Troy, a monster of a fortress made out of metal and reinforced concrete. As expected from the efforts of the three teachers, Cementos, Power Loader, and Ectoplasm, it was sturdy despite being erected in the span of a few days.
Maybe to help distract from its menacing colors and materials, which roughly reminded Yuu and Sora of reinforced prisons, it was made after the heights alliance, as if to be a bit appealing and elicit a feeling of familiarity.
Yuu's eyes dropped from their new makeshift dorm to a more pressing matter. Todoroki silently walked to the fortress while hauling a cardboard box.
" Todoroki-san..." Yuu and the others behind him couldn't help but stare after the boy as he kept his head down.
Their stay in Troy would be temporary, so neither Sora nor Yuu brought anything significant with them, merely a couple of changes of clothes.
As she closed her cupboard door, Sora took in the new room. They might have tried to make the inside similar to their dorm, but for some reason, it lacked the coziness and warmth the Heights Alliance was able to provide them.
Sora stepped over to the balcony to get a much-needed lungful of fresh air. However, once she was beyond the door, she spotted Uraraka and Midoriya standing by the cliff. She smiled softly at their sight before turning around and going back inside. She didn't want to eavesdrop on them now, and thankfully enough, Troy was made with sound isolation in mind.
She then left her room and walked down the hallway in search of Hagakure's. It was a good thing that everyone stuck to their room order.
She knocked twice on Hagakure's door, and having received no answer, did what any friend would do. She walked in.
Hagakure was there, sitting on the end of her bed, and by the shape of the shirt she was wearing, she seemed to be looking down.
" How are you feeling?" Sora asked, sitting right beside her friend. Hagakure's fists shook slightly at that.
" I'm not sure." The girl gave an audible sigh. " Aoyama-kun, I wonder how he felt about the whole thing."
" Toru-chan, there is nothing to be worried about. You were concerned about him, that's why you followed him that day, that's why you didn't want him to hurt Midoriya." Sora held her hand tightly as if to assure her. " I'm sure he will understand how you felt, too."
" Yeah..." Her other hand rose up to wipe the tears that welled up in her eye. " Thank you, Sora-chan."
" Any time," she said, hugging her with one arm and rubbing her shoulder comfortingly...
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It wasn't just Sora who headed out to confront a friend in need of support. Yuu found himself, along with Bakugo, Iida, and Kirishima, intruding on Todoroki no sooner than they had dropped their things.
" Sorry to make you worry about me," the boy said, although he didn't bother with looking at any of them. " I'm fine now."
" I have an older brother, too," Iida spoke up.
" There is no comparing our families," Todoroki said with a soft smile. " I don't even know what Toya-nii likes."
" It's definitely Udon," Bakugo piped from the bed where he was lying down. " The really hot kind."
They couldn't help but chuckle at that suggestion. " In that case, I'll eat some with him."
Seeing Todoroki's smile made them heave out some of their worries. " Todoroki-san," Yuu's eyes met those of his classmate, and there was a genuine concern in them.
Yuu wondered if he could say it. If it was right for him to do so.
" Please. Protect Nii-san."
The memory from when he bowed his head to Koda and Shouji a few days ago presented itself to him, and he made up his mind.
" It's not impossible to talk things out between siblings. I'm sure your feelings will reach your older brother. And then, you can ask him all about himself."
Todoroki gave a short nod, and his expression went soft. " I will make sure to do that."...
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3 days later, everyone in the fortress held their breath in anticipation as the plan was set in motion.
" Can you see them?" Asked Yuu, who squinted his eyes at the distance.
" I can," Sora affirmed, looking through the binoculars at the two boys conversing away from the fortress. " But only barely."
" I'm sure Midoriya and Aoyama would pull it through," Todoroki tried to assure them, but the solemn look on his face didn't help his assessment much.
" Here he is!" Sora shouted when she spotted All For One floating overhead. " Everyone, be prepared! We'll move out soon!"
She threw away the gadget and joined the others gathered in the living area. They were depending on Monoma's ability to master Korugiri's Quirk; however, with the sheer number of gates he would need to open and people he would need to teleport, they tried to keep as close together as possible to lessen his burden.
Moments later, several large clouds of utter darkness manifested before them, swirling as if to invite them in. And they took the invitation. They leapt through them, allowing the air currents to guide them as they were pulled from one place to another with a single step.
Just as they managed to glimpse what was happening on the other side, Todoroki unleashed a glacier of ice to block a fire eruption from his brother. " I won't let you, idiot brother!"
" Shoto!"
Now facing the large army of villains, a cold sweat ran down Sora's temple as the full weight of their mission hit her. That was the final battle, one that would decide the fate of Japan and everyone she cared for. Clutching her hands tightly, she willed her stomach to stop lurching. Now she needed to give her all, no holding back, no limits.
Drawing in a deep breath, her body's volume increased, her bones cracked as they stretched further, and her skin was covered in silver colored feathers. Her face deformed, and her eyes changed colors and shape as she glared at her opponents. With a single flap of her wings, she threw the villains who ran for her away.
Just at that moment, metal walls sprang out from underneath the villains, trapping them in some dome-like cages.
" So this is the Troy System." Yuu couldn't hide his amazement upon seeing the thing in action.
Most of the villains were trapped before the cages' boosters kicked in, pushing them in the direction of the open portals that Monoma had prepared. Sora and Yuu knew theirs, and they rushed off to make sure the one villain within it didn't escape.
A burst of blue flames erupted from underneath Yuu, before he was riding atop a large black dog-like creature, with a tail and a mane that resembled crimson clouds and a golden horn on its forehead. Its golden eyes glowed brightly in search of its prey.
" I'm depending on you, Kumainu..."
The dog laughed boisterously. " Leave it to me! Don't summon a guardian and expect them to lose!"
Needless to say, the cages couldn't stand for more than a couple second, but that was all the heroes needed.
The cage before Sora and Yuu, however, didn't yet come crumbling down, which came as a surprise. Sora heaved at it with her bare hands while Yuu's spirit unleashed one burst of air after another, pushing it into the warp gate.
None of the heroes was able to take notice of the boy who was snatched from behind them.
The darkness of the gate enveloped them, a sensation that was both strange and yet familiar, considering how it wasn't the first time they were subjected to it.
Sora wondered how she could step into that gate so easily again. But she had already made a guess.
Despite it being his Quirk. That wasn't Kurogiri's warp gate. It was Monoma's. Someone who, despite all of his shenanigans, she could trust with her back.
They were pulled forward, as if squeezed through a tight pipe, and dropped through the other side. Their familiar school building greeted them, but the surrounding was different.
They were in the sky.
The whole building, along with some of the terrain, was converted into a flying platform and surrounded by a force field to prevent escape. The only way out would be through another warp gate or drilling a hole through the platform, which Sora knew the support team wouldn't allow unchallenged.
This whole trap was made with Shigaraki in mind, to be his coffin.
... Or theirs if things went poorly, because they were equally trapped as well, something she didn't want to ponder much.
A shout from beside her made that thought reaffirm itself in her mind only slightly. "Deku's not here!"
Great. Things were already heading in a bad direction from the very start.
" I-I-Isn't this bad?" Amajiki stuttered. " Without him, we can't fight like we were planning."
Yuu clicked his tongue. " Without One For All to hold Shigaraki down..."
" We have to tell the others!" Hado agreed.
Mirko, on the other hand, didn't seem the least disturbed by the news. Rather, she appeared annoyed that they hadn't started fighting yet. " Whatever, let's just do this! It already started, the fight against the greatest villain in recorded history!"
" Still..." Best Jeanist frowned.
" Midoriya will be here," Sora told them as she flew ahead. " There is no way he won't claw his way back here if needed. So..."
Her eyes narrowed while she took a fighting stance as she faced Shigaraki. " Let's do what we need to do."
As expected, Shigaraki's first move was to touch the ground. Of course, he would want to destroy the whole platform in one go.
But they didn't come to face him unprepared. The affected area got detached, blocks flying off as they crumbled into nothing, only for more to take their place.
Shigaraki was sent ramming into the electromagnetic barrier, and Best Jeanist had him in his metal wires, dragging him through the ground.
Yaomomo... Support course... we're entrusting it to you... Keep this place safe.
Said people were working underneath them, making sure the aircraft stayed afloat and in one piece, all while preparing extra support items for those fighting above, be it wires for Jeanist, prosthetics for Mirko, or machine guns for Bakugo.
" Yuu... don't push yourself, alright?" Sora glanced back at her friend. Seeing the strength of the barrier, she was once again reminded of the state he was in.
" There is no need to worry about me... this is the final battle. We will make it so." He frowned, his pupils shifting into slits as he did, claw marks appeared on his jaws, yellow streaks ran through his hair, and black scales manifested on his arms. " That's why I'm going all out too!"
Sora could only tense. She respected Yuu's will and resolve, but she was his friend. She worried.
The boy didn't only summon Kumainu to this battlefield. Several other spirits were already scattered around, starting with Thunderbird, who was providing electricity for the fortress. The crystal hedgehogs he had lent to Koda for additional support, and another, more gigantic, one left to defend UA's shelters if anything ever happened.
Also...
" You finally reached a threshold where you can summon me. I'm impressed." There was another spirit there, albeit in a ghostly form, one that looked like a dragon made out of water, its scales glimmering in the sun. " Not only that. You're actually performing a half Take over with me while maintaining several spirits materialized and also tapping into their strength. Not half bad..." the dragon narrowed two yellow, sharp eyes, ones that were similar to Yuu's at the very moment.
" This is the best I could come up with in the time we were given..." the boy mumbled. " This is my Quirk at its fullest form. And I'm using it to fight with everyone, for everyone!"
The dragon smirked. " Interesting. Then, show me what you're capable of."
His form faded, but Sora knew he was still there, right behind Yuu. She could sense his extraordinary strength.
Yuu became able to summon such a spirit... I shouldn't let myself fall back as well!