Momo continued, "Besides seeming to know who this villain was, she seemed particularly upset. She didn't dwell on it, but it was obvious after the first clone dissolved that she was upset. Angry."
Ochako wasn't sure what to make of that. Himiko's past is complicated. I guess it makes sense she might know other villains. She's mentioned some before but… "Was this deliberate? Do you think the League went looking for people with connections to Himiko?"
"I don't think so. Sai…" There was an annoyed growl from Katsuki. "Mustard seemed particularly shocked she knew who this Twice was."
"So, a coincidence?"
Momo shrugged. "I'm unsure. There was the other individual I spoke of. Spinner I think was the name, he appeared to be a follower of Stain. It might be that after learning Stain was in the League of Villains, followers of his ideology just naturally migrated to the organization. Which means they may be familiar with Toga and she with them."
"Fucking great. That's going to be a pain in the ass later," Katsuki grumbled.
Ochako gave him a side eye. "Why are you upset by that?"
"What do you think's gonna happen when the media hears that more Stain shits are making noise? And that they may know Bun Head? I'll bet you this'll turn her into a lightning rod again."
Ochako blinked, then swore harshly, "Fuck."
Kouji gasped, covering his mouth. Kyouka tapped his side. "Best you forget you heard that." Kouji nodded feverishly.
Katsuki just rolled his eyes, but gave his large classmate a once over. "You all haven't said what happened to the animal whisperer over here."
"Remember the fire villain we mentioned? The one that was probably responsible for the fires going on?" Ochako and Katsuki nodded. "Well, he got the drop on Kendou and me. Tried to burn us with a huge blast of fire. Kouda leapt in and put himself between us and the fire while he tackled us to safety." Kyouka laid a gentle hand on Kouji's arm. "Saved our lives and kept us from getting hurt by the fire."
Kouji made a few bashful waves, but Momo wasn't hearing it. "You deserve the praise, Kouda. I'm going to make sure the school knows how brave you were."
"Hear hear," Itsuka added.
"Hmph," Katsuki gave Kouji a hard look. "Not bad, Rock Face."
"Oh dear god, Bakugou's giving out compliments," Kyouka snickered.
"We must be deeper in the manure than I feared." Momo didn't seem to notice the looks she got for that one.
"Lobes, if she's going to hang around with you, for god's sake, get her to speak normally," Katsuki grumbled.
There was a snap, a twig cracking under weight. Kouji moved to shelter the passed out students while Itsuka closed her fingers around them. Momo pulled out a bo staff while Katsuki's hand started popping. "Whoever's in there better say their fucking name or I'm nuking everything and everyone over there right the fuck now!"
Silence followed Katsuki's threat.
Ochako leaned in, eyes squinted as she tried to peer through the dark and brush. "He's not kidding. You wanna live, out in the open now!" Nothing. Ochako glanced over at Kyouka, who had her jacks in the ground.
"Someone's there. But…" Kyouka frowned. "Sounds like they're in pain. They're breathing really hard… and I'm hearing… dripping?"
Itsuka looked towards the source of the snap. "Bleeding?"
"If that's what that dripping is, then they're really hurt," Kyouka confirmed grimly.
Momo pulled her staff back, lowering it and putting it on the ground. Her side began to sparkle before a white case, marked with a red cross, popped out from her waist. Katsuki looked incredulous, but Momo shushed him.
"If you're injured, we can help you." Momo ignored the looks Katsuki and Ochako shot her. "We're supposed to be heroes. I don't recall any of our lessons being ignoring an injured individual. If he's already gotten the stick, we might get more from the carrot right now." Ochako seemed more open to that than Katsuki, but he wasn't making a point to argue. "Please, just come out to us, and we can help you."
For a few seconds, silence. Kyouka confirmed they were still there. Ochako was about to suggest maybe they needed to send someone in to get them. Then came a raspy groan.
"I… can't…"
Ochako jerked like she'd just been punched in the nose. Katsuki lowered his hands while the rest all stared in open shock into the dark bushes.
"Deku?!" Ochako called out. "Deku, is that you?!" She started for the brush, but came to a halt when there was a pained cry and the sound of someone stumbling away from them.
"N-no. No, can't see… no… Bad idea… bad idea to look for you…"
Everyone was confused, looking at each other, not knowing what was going on.
"Is… Did Midoriya just run back?" Momo asked.
Kyouka nodded. "He moved back. But not far or anything."
Still, Izuku had moved away from Ochako. Which was alarming.
Katsuki's eyes darted from a very confused and starting to panic Ochako, then towards the brush. "He sounds like he did after our fucking match at the sports festival." Ochako glanced at him. Katsuki turned back to look at the brush. "And you got mad at him the last time that happened, right? And over the other crap too. Chased him down." Ochako's eyes went wide. "He made promises about not letting this happen, right?"
Itsuka blinked. "Wait, is he not coming out because he's afraid Uraraka will be—"
"Deku! Deku, I'm not mad. I won't be mad or anything like that. If you're hurt, please. Please come out so we can help you!" Ochako whipped around and called out, worry and fear gripping at her, but she tried to keep her voice steady.
If Deku has a concussion, he might be confused about what's going on. He'd never just hide like this.
"I broke… my promise," came a soft reply.
Ochako reached out her hand toward the shadows. "It's okay. Deku, it's okay. We all got attacked. Look, I'm all beat up too. So… so it's okay if you had to push yourself tonight. Just please… please don't run away from me. Let us help, okay?"
Ochako held her breath, fighting every instinct screaming at her to rush into the brush to get to Izuku's side. But the part fighting to hold her in place made it clear. Doing so while Izuku was hurt and confused, could send the boy running. Which could make a bad situation even worse.
The bushes rustled and Kyouka let out a sigh. "He's coming."
They could all hear it clearly now, Izuku getting closer to them, could just see his silhouette in the shadows. But as he got closer, things began to look wrong. They could hear his labored breathing, raspy and filled with pain, see the way he swayed with each step, unsteady on his own feet. He was leaning to the side, letting his right arm hang limply. When he was finally close enough to reach for Ochako's hand with his left, it was when he was out of the shadows and everyone could see him.
"Oh dear god," gasped a horrified Momo.
Izuku stood before them now, in all his mutilated horror.
Itsuka and Kouji forgot how to breathe for a long moment. Kyouka had a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Katsuki was left stunned and frozen stiff.
Ochako's heart shattered, tears welling up as she was left confused as to what to do.
Izuku, unsteady and leaving a trail of blood behind him, looked over Ochako, worry replacing the confused empty, glazed over, expression his face had had moments earlier. "You're hurt." In that moment, his own hurts and pains were forgotten as he suddenly only cared about Ochako's well-being. "We need to get you… first… aid…" He stepped towards her, but his legs gave out.
Crying in shock, Ochako wrapped her arms around him, holding him so he wouldn't hit the ground.
"What happened…? To you guys?" Izuku looked at Katsuki, but it was clear the question was for everyone. "Why're you all look like you lost your fights?"
"Shut the fuck up. Don't want to hear that from you."
Kouji just tapped his fingers together, not thinking his actions warranted any concern, which got some leveled looks from the rest of his group.
Ochako kept Izuku's head lying on her lap while Momo and Kyouka went to work. More and more first aid boxes were created and snapped open as they used everything Momo could create to help tend to Izuku. As they worked, Izuku summed up his fight as best he could.
"The sludge bastard did this?" Katsuki growled as Izuku recounted the events he'd gone through. Hearing that he of all people was around had his bristle up. He had some hateful memories of his own over that villain. "How in the fuck?"
Izuku coughed, and on top of sounding horrible, everyone saw the smoke that escaped Izuku's mouth. "He… took over another villain's body. Lots of muscles…" Izuku gingerly started to reach up towards his face, but Ochako cupped his hand between hers to stop him. "Lots of… bones."
Momo and Kyouka paused and glanced at Izuku's injuries. The punctures, gashes and lacerations suddenly made a lot more sense.
Ochako bushed Izuku's hair, being careful to keep her touch delicate when her hand went towards his right side. "Himiko's going to be mad you two won't be pirate buddies."
Izuku made a soft, wheezing chuckle.
"How'd you win?" Katsuki asked. Izuku glanced down at his mangled, overcooked chicken-wing-from-the-fryer, fingers. So did everyone else. The conversation was quickly shifted.
"We can worry about the villain later," Itsuka said, frowning. "Midoriya. What happened to Kouta?"
When Izuku had mentioned he'd done what he'd done to protect Kouta, more than a few worried looks were shared since it didn't seem the young boy was with Izuku now.
"Ran… into Mineta. Asked him to take Kouta to the camp," Izuku rasped out.
Ochako swallowed. "He left you?" There was an unmistakable edge in Ochako's voice.
Momo paused as she started wrapping up Izuku's hastily disinfected face. "Uraraka. I don't think Mineta could doanything for Midoriya."
Izuku painfully agreed. "He said… he didn't think he could carry me. Told him… to go."
Kouji shifted on his feet, his eyes scanning the forest as it was really the only place he could look without getting queasy. "He was alone?"
"Separated from his group when a villain attacked them," Izuku summed up. Then, as Momo had Ochako gently turn his head to the side so she could finish wrapping it up in gauze, Izuku looked at Kouji. "Weren't you and Himiko… paired up?"
Kouji started making motions, but Momo stepped in, thinking it would be easier for Izuku if the explanation came from her. "Toga was with us during the start of the attack. After we… got away from the villain we were dealing with, we decided that she should go on ahead to warn the teachers. Kouda stayed to help with the wounded."
Izuku got a good look at who Itsuka was carrying. He might have been in extreme pain and dealing with easily his third worst case of getting his bell rung, but even he still saw how everyone suddenly seemed more interested in anything other than answering. "How bad is this?"
Ochako swallowed. "Bad."
"How bad?"
Katsuki clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Depends on which fucked thing we tell you."
"Bakugou. There'll be time for that later," Ochako warned. She did not want to add to the stress Izuku was going through right now. Saito, Tsubasa and godforsaken Tomura could wait until after this nightmare was over.
Kyouka waved Katsuki over. "Get over here and hold his arm still so I can splint it." The lacerations were now gauzed over, so she could now worry about making sure his arm wouldn't flop around when… "Hey. What's the plan now?"
Katsuki frowned as he held Izuku's arm steady while Kyouka began tying the splint. "The hell you mean?"
"I mean, what are we going to do now that we found Midoriya?"
Itsuka looked over her shoulder at her classmates. "We'll get him back to camp with everyone else."
Momo stopped what she was doing, but Ochako beat her to the punch. "We can't move him. He's in no condition to be moved. We need to fortify and wait for Aizawa-sensei or Midnight-sensei."
Kyouka glanced down at Izuku as she finished. This was the first time she'd seen him in such a state up close. "He was moving around when we found him. I don't think staying out in the open is a good idea." The unspoken 'how in the fuck was he moving at all' question hung in the air for several seconds. "We also have to worry about more than just Midoriya…" She glanced at him. "No offense. But we got people that I don't think we can keep here."
Everyone looked over at the still unconscious classmates Itsuka was holding.
Ochako nodded. "Okay… yeah, Kendou's classmates need to get back to camp." Ochako glanced down at Izuku. The emergency treatment was done, and with him all bandaged up, she slowly lowered him onto the soft grass. She kept stroking his hair until she stood up. "Yaoyorozu, can you make more emergency supplies… and maybe some tools or weapons I could use to defend us?"
Itsuka frowned deeply. "Hold on. No one's suggesting we leave you two here alone! We can't do that."
"Splitting up is our best option," Ochako countered as she began walking around, trying to get a good feel of her surroundings. Trying to see if there was a better spot she and Izuku could hide. "The five of you need to get back to camp as fast as you can."
"Oi, hold it." Katsuki was up and moving to get in front of her. "You think I'm leaving?"
"…I think it'd be better if you went with them," Ochako stated. Each word, calm. Collected. And cold. "You can help protect them."
Katsuki eyed Ochako. "That really what this is about? Me protecting them? Or is your paranoia acting up and you just want me gone?"
Everyone could see the sparks starting to crackle and jolt between the two. Kyouka put herself between them while Momo made it very clear, whatever this was, it stopped now. "You two need to put whatever petty bickering you're going through behind you. I will not allow you two to endanger all of us by acting like a pair of immature children."
Katsuki snarled as he twisted to glare at Momo. "Who are you calling a child?"
Momo didn't blink. "We are in a dangerous situation with injured that require treatment. We need to come up with a plan and act on it before we—"
"MEMBERS OF CLASS A AND B!" Mandalay's voice suddenly cut through the brewing argument, making everyone flinch.
Izuku chuckled softly. "He he he, the voices in my head are talking again…" Ochako and Katsuki stiffened, but it didn't seem like anyone really noticed. They were all too busy focusing on the sudden telepathic message being sent to them.
"Villains have left, the villains have left," Kouji whispered hopefully to himself, praying the message was that the danger was over.
"YOU ARE HEREBY AUTHORIZED BY ERASER HEAD TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT!"
The six all openly gawked. "We're… what?" Kyouka asked.
"That's… that's not a good sign," Itsuka said grimly. "If they're telling us we're allowed to fight, after Mandalay's first broadcast…"
"Ponytail was right, we're still neck deep in shit," Katsuki growled out.
"WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED THE VILLAINS' OBJECTIVE FOR THIS ATTACK!" Everyone got quiet. "THEIR GOAL IS MIDORIYA IZUKU! I REPEAT, THE VILLAINS ARE AFTER MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
"Oh god." Ochako suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"MIDORIYA WAS CRITICALLY INJURED DUE TO AN ENCOUNTER WITH ONE OF THE VILLAINS WHILE SAVING KOUTA! HE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DEFEND HIMSELF. FIND AND GET HIM BACK TO CAMP! MIDORIYA, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME! PLEASE YOU'VE DONE MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER ASKED! AVOID ANY MORE COMBAT AND GET BACK TO CAMP!"
And then.
Silence.
One moment, Ochako found it hard to breathe. Another, she was starting to hyperventilate as panic and horror gripped her. "Oh god, they're after Deku. They're after—!"
She slapped herself across the face. Momo and Kyouka flinched while Itsuka and Katsuki approved when Ochako turned back, looking ready to work.
"We can't stay here. Yaoyorozu, I need you to make a stretcher. We'll secure Deku to it and then I'll float him and it. It's not perfect, but it's the best way we can move him without aggravating his injuries any worse than they are."
She pointed towards Katsuki. "You need to take point. If we're attacked, you're going to be the chainsaw they walk into first." Katsuki nodded. "Kouda, I want you to…" Ochako trailed off when she noticed Kouda wasn't looking at her. Or anyone in their huddle. He was looking back, and appeared completely shocked. "Kouda?"
Kouji pointed widely behind them, panicked.
Ochako whipped around, just to see her world shatter in front of her. The spot where she had laid Izuku down was empty. And Ochako just stopped functioning. She couldn't understand what was going on.
Katsuki swore. "Fuck! He must have run off! Motherfucking shithead must think since he's the target he has to get away from us! Ears! Find him now!"
Kyouka jammed her jacks into the ground while Itsuka shook her head. "How is he moving, though? He shouldn't be able to stand. All that damage, his body should be shutting down to protect itsel—"
"I can't hear him," Kyouka gasped out. Her eyes now darted around as she physically looked while listening. "There's… I can't hear him. He's…"
Momo also started looking around. "He can't just be gone."
Kyouka hushed everyone harshly, demanding quiet.
This doesn't make sense. Jirou should be able to hear him.
Kyouka stopped. The long jacks went rigid before her panicked look turned sour, a deep frown etching on her face. Then suddenly, Kyouka yanked both jacks out and launched the ends to the side, embedding them into a tree. A split second later, after she pumped vibrations through them, the tree shattered.
"There's someone there!" Kyouka yelled, just as whoever was in the branches leapt from the tree top, only to land on another.
A man no one recognized patted himself down. "My, you sure sniffed me out quickly. I may be a star, but tonight, I wanted to stick to the shadows and let my co-stars have the limelight. Just my luck running into someone with your talents, young lady. The name is Mr. Compress." The man tipped his tall top hat towards Kyouka. His face was hidden by a white mask with black markings. "I'd hoped to slip in and out while you all were so distracted amongst yourselves."
Ochako ground her teeth as she screamed, "What did you do to Deku?!"
Mr. Compress leaned on his cane while raising his hand. With a few hand gestures you might see from a corner street showman, a small green marble appeared between his fingers. "Fret not. I haven't harmed the young man. I just used my magic to take him. I am sorry, but even the brightest stars like this boy, all have to face the reality that they can be pulled backstage at any mome—"
"RAAHHHHH!" Ochako threw herself at him, screaming like a wild beast as she rocketed across the air weightlessly. Her hands swiped at him as he nimbly pivoted and lept to another tree while she slammed into the branches.
While she reoriented herself, Mr. Compress took a second to pocket the marble. "My my my, you're—"
"GIVE HIM BACK!" Ochako had already ripped herself free and had launched herself again.
Mr. Compress lept again. "You're very possessive, huh? Not an attractive trait in a wom—"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Katsuki propelled himself right at the man, swinging his hands out as he threw a line of explosions meant to envelop him and any escape route he might try to use. But Mr. Compress was already dodging past, and the explosions only cut into Ochako's path. "Fucker! Stay still and die!"
Mr. Compress didn't stop this time when he landed. Instead he kept bouncing away, loudly complaining that if his showmanship wasn't going to be appreciated, he was just going to leave.
Ochako slammed back into the ground after getting knocked back by the explosions. "No! NO! NO NO NO!"
"How the fuck is he that fast?!" Katsuki swore loudly as he landed. But he wasn't staying put. Hands pointed back, he was about to propel himself after the showy villain, only to get grabbed by Momo.
"Hold it, you can't go after him alone. If Midoriya was his target he may be—" Momo then pivoted and latched onto Ochako, restraining her before she floated herself again to try and fly after the escaping villain. "LISTEN! If he has Midoriya, then the odds are he'll contact his fellow conspirators. I will not allow the two of you to potentially face a group of villains alone."
Ochako ripped herself free. "Yaoyorozu, we don't have time!"
"No. We don't. I will not let you face this without better odds." Momo turned towards Kyouka. "I'll need your help for my plan. Hurry!" Kyouka didn't hesitate and hurried towards Momo and the confused and panicked Ochako. Katsuki eyed the calm vice rep. "The four of us will give chase. Uraraka, you'll float us. Jirou and I will tie us together so we don't get separated in flight. Kendou, you'll need to throw us towards the villain. Kouda, stay with her and help get her classmates to safety and tell the teachers what's happened. Bakugou, you'll be the one controlling our flight so we don't lose sight of our target. Understood?!"
Itsuka swiftly put her classmates down while Momo began creating straps for everyone to hold onto while Kyouka wrapped her jacks around the four. Once they were floated, Itsuka hefted them up. "Get him guys!" she screamed as she reared back and threw them.
The force of the throw was shocking, but Katsuki was able to keep them facing where they wanted to go with corrective explosions. As they flew in pursuit, Ochako glared into the darkness, repeating to herself that she wasn't going to let the villains take Izuku away.
She had made a promise to protect him.
To him.
To Inko.
To herself.
She was not going to let the villains win. Not after everything they had already done to him.
I'm coming Deku. Just hold on! I'll get you back!
"MEMBERS OF CLASS A AND B! YOU ARE HEREBY AUTHORIZED BY ERASER HEAD TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT!
Tenya, Shouto and Tsuyu were in mid stride/hop when Mandalay's telepathic message screamed into their minds. But the exact moment they heard that combat was authorized, and their feet hit the ground, they instantly turned to stop running and counterattacked.
"Flesh! Let me cut into you!" Moonfish's bladed teeth grew out like spears, raining down from above them. Shouto sent out a wall of ice. However, unlike the previous attempts to put up defensive walls, this wasn't meant to slow down the villain, but to ensnare him.
He kept the wall low to the ground, and instead of spreading the ice out, focused on building it around the teeth that slammed into it. Glaciers formed around the teeth, keeping them from reaching the three of them but also holding the villain in place.
Cracks immediately started to form, but Shouto kept applying more ice. "Hurry before he breaks free!"
What had surprised the three during the attack the most, wasn't the villain's desire to cut into them. The manic evil that seeped from him as he tried to stab them with his teeth. It was the way he used his Quirk to move. That mobility was a hurdle to any attempt to fight back.
Tenya saw the opening, but there was still the issue of reaching.
Which Tsuyu took care of immediately. As Tenya's engines roared to life, she sent out her tongue to wrap around his waist, swinging him up into the air like a rocket-propelled pendulum, letting Tenya pick up momentum to power up the kick he was aiming for the villain's head, intent to knock him out in one blow.
New teeth shot out from Moonfish's mouth while the old stuck ones were yanked out, pushing himself to the side, so that Tenya was only able to land a glancing blow. But the villain's own dodge and the force of Tsuyu and Tenya's combined attack still sent the villain spiraling into the trees, disappearing into the brush with very loud crashes as limbs broke his fall.
Tsuyu swung Tenya back towards her, while Shouto switched from ice to fire.
"Hold Todoroki!" Tenya called out. "We can't risk igniting more of the forest on fire! We may end up making things worse for everyone else still in the woods!"
Shouto frowned, but couldn't argue. "Then we need to figure out a plan soon. I don't think that kick took him…" White bladed teeth slowly began to snake out of the shadows. "…out."
"We need to hurry, kero," Tsuyu said with urgency. "You heard the rest of the message."
Both Tenya and Shouto agreed they needed to finish this, and fast.
"Tsu. You can't let yourself get distracted by what we've learned," Shouto offered his noticeably antsy friend. "If you're not focused on this fight, you're going to get hurt."
More and more bladed teeth were emerging from the dark, like the legs of a spider descending down its web towards its prey.
"Todoroki is correct. We won't be able to help anyone if we don't focus." He was relieved to see that Tsuyu agreed. Her normally large eyes were narrowed dangerously, showing her intent, and that she'd picked up some tricks from either Ochako or Himiko on how to make an angry face.
"The moment he comes out of the bushes, we rush him from either side. Todoroki, I want you to focus on using your ice as a shield to slow down his attacks. Help create an opening for us."
The black form of Moonfish slowly emerged. "Flesh!"
"GO NO—!"
SHUNK!
Moonfish's head jerked to the side as a large knife was driven into his jaw. Multiple teeth shot out of his mouth in a blind, panicked, attack. A wet scream of rage and pain ripped through the night air.
CRACK!
The knife, driven into the villain's jawbone twisted, splintering bone and separating Moonfish's lower jaw. His jaw now compromised and his own flailing attacks with teeth growing and striking out at random, soon left his mouth shredded and hanging loosely off his face as he stopped and the last of his teeth separated from his mouth, ending in bloody nubs.
The trio openly gawked at the sudden violent turn, then winced when the knife was viciously yanked out, pulling chunks of Moonfish's jaw along with it. Collapsing to the ground, Himiko stood over the writhing villain. Face cold and emotionless, she waltzed around the writhing sadist, before driving the knife into his sternum.
"Toga!" cried out an alarmed Tenya.
Himiko raised a hand, letting him know to wait. Then as she knelt besides Moonfish. "The knife is right next to your heart. Don't remove it, don't come after us. Stay right there, and by the time the heroes come to arrest you, you'll still be alive in time for them to hang your ass at the gallows until your feet stop twitching. Or don't, and end things on your own terms. You'll bleed out before you're able to plan step two."
Himiko let go of the hilt, then turned towards the three. There was a brief moment where she was almost unrecognizable to them, then with a blink, she bolted towards Tsuyu and wrapped her up in the tightest hug, burying her face in her girlfriend's neck as she clutched her close.
Tsuyu, initially overcome with shock at just how brutally Himiko had dispatched the villain chasing them, was able to reach up and stroke Himiko's hair. "I'm okay, kero."
"I know," Himiko whispered. "You can take care of yourself. Just… give me a sec."
Tsuyu nodded. "You're two for two in the villain rescue category in our relationship. USJ and now. I need to step up soon or I'm going to be the only person in the whole relationship without a rescue."
Himiko stayed glued to Tsuyu for a few more moments, before she pulled back, and looked over at her friends. "You two alright?"
"We're not cut up," Shouto observed dryly.
Tenya glanced back at the Moonfish, who was apparently taking Himiko's first option. Staying still. "I suppose that's one of us."
"Complaining?"
Tenya adjusted his glasses. "I recall my brother talking about this man. There aren't many villains that actually get the death sentence."
Himiko got the message. While Tenya didn't condone her methods, he sure wasn't going to complain about them. Since everyone seemed to be in one piece, Himiko put her game face back on. "You all got the message?"
"We did," Tenya confirmed. "About being able to fight, and Midoriya."
Himiko gave a curt nod while she looked around. "Good. According to Mineta, when he last saw Izuku, he was hurt bad. Izuku sent him away along with that Kouta kid to get taken to camp. The problem is, he said Izuku was dazed but able to walk."
Tsuyu frowned. "You're thinking he might have wandered off from wherever they last met."
Himiko nodded while she walked up to one of the long spider-legged tooth blades sticking out of the ground. With a few hard kicks to the flat of it, the tooth cracked, then splintered off from the rest. Taking a chunk of ice, Himiko smashed it, breaking it until she had several long knife shaped shards.
"Yeah. Izuku was headed towards the camp only because Kouta was pointing him in the correct direction." She ripped at her clothing until she had several long strips of cloth to wrap up the ends of the shards with, until she had a small collection of makeshift shivs. "Without the kid, Izuku could be anywhere. But we still should head towards—"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The four turned and peered off into the night sky.
"Those are Bakugou's explosions, kero."
The class knew those booms by heart now. Tenya then pointed. "There, look!"
Shouto squinted. "What is… Are those…?"
"Bakugou, Momo, Kyouka and…" Himiko kept her eye focused. "Ochako for sure. No chance they're flying like that without her."
The oddness of the sight would have kept the four speechless if not for Tenya pointing out, "They're flying away from camp. Out towards where some of the worst of the fire was."
"And the gas," Himiko added darkly. "Where you'd be crazy to go. A death trap."
Tsuyu tapped her chin. "If the villains wanted to make an escape… it'd be easier for them to all be in one place, right? And they'd want to keep us away from that."
"A place so their portal bastard can grab them all at once." Himiko suddenly had a bad feeling. "Oh fuck. There's only one reason Ochako would be headed that way."
The answer hung over their heads, smothering them. Ochako would be focused on finding and protecting Izuku. The only reason she would be part of some attack on the villains was for one thing.
"They have Izuku," Tsuyu croaked in alarm.
Himiko bolted, following in the trail of the fire rockets. Tenya swung an arm around Shouto, lifting him up, while he called for Tsuyu to hop onto his back. With his engines roaring, he took off, picking up Himiko before she'd been able to vanish into the brush. Even with the weight of three people weighing him down, Tenya powered through, working his legs and Quirk to catch up with the others as they sailed through the sky.
"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa hold on!" Hitoshi chased after a surprisingly fast Mei. "What do you mean you lost the signal?"
Arriving with Aizawa as he led the rest of the group back to camp, they had only just arrived when Mei took off to where the buses were parked.
Mei chucked the pad she had been looking at over her shoulder and into the sputtering boy's hands as he tried not to drop the device. "I mean one second I was getting readings on Midoriya and now I'm not."
Hitoshi looked down at the silent pad's screen. No data was showing. Instead across it were two words.
Signal Lost.
Hitoshi paled at the words. "You're not… you're not saying he's dead?"
As the pair reached the parked buses, Mei snatched the device and started pressing at the screen. "Don't be stupid. If he was dead, then this would be telling me."
Hitoshi put a hand over his heart and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god, things aren't that bad."
"Oh, they're worse."
"…Huh?"
Something started rumbling from behind one of the buses before Mei's robo-cycle shot up into the air, loaded up already with the mobile workshop, as Mei normally kept it. "He's been captured by the villains."
Hitoshi paused, eyes going wide. "Hold it, you can't know that. Maybe the thing is just busted!" Mei gave him a look. "Okay… maybe not that. But to just assume…" He trailed off when Mei brought the cycle down next to her and hopped on.
"No one here has a Quirk that can interfere with the signal my trackers have," she stated plainly.
"…Fuck… Then we need to get Aizawa-sensei and Vlad-sensei…"
"Eraser Head and Vlad King were in the middle of discussing who was staying to guard at camp and who was going to start searching for the rest of 1-B." Mei thumbed back at an empty spot on the cycle. "You can go tell Vlad King and Eraser Head and they might have a free hand to send out. Or you can put all the training you've been doing to use and help me save Midoriya."
Hitoshi ground his teeth before he clambered onto the cycle, grumbling the whole climb. "Should have failed that damned exam. Going to save Midoriya and chew him out for helping me pass."
"Who hasn't reported in?" Dabi asked as he strolled besides Chimera.
Chimera blew out a long puff of smoke while he almost crushed his cigars between his fingers. "Muscular, Moonfish and Hedoro haven't responded to the call to regroup at extraction."
Besides them, Twice shook his head. "Oh man, all the nut jobs are dropping like flies! Oh, but I'm still here! Does this mean Twice is on the chopping block?!" Both men regarded Twice with mild annoyance but let the strange man spout off.
Walking into the clearing the rest of the attack squad was currently standing by,. Dabi glanced over at the most recent arrival. "The plan was that we would use my fire and the gas to keep people away from this spot." Saito glared at Dabi, hand clutching the ruined gas mask. "But after his screwup, this spot isn't as secure as we'd want it."
Saito jabbed a finger at Dabi. "Your clone got popped! Don't try and pin this all on me!"
Twice pointed at Dabi and himself. "Wait, is that Dabi's fault or mine?"
Beros, not missing a chance, added, "We also don't have the long range cover we were expecting either."
Spinner put a hand on Saito's shoulder to help calm him down, while also addressing Beros. "I don't think we can blame her for having to move after… whatever that blast was."
"No one is putting blame on anyone right now," Chimera cut in. "The operation is still on. We focus on completing what we came here to do."
Twice motioned towards himself proudly. "At least my clones got the backup target." Then smacked himself. "Well the clones should get the credit, since they're the ones that grabbed her." Then he paused. "Or should the credit go to our missing leader and that scary thing who scooped her up before GTFO-ing?"
Magne smirked. "He's the boss so, of course he'll get the credit. Still, where does that leave us? The three creepy ones are gone, but that masked handsome string-bean hasn't radio'd in yet either."
Chimera took a long drag. "He last reported he was approaching Midoriya's location and was going to radio silenc—"
There was a crackle in everyone's ear as their radios went off. "Everyone! The target has been secured! I have Midoriya Izuku! I'm almost at the rendezvous point now. We need to extract quickly!"
Dabi frowned while Beros began floating into the sky. "Quickly? Wasn't the plan that we got five minutes to reach here once we had the kid?"
Beros was up above the treeline. "I have visual on Mr. Compress. He's only a few… Shit!" Beros knocked an arrow. "He was followed! We have incoming!"
Beros fired multiple arrows, while the villains below hopped to attention.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
"It's the exploding kid!" Beros called out. "And… the hell?! Compress, move! You're about to get—"
Bero's warning came too late. The villain watched Mr. Compress breach the treeline, just before somethingslammed into his back, and drove him into the ground.
Straps were torn off.
Jacks unwrapped.
Finger pads touched together.
Palms sparked and cracked.
And a little green marble flew from Mr. Compress' hand, bouncing off the grass before it popped, and Izuku's body tumbled across the ground, coming to rest, with him now laying motionless between the two groups.
"Get Deku GO!" Ochako screamed as she made a mad dash for him.
"Secure the target!" Chimera roared.
Dabi leapt to the side, "Compress, move!" and swung out his hand while calling out a warning. Blue flames were already swirling around his palm as he fired off a stream right for the group of kids still standing on the villain's back.
Mr. Compress twisted out from under everyone and dove for cover. Just as the rest did the same,flames slammed into the spot everyone had been standing. Katsuki yanked Momo and Kyouka away while Ochako scrambled for Izuku.
Magne tsked. "Uh uh little girl!" And swung her giant metal beam at Ochako. "I think you should sit down!"
BAM!
The beam hit, just as Ochako threw the hardest kick she could into it, knocking the swing wide and up. Manga blinked in alarm. "Oh, so you're scary!" Before she could bring the beam back down, Ochako twisted on her heel and drove her other foot into the villain's stomach.
"ARHHH!" Saito charged Ochako, but was suddenly yanked off his feet as Katsuki exploded overhead, grabbed him by the collar and threw him over his shoulder, slamming Saito's face into the ground.
"These guys suck! You bastards are done!" Katsuki kicked off Saito's body, and turned up to face Beros. "And you, bitch? We got unfinished business!"
"Bakugou! MOVE!" Momo called out as she set up a cannon. "MOVE!"
Katsuki twisted, just in time to see Chimera charging him. Hand up, he fired off multiple explosions until his whole form vanished in dust and smoke. "Ha! Looks like I just put down Old Yelle—" Chimera roared as he exploded out of the smoke, completely unharmed. Katsuki flinched back, this time alarmed. He fired more explosions, but they didn't do anything to slow the charging villain down. Chimera reached out with a clawed hand to grab Katsuki…
…Just as the roar of an engine ripped through the trees and Tenya rocketed across the ground, leg twisted to deliver a kick right to Chimera's head. The contact between the engine propelled kick and wolf skull made a loud crackthat everyone in the clearing heard.
"Hmph, not bad for a runt." Chimera shocked the students as he looked at Tenya. "But you're fighting way outside your weight class, boy." Chimera grabbed Tenya's ankle and swung him around, right into Katsuki, sending both boys tumbling across the ground.
Twice looked around. "Oh look! I can see my breath… But it's summer?!"
Dabi's head snapped up. "Incoming!" He warned, just as a wall of ice exploded out from the trees and straight for Chimera.
The wolf man growled before he opened his mouth, and fired off a blast of flame that shattered the ice before it even reached him. Shouto stared in shock from his spot in the bushes while Chimera smirked. "Anyone else want to— Beros, the target!"
Beros, from above, swiveled around, and saw the issue. A long winding tongue was going right for Izuku's body. "Oh no you don't." Bero fired multiple arrows, raining them down on the pink appendage, stopping it in its tracks. She then changed her target and fired more arrows from where the tongue had come from. Tsuyu leaped and bounded out of the way, wincing as multiple arrows grazed her, and she hopped for safety.
"I got her! I got her!" Spinner yelled as he rushed Tsuyu, swinging his giant sword around. "I got, URK!" The ground under Spinner writhed, then split, sending the gecko man falling flat on his ass.
Kyouka, jacks sent out and jammed into the ground, pointed at him. "Yao-Momo! There's one down! Hit'em!"
Momo swerved the cannon she'd made, wincing slightly since after creating so many objects, she was starting to feel the effect of overusing her Quirk. "I hope I got the compound right." She fired a glob of gray that splattered Spinner. He cried out as the glob hardened around him.
"What the hell is this stuff?!"
"Fast drying cement, made famous by Gang Orca's—"
"Less explaining and more splatting Ponytail!" Katsuki screamed.
"Oh?! Oh yes!" Momo turned while Kyouka loaded another round into the cannon. Momo aimed high, right for Beros. "Let's deal with the air cover!"
Beros lept back as Momo and Kyouka worked in tandem to try and shoot her out of the sky. "A little help here!"
Chimera snarled and charged the pair. Ochako leapt for him, but she was batted away before she could touch him, her eyes going wide at just how easily he powered through her. Chimera suddenly came to a stop halfway to the pair, his ear twitching. His head on a swivel, he looked around, before he hurried to raise his arm in front of his head. Just in time to stop a shiv from being driven into his skull.
Blood dripping down his arm, he lowered it so he could look Himiko in the face as she hung in the air, still holding onto the makeshift stabber. "Toga."
"Kon," Himiko growled. "Where's the rest of your merry band?"
"Not here." Chimera glanced at the many shivs Himiko had on her. He noted they weren't made of metal but something closer to… "Moonfish?"
"Ripped them out myself."
"Hmph."
The exchange ended when Chimera took a swipe at Himiko, who yanked the shiv out and launched herself away from the villain's claws. As she landed, she flipped the shiv in her hand, and holding the sharp end, threw it so that it hit the tree Twice was next to with a solid thunk.
"HA! You missed by a mile! AH! That was too close!" Twice flinched to the side.
Himiko glanced his way. "I see anything come out of your hands, the next one goes between your eyes. Jin, don't get involved."
Twices eyes narrowed, and then pointed a thumb at himself. "It's Twice! Only my friends get to call me Jin!"
The villains were scattered along with the students. In the middle lay Izuku. Ochako was back on her feet. "You're taking Deku over my dead body."
Dabi rolled his eyes. "Kid, you realize that's not the threat you think it is, right?" He then turned to address the group. "Let's be clear. We are leaving with this kid. You coming here isn't going to change that. All it's going to do is get yourselves killed. And make his," Dabi motioned towards Izuku, "final moments with us all the more painful. Because he seems like the sort that would just get all torn up knowing one of you got killed because of him." Blue flame danced on Dabi's hands while the students all glared at him. "So. You all get one chance to turn around and leave. Because this isn't going to go the way you think it will."
Ochako growled, "We beat you League of Villain scrubs back at the USJ. We've had lots of training since then."
Dabi smirked. "Kid, you beat a bunch of posers when Shigaraki thought quantity trumped quality. Guess what, we're the quality. And you're out of your league." Dabi glanced Himiko's way. "Look at her. She's wound up worse than a feral cat. She knows what the deal is. Hell," Dabi thumbed over at Chimera, "this big bastard could take you all on himself."
Ochako took the risk to shift her focus. As much as she hated it, Chimera was giving her the same feeling she'd had when she'd been face to face with Stain. Hell, these villains in general just felt different than the ones from the USJ. Not that it really mattered to her. I'm saving Deku.
"Really? Quality? With a guy dressed like a Stain fanboy and a tantrum throwing brat?!"
Dabi shrugged as he answered, "Not every team is…." He trailed off, coming to a dead stop mid-sentence, and swayed on his feet, unmoving like a statue. The villains turned and Magne tilted her head.
"Burnt Ends? Hello? What just happened?"
Chimera twisted as his eyes went wide. "None of these kids said anything! The one with mind control! Damn it! He's hiding…" He pointed. "THERE!"
Magne focused on the spot Chimera pointed. Suddenly there was a blue glow, followed by a red that enveloped Tsuyu. Hitoshi was yanked out of the bushes at the same time Tsuyu croaked out in alarm as she was pulled off the ground. Sticking down, she became an anchor as Hitoshi slammed into her.
The crack left no doubt Hitoshi and Tsuyu were knocked the fuck out from the hit.
Twice pointed angrily. "Cheap trick! I love it! … Hold on. Anyone hear that?" Twice looked around. "Oop, car! Car, everyone out of the road! How is there a road in the middle of the woods?" Twice promptly skedaddled while the other villains watched him run off.
Chimera looked like an ulcer in his stomach burst. "Car? What the fuck is he talking about?"
VROOM!
"…Okay, that does sound like a—"
CRASH!
Bursting out of the trees, Mei gunned the engines of her robocycle and pointed it towards the biggest villain she saw.
"—CAR?!" Chimera yelled out just before Mei slammed into him, folding him over the front of her contraption and off his feet. The metal of the cycle crumpled from the impact, but Mei never let off the gas. The force was enough for Mei to drive him straight into the other side of the clearing, crashing him through the trees before both were out of sight.
"Hatsume!" Shouto yelled in alarm.
"Shit, looks like Goggles just took out their big gun. Everyone, take these fuckers out now!" Katsuki screamed as he launched himself up toward Beros. At the same time, the rest of the students charged. Ochako rushed as fast as she could, repeating words over and over in her head.
I'm going to save Deku!
Mei pressed the pedal down to the floor as she urged her robocycle on. For every tree-struck she could feel it shudder and break underneath her. She hated this, but she hated the idea of what it meant to lose even more. It felt like just spending a couple of days training alongside her friends and their classmates had corrupted her with their dumb heroic nonsense.
That burn guy said this dude was the biggest threat. So let's take him off the board!
"HA! How's my bumper taste, asshole!" A clawed hand ripped up and grabbed the hood of the cycle. "Uh oh!"
"Oh, he's gonna rip that dumb kid apart," Lady Nagant muttered to herself as she worked her scope to get an eye on the two. "Dumb kid hit him with a car thinking it would do anything besides piss the big guy off."
She had only just gotten back into position when the attack happened, and she had let herself turn away from the huge brawl since the sheer randomness and weirdness of someone driving a flying vehicle into one of the most dangerous people of their attack squad was just too random to ignore.
Another crash and more metal was thrown into the air, letting the sniper figure out exactly where Chimera and the dumb kid had landed. Shrapnel exploded out of an opening in the brush. And Lady Nagant was pretty sure the kid was wrapped up in the mess.
Mei screamed as she pulled her mobile workshop around herself and got off the bike, just as it was torn apart.
"Little bitch!"
Mei had spent the past two days making so many inventions specifically to combat the endless waves of stone golems created by Pixie-Bob. She now was throwing them all at Chimera. Drones, remote bombs, heat-seeking sticky grenades, plasma explosives. Anything and everything she had, she used. All while staying inside the workshop, keeping it between herself and the monster ripping through everything.
She was doing everything she could think of, but it wasn't enough.
Chimera was charging after. Claws rending metal into unless scrap. Lady Nagant gave the kid credit. Whoever they were, they had enough toys to at least keep themselves from dying right off the bat. But even with all the tech in the world, there wasn't much anyone could do once that monster decided he was going to kill.
Case in point, Lady Nagant watched as Chimera grabbed the scrap yard armory and ripped it open, before chunking the bits off into a tree, exploding the rest and sending the kid falling to the ground, surrounded by ruined tech.
Mei screamed as she hit the ground, her hands reaching out and grabbing anything metal she could find. She swung, but Chimera backhanded her away. Slammed into the dirt and scrap, she was helpless.
Through tear-filled, blurry eyes, she watched as Chimera stood over her. Gritting her teeth, she got ready to use her one trump card. The one thing she'd always promised herself she'd never use.
"Dumb kid. What did she think…" Lady Nagant blinked, pulling her eye away from her scope. She blinked again, while her brain worked to figure out what it'd just seen.
After a moment frozen, Lady Nagant put her eye back and focused on the kid. A U.A. student, but definitely not one from the first-year hero classes.
She'd studied the profiles of each kid before the mission. None of them had pink hair in dreadlocks.
"Hey…" It was starting to click. Just who this dumb kid was that Chimera was about to tear limb from limb. "Hey hey hey hey!"
Lady Nagant had never altered her aim and fired a round as fast as she did right then and there.
The tree besides Chimera exploded into splinters. The act was enough to stop him for a moment. Then, "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"
Chimera plucked the radio bullet out of his pocket. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Listen to me. It's almost been five minutes. Kurogiri is almost here. Get back to extraction."
It didn't go unnoticed by Chimera that Lady Nagant hadn't addressed the question. "We're going to talk about this."
"Move!"
Chimera pocked the bullet, then looked down at Mei, ready to tell her a line about the brave dying young, and the stupid dying younger. But he couldn't. His words of wisdom never came as he looked down at Mei, her right elbow pointed at him in a very familiar pose and a very familiar, if mostly pink, bullet in her left hand. She was also frozen on the spot, her eyes wide. Chimera then noted the wisps of white smoke around her elbow. "Well… I'll be damned."
Mei was left sucking in deep breaths as the adrenaline crash hit her hard. Her body was overcome with horrible shaking as her mind caught up with her body. Realizing that she'd just come within a razor's breath of getting herself killed.
Should… chase him… right?
She was out of her depth. She was a support student, for fucks sake. Not someone that's supposed to be up in the front lines. But even as terrified as she was, she just couldn't stay lying on a pile of scrap. But every time she tried to pick herself up, her arms and legs were as solid as jello, and she collapsed. After the third try, she fell facing the splintered remains of a tree. The one that had exploded and made Chimera stop.
…Don't look…
Mei didn't want to know what was going on. She didn't want to know who had shot the tree. Didn't want to know whohad been talking over the radio. Didn't want to know why Chimera had looked at her, about ready to shoot him with her Rifle, and seemed to recognize it.
…Don't look. Just don't look. Just pretend everything is going to be okay. Mei repeated those hollow thoughts even as she rolled over. She couldn't hold herself up, so she rolled on the ground like a little child, her eyes focusing on where the shot would have come from.
Mei saw her. Miles away, but there she was. And through her own scope, she saw that she saw her. Mother and daughter made eye contact, and Mei knew that things weren't going to be okay.
"Gotta get back," Mei started to crawl. She ignored the way Lady Nagant had started shaking her head before she looked away. "Can't let that guy get back!"
Gritting her teeth, Mei forced herself up onto her knees. She could feel her limbs feel more solid. I'll chase that guy down. I'll throw something together that'll—
Mei's head snapped to the side after Lady Nagant fired a blank, knockout, round. Clocking the side of Mei's head and sending the girl to the ground unconscious.
"I'm sorry…" Lady Nagant closed her eyes, hating herself. "But you need to stay there. It's almost over. So just… stay there."
Lady Nagant's world was in chaos. Her daughter was notsupposed to be here. She was an inventor. "For fucks sake, why is she here!" she hissed, eyes closed as she ground her palm against her brow. "Focus on the mission. Focus on the mission. She's away from everyone now. Just…focus."
"Wakey wakey! Eggs and bakey!"
Twice yelled as he slapped Dabi upside the head, snapping him out of Hitoshi's influence. Freed, Dabi instantly went on the offensive, sending a blast of fire straight for Momo and Kyouka. Shouto dove between the attack, creating a glacier wall to protect them. Dabi grinned twistedly. "That's not going to be enough!" The flame suddenly doubled in intensity, and when it hit the ice, it exploded, the shockwave hitting the trio and sending them flying.
Above, Katsuki was in pursuit of Beros through the sky, propelling himself through the air while he dodged and exploded all the arrows she fired. "Gonna teach you a lesson for getting in my way at the mall, bitch!"
"Vulgar pain in the ass!" Beros pivoted so she was facing up, and with a fistful of arrows, sent a hail bolts of twisting and swirling green streaks towards Katsuki. To her shock, instead of trying to explode them one at a time, he started filling the air with explosions, creating a vortex of fire and smoke that was now roaring right towards her.
Shit! Beros went for another arrow, but gasped when her fingers felt nothing. I'm out!
"HA HA HA! Too bad bitch!" Katsuki had closed the distance, and Beros knew she was screwed. "HOWITZER IMP—!" Katsuki's left shoulder suddenly exploded in a spray of blood, ripping him out of his attack, and sending him tumbling to the ground, gripping at the hole in his arm in pain.
Ochako looked up and—ducking under a strike from Mr. Compress' cane—leapt up and was just able to float Katsuki before he hit the ground. The pair tumbled across the ground, but at least Katsuki hadn't gone splat.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" Katsuki hissed in pain while Ochako looked at the wound in shock.
"You've been shot?!"
Twice clapped happily while he whipped his metal tape measure around from his wrists at Tenya, who was alarmed at the man's agility. "Ha ha ha! Our sniper is back! Better not let these heroes know though!"
Tenya's eyes went wide. "Sniper?!" In that moment, Tenya suddenly found himself glowing blue, along with Twice. "Huh?!" was all he got out as Magne grabbed a hold of Twice.
"Bye honey!" she cheered darkly. "This is my special! Repulsion Breakup: Moonlight Flit Cannon!"
Tenya quickly recalled what had happened to Hitoshi and Tsuyu earlier. Red and blue attracted. So blue and blue… "Recipro Burst!" Tenya's engines roared as he fought against the repulsive effects of Magne's Magnetism. Gritting his teeth, he saw that Magne was also straining against the effect now. He could feel his engines overheating; in a few more seconds, he was going to stall out, and he was sure wherever he landed, it was going to take him out of the fight.
If I'm out, I better make this count!
Pivoting, Tenya anchored himself with one leg, and ripped around to deliver the hardest roundhouse kick he could. His heel slammed into Twice's head, right as his engines sputtered and stalled. Twice hit the ground hard, while Tenya was thrown across the clearing, slamming into a tree and crumpling to the ground.
Magne started tapping Twice's face with her hand. "Honey, we might need some of your clones here pretty soon. You need to wake back—"
"MAGNE MOVE—URK!" Mr. Compress warned before he had to twirl his cane to avoid the slashes of Himiko's shivs. "My word you're vicious!"
"Fuck off and die!"
Magne had gotten the message, and had just enough time to get her giant magnet up to block the driving kick Ochako had aimed for her face. "Honey! I get that we're trying to take your boy, but you really need to calm down!"
Magne swung the beam around, displaying frightening strength, while Ochako displayed the same, planting her feet, and striking out with a palm strike, hitting the beam and ringing it like a bell.
The impact sent a bolt of pain right up her arm, but she was waaaay past giving a shit. "You're in my way!" she growled like a feral animal. Her arm and hand hurt but hitting the beam with her palm gave her an opening to uncurl her fingers, and make contact with all her pads. Floating the beam, she grabbed it by its cloth wrapping and yanked it out of Magne's surprised grip, tossing it off into the dark.
Without the beam, Ochako went in for another punch, but was shocked when Magne recovered and caught her chin with an uppercut. "ACK!"
The strike lifted her off her feet and sent her reeling backwards. "Little girl, I grew up winning fist fights in the streets."
Crack!
Pow!
"You're tough! But you'll need a lot more than some fancy karate bullcrap to win with me!" Magne rained punches like an experienced brawler. Ochako was off balance, and couldn't get her defenses up.
Think! Do something! What would Deku do?! He'd use his head and win already!
…
Ochako growled as inspiration hit her like a bare knuckle haymaker, and instead of worrying about defence, she fell back on the old adage, 'A good defense is a good offense.' She saw the massive right coming for her, so she reared back her head, and headbutted Magne's fist.
CRUNCH!
Magne ripped her hand back, swearing and cursing up a storm. "Damn it!" She drove a combat boot into Ochako gut to push her back while she clutched at what were surely some broken fingers. "Okay. You go away now!"
Magne swung her hands out, one towards Ochako, and the other towards Himiko. Red energy danced in her palms, and Ochako saw it. She'd seen it done on Twice and Tenya. She'd seen it done on Hitoshi and Tsuyu.
She makes people like magnets. Same poles repel… A red glow started around both girls. Opposite poles… Ochako, Magne and Himiko were in a straight line. So would… aw fuck it! "HIMIKO TURN INTO DEKU NOW!"
Himiko ducked under Mr. Compress as he tried to grab her, and slashed at his knee caps with a shiv. It wasn't a deep cut, but the act sent him stumbling back, far enough that she could act on Ochako's order. She saw the glow, and had a good idea what was about to happen. Gray sludge seeped from her skin as she forced herself to transform as fast as she could. A moment later, Himiko transformed into Izuