the front gates open wide and a couple of teachers guiding civilians in. Everyone stops and stares at him; some in surprise, others in worry, a few in disbelief.
Anxiety creeps in but he smashes it down and forces a smile across his lips, one full confidence and guileless.
The hero hopeful tries to set the girl he saved down but as he pulls away her fists refuse to unclench his uniform and now that he's paying attention she's sobbing her heart out for all to hear. His smile dims, unsure of what he should do, of how to calm her down.
The limitless hero is reminded of another child he saved, his first save of his life. He can't help but think how easy the younger boy was compared to the girl; he didn't seem frightened or traumatized, almost uncaring of his near death experience.
All he needed were a few kind words, a sprinkle of wisdom, and a photo.
But this girl is having a full on mental breakdown because of course she is. Her life imploded!
Her family and friends are probably dead, her home is gone, and even a thousand miles away from where she almost died she has no idea if she's actually safe!
Izuku needs to be a hero to her, a true Hero! One that not only saves her life but her heart!
He needs to be like All Might, so what would All Might do?
The boy stares blankly at the top of her head, his hands stiff around her hips and nothing comes. Her screams are getting louder, people are pointing their phones at them, the actual Pro's are coming over and nothing comes.
All Might had drilled hours and hours of P.R into his head, taught the perfect way to smile, and given him what felt like ten thousand examples to draw from for this exact scenario and… and nothing.
Izuku has nothing… except for what's in his heart.
The boy wraps his arms around her shaking body and hugs her tightly against his frame, his picture perfect smile melting away revealing a boy full of fear, pain, and uncertainty, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." His voice wobbles.
The girl heaves out a ugly sound.
"I wish I knew what to say to make this all better. I wish I could take your pain and fear and make it my own but I can't. All I can do is offer you this hug and tell you that you're safe and though the danger hasn't passed, All Might and I will fight until the day is saved."
"I… I… I want my mom! And… and… and my daddy!" She screams and starts banging on his ribs with all her might, One For All dies in his chest before her fist can make contact, he winces but holds firm, "This isn't fair! THIS ISN'T FAIR!"
"I know. I know and I wish I could be here for you for as long as you need but I need to go. I need to help." He started tearing up, "But before I do I need to tell you something, something important."
The girl sniffs loudly as her arms go limp at her sides, the preteen pulls away and cups his hands against her face, "What?"
"I'm scared." The boy admits, "I'm so, so scared."
Her whole face drops, "Wha…what?"
He laughs shakily, "Is that so surprising?" His hands leave her cheeks as the rest on his knees. "Of course I'm scared, I'm shaking in fear but you know what I do with that fear?"
She wipes her noise with her forearm as she hiccups and nods slowly.
"I use it." A brilliant smile shines across his face, his eyes are closed and his mouth opened as if a simple stretching of the lips would ever be enough to express his joy, "I was so scared when I saw you crying in the epicenter of the attack but I used my fear to run faster and save you. I was so scared when you were crying and I didn't know how to comfort you but I used that fear and spoke with my heart. I am so scared of being too weak to make a difference in Shizuoka but I will use that fear and reach out my hands to save everyone."
The girl stares memorized as Izuku opens his eyes and his wide open smile dims into something more content but just as warm, he uses his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
"Use your fear." He says, "Use your fear and turn it into confidence to show others that the day may be dark but the light always shines when it matters most. Use your fear and turn it into understanding to give others grace for their own fear has blinded them. Use your fear and turn it into strength to shelter others when they are too weak to defend themselves."
She bows her head with overwhelming emotions and confusion. Angry at the lecture but also strangely grateful for the words of… of love and understanding and… and… compassion.
Words of endless compassion.
"O..okay." The words leave her mouth before she realizes it but it feels right. All she has is her fear and like Deku maybe she can use it for someone else.
"Thank you." Standing up Izuku forces her to her feet before turning to the Pro's who stare with a strange mix of admiration, disgust, and sadness. He ignores it, he can barely handle his own overwhelming emotions and he just dealt with the girls, he won't be touching theirs if he can help it, "Take care of her." A gentle push against her back sends her in their direction.
She's still crying but her heart feels lighter, turning she tries thanking the Hero-in-Training but he's gone.
One For All is flaring across the preteen's whole body as he races back to the battlefield. His sharp hearing picks up the chatter of the civilians who seemed to have grown worried in the past couple minutes as the news continues to broadcast the brawl between All Might and Vaccine Man.
'All Might is losing time! I need to clear the area fast so he can go all out or we're all in big trouble.'
Stopping at the crust of the crater of Shizuoka City in Shizuoka Prefecture Izuku briefly watches the two titans clash, barely able to perceive the battle though the big moves were easy to spot.
Vaccine Man is able to manipulate some type of energy balls that explode on contact which the boy assumes are what he used to destroy large chunks of the Prefecture. They seem to have lost most of their power probably because the ravager used most of it in the initial attack, 'Or it needs time to charge but which it is it means he needs to be stopped, the faster the better.'
The truly monstrous man also possessed some shape shifting abilities with his limbs stretching and hands turning as large as cars. He can fly as well with total maneuverability though he may have a height limit as he doesn't seem to move far from the battle, simply using the power to adjust his position more favorably.
'Either he has a height limit, a time limit, a power limit or he wants a fair fight?' The current bearer of One For All notes as he watches the delusional man manipulate the earth to create purplish crystal spikes forcing Toshinori to give ground, 'How many Quirks does he have; flight, superhuman conditioning, energy balls projection, and crystallokinesis?' A horrifying thought crosses his mind. 'Could All For One be alive?'
Though forcing may be a strong word as the hero Deku notices how his teacher is limiting and positioning himself in the battlefield, 'He's moving as fast as he can considering the limit to his power and terrain but his punches are only a tenth of a tenth as powerful as they should be, meaning he's punching weaker than I would be. If he unleashes anything stronger the wind pressure could displace the survivors and kill them. He's also guiding the fight away from the injured, allowing ground to be taken from him.' Taking a breath the ninth holder focuses on what he's hearing, 'Thirteen heartbeats.'
Izuku's eyes snap open as he squats down in a runners starting position. He maps his route and takes a deep breath, 'Thirteen. Depending on the level of injury, taking more than one at a time could be risky, though leaving them here for an extended period of time with possible severe injuries is catastrophic.'
Tough choices but a slim chance is better than no chance and if he's doing his math right it would take him over six minutes to evacuate everyone.
All Might doesn't have that kind of time and neither do some of these survivors.
Moving like a streak of light he grabs the first injured and uses his Binding Cuffs to secure them against his back. The second is secured the same way against his chest. Third, fourth, and fifth were bound together and carried under his right arm while sixth, seventh, and eighth mirrored them being carried under his left.
Izuku then tied nine and ten with one another to carry them with his right hand before repeating the process with eleven and twelve to carry them in the opposite hand.
Number thirteen had to be taken along by the scruff of their outfit in-between clenched teeth.
Turning around he blurs out of the combat area, half a minute passes as he enters Musutafu City for the second time of the day and when a half a second comes and goes he enters Musutafu General Hospital, "I need medical care! NOW!"
Nurses quickly rush into the lobby and take them off his hands, the preteen gives each of them a thankful smile before he leaves in a flash of green light.
Entering the active combat zone once more the budding symbol sees the tide of the battle has completely changed with the villain being pushed back. Toshinori suddenly winds up a downward cross and unleashes all his strength, the speed of the strike reaching dozens upon dozens of times over the speed of sound, "Detroit Smash!"
The explosion is so loud, the shockwave so large, the ground reverberates like jello before it shatters like glass.
But turns out the purple crystals Vaccine Man could create were tougher than Izuku gave if credit for as a wall of the material had appeared before the punch could connect, stopping it dead with only the slightest of cracks as the sleeve of Toshinori's costume disintegrated.
Not only that but as soon as the flesh of his mentor's hand touches the glass-like material it climbs across the limb.
All Might tries flexing his arm as he leaps away but the crystal casing won't shatter, it climbs higher and higher until it eventually consumes his entire being, trapping him.
"ALL MIGHT!" Izuku roars in shock as mother nature's child smiles in victory. He clenches his eyes closed as fat tears roll down his cheek, 'It's over, he's won.' His eyes blaze with purpose and he starts running. 'But that doesn't mean I get to stop fighting.'
Eight percent hugs his body, still a little uncomfortable but increasingly familiar and dependable. Nine percent burns, like a good ache after a tough workout that tells him that he's pushing but it'll be worth it.
Ten percent hurts, the type of hurt that would have Izuku considering skipping school and laying in bed all day.
He's half way across the clearing as Vaccine Man turns towards him, transforming his left arm into a javelin and pierces it forward, stretching it towards him.
Eleven percent reminds him of pain that he doesn't want to think about, the pain that always lingers even when you're alone and no one can hurt you. No one but yourself.
Twelve percent burns, his blood turns to lava and his nerves scream at him, begging and pleading for him to stop.
Thirteen percent is mind-numbing, he's pushing too far, too fast. His skin is too tight and his head feels like it's about to explode.
Fourteen is… no better but no worse. He's reached a threshold where the pain feels all the same, he's not sure if that's good.
But… he doesn't need it to be.
He just needs to be stronger.
'Fiveteen… sixteen… seventeen…' The arcs of seafoam lightning lash out, tearing at the surrounding landscape, 'Eighteen… nineteen…' His veins turn ruby, bright enough to be seen through his costume. 'Twenty!' His body hits a ceiling, if he channels anymore, bones will break and blood vessels will pop.
He wouldn't be surprised if he would experience an aneurism.
It's still not enough.
He meets the javelin with a left fist but right before they connect Izuku channels the full might of OFA into his middle finger and flicks it out.
"BOoM!"
"AgH!" The terrorist screams as his appendage is reduced to nothing but a grotesque mess from the clash, seaweed colored blood drools from the wound staining the ground.
Izuku holds his left hand close to his chest, the sleeve of costume is shredded with what remains hanging from his shoulder. He bites back his tears, the finger he used is broken beyond anything he's ever experienced, turning a nauseating purple color as bones poke out from the flesh.
Vaccine Man glares at his stump as if it slighted him and almost instantly afterward a new appendage forms. He turns his head to look at the boy who returns the look with one of his own.
The hero known as Deku stumbles to his feet, his breath labored, "I. won't. go. down. easy."
"But you will go down." The whole of Vaccine Man's eyes glow red as he ascends high in the air, large balls of light form from behind him, creating a halo, "First I will atomize you and then I will–"
The preteen ignores the monologuing and thinks, 'He's gathering energy, buying time to make them more powerful, so I need to detonate them before he sends them out but how?' Frowning, his fists clench in thought.
… his fists are clenched but there's no pain?
Looking down he notices his left middle finger is healed, 'One For All can heal damage it inflicts.' He studies the sparks dancing across his skin before looking back to see the destruction in his wake and feels an ideal start to form. 'The energy the Quirk produces can be projected and I know that projected energy can affect the outside world, so maybe…'
The ninth bearer increases the Quirk's output once more, the strain is still there but reduced. He passes twenty percent, then twenty-one, and then twenty-two with twenty-three quickly following before he reaches his new upper limit.
The arcs of lightning grow once more but instead of allowing them free rein he restrains the power leakage, "Ugghhh~" His skin turns a cascade of colors, closing his eyes his mind flashes back to his original imagery tool all those months ago when he was first learning to control the power.
He's the car and the engine is One For All.
No! That doesn't make sense.
No, One For All is the entire engine bay.
With a twist of his imaginary fingers he adjusts the indicator stalk and turns on the highbeams, "RrrAg- IMPROVISED SUPERMOVE: SURGE VISION!" Seafoam energy bursts from his eyes, larger than the length of his whole body, the force at which they escape knocks his head back but they do what they're meant to and tear through the orbs.
The villain, interrupted, barely has enough time to escape the symphony of explosions.
Izuku falls to his knees and covers his eyes with the palm of his hands, "GOD!" He immediately reduces his output, allowing the Quirk to heal the self-inflicted damage.
The future symbol shivers as he slowly removes his hands from his eyes, rapidly blinking as milky irises regain color.
"Why?"
All Might's protégé turns to stare at his opponent who hangs menacingly above.
"Why, what?" The boy responds back as he struggles to his feet.
"Why fight? Why struggle? You are weak, still in early adolescence and yet you fight with no regard for your life. You've seen what I can do and yet…"
Izuku smiles, "Because it's right."
"NO!" The ravager bellows, "I'm right! You and your kind are a constant pollution killing mother! She birthed me to defend her from you! So I'm right! I AM!"
"What of my mother?" The limitless hero questions the villain, "You're threatening to kill her, aren't you? I'm defending her against you."
The silence stretches for a long moment, "I suppose you are." Diving down, the air ripples from the speed in which he moves. Landing, a ripple of deep purple energy spreads from their being and rapidly crystallizes the ground along with his young opponent.
The world becomes dark, soundless.
Izuku's body is unable to move and air is unable to enter his lungs, 'Oh, God. Oh God.' Panic clouds his mind as he struggles in his prison. 'I… how long do I have? Because of One For All my blood is highly oxygenated, I could probably hold my breath for hours and not need to worry, double for All Might despite his injuries but Vaccine Man has free reign right now.'
Silence answers him.
'No… no…' He denies the possibility of failure, 'If I can project One For All out of my eyes then I can project it from across my body!' An idea forms but it's almost immediately discarded. 'No! With how powerful One For All is and how durable the material encasing me has to be, creating a full body explosion may spill into the untouched parts of Shizuoka.'
Time ticks by and with every second that passes the more likely Vaccine Man is to continue his attack, if he hasn't already.
'My lightning is physical, I know that. So… so what if I shape it?' If Izuku's could widen they would, 'Can I shape my lightning? If I can then the force I'd be able to exert on them should be proportional to my will! If I can project them from every point of my body, the combined duress could break the mineral!'
No time like the present to try.
One For All blazes with purpose, his cells practically bursting with untamed energy. First he summons twenty percent, excruciating but bearable.
It's not enough, he pushes the Quirk until his cells are ready to ignite with how much energy is stored within them. Each percent brings him closer to freedom and as he feels the coils of lightning crawl against his skin thicken into ropes, trapped between it and his cage, 'FOCUS IZUKU! FOCUS!' His mind wobbles in exertion. 'TwenTy-EIGHT PERCENT!'
Muscles strain, ligaments stretch, and his brain quivers but he remains intact, 'The car, imagine the car.' The visual tool occupies his mind as he represses the overflow. 'Not just any car but the Allmobile; David Shield's biggest and most extravagant Support Item for All Might used not only as their transportation but aided them in battle.'
It was a beautiful vehicle, a two passenger fire truck red speedster with the two front wheels jutting out like wings. It had two modes, one for driving and another for flying when combined with the F-Unit but he needed another.
'One that can pierce! One that can shatter! One that can 'reach' out and 'pull' me from my prison!' A pulse reverberates through his being, not One For All or not completely but something different.
As if a muscle he had never known he had just flexed.
"CRa~pShPs!"
A seafoam mass of large and thick tentacle-like tendrils thrash escape from his being, shattering his crystal prison along with his clothes as it sends him high into the sky, "RaghHHh!" Hundreds upon hundreds of these mile-long limbs push and pull him every which way.
They instinctively attack the rogue but he manages to avoid the mindless projection, wasting no time they rip and tear at them but for every one that is destroyed two more takes its place, "Enough!" He sends the orbs he had recently crafted towards the tidal wave of shimmering green, the explosions obliterating large portions of it but more just grows.
Izuku feels all of it and screams, he screams and screams and screams, 'stop! Stop!! STOP!!!' Fat tears run down his face like a river as the constructs ignore him, so he does what he always does when the pain keeps coming and won't stop coming, he removes himself from the situation.
The boy shuts down, his mind dulls, his senses fail, and almost like he's floating outside his body the pain finally ends.
He watches from the outside as he becomes an eldritch puppet for a power he was meant to control and with a calm mind he commands the tentacles with absolute authority.
The mass stills.
'Go back.'
Like a wormhole they are pushed into his person as his body falls to the ground with a harsh thud, the preteen grounds himself with the cold hard floor and the biting night air nipping at his naked body, "Ugh!" He twists over to his hands and knees, his eyes blankly staring ahead as his chest heaves with exertion.
The boy tries to take a few moments to gather himself but an indescribable vile feeling bombards him aimed at the center of his back.
Instinctively the ninth torchbearer lashes out with a left back hand, one hundred percent coating the fist. He feels the impact and the blowback before the shattering of bones, turning around he forces the urge to vomit back.
The top of Vaccine Man is gone and only their legs remain.
Forcing himself to his knees and then to his feet he clenches his eyes in regret. The last option a hero should take is to deal a death blow but… but… 'God fucking damn it.' He didn't mean to but he also knew there wasn't much he could do with an enemy as strong as All Might.
"SHIzzZ~"
Izuku slowly opens his eyes, fear swirling in his stomach as he does. He watches as the bisected legs bubbles and hisses, 'He's healing? From that?!'
Shaking his head, panic chocks him, 'I can't fight anymore! I CAN'T!' Second by second Vaccine Man regenerates, already more than a quarter of his body has reformed. 'If only I could freeze him! Or… or…' The hero hopeful's eyes twinkle with an idea, a crazy idea that theoretically could work but… but…
The preteen grits his teeth and summons his upper limit of One For All, thirty-two percent, and takes a deep continuous breath.
Time slows to a crawl, seconds to minutes, as the boy's lungs expand and his ribs bend, "Bfffff!" He blows out a dense cold white mist as fast and as hard as he possibly can, constricting his chest while he does.
The regeneration slows ever so slightly but not enough, not nearly enough. Izuku's lungs ache, his throat numbs, and an iron taste coats his tongue.
By the time the last wisp of air leaves his lips he's back on his hands and knees vomiting a pool of blood. His body seizes for a moment as an inescapable chill haunts him.
"Hgh!" The hero known as Deku tries to take breath but the very act racks his body with a coughing fit, it takes a moment for One For All to heal the damage he caused but it does.
Standing back up, he sways and tries again, 'ThiRty-sIX perCENT!' He breathes. 'More!' Multiple cracks echo within him as an uncomfortable warmth swallows his organs. 'MORE! I NEED TO TAKE IN MORE AIR!'
The Quirk shudders in response to his demands and suddenly he feels a full-body pull with every pore he has funneling air into him, eyes widening he blows with all his might and a dense deep blue sub-zero smog leaves his mouth washing Vaccine Man, freezing them solid.
Stumbling back, Izuku blinks slowly and methodically at the ice statue. He takes a moment as his erratically beating heart calms before he remembers something incredibly important; All Might.
Twisting around he spots the imprisoned symbol, 'One more time.' The symbol's protégé forces the output of the Quirk to his physical zenith. 'FORTY PERCENT!' Running he constricts the surplus of the stockpiled power into his left fist allowing his lightning to flare across the rest of his body.
Once he reaches the trapped hero he jabs straight and unleashes the energy through his knuckles, increasing the strike by several magnitudes.
"CrAccK!"
The crystal shatters and Toshinori takes a deep fortifying breath, he looks around before freezing at the sight of his successor, "Deku?"
The boy smiles tiredly at him, "Boy, do I have a story to tell you."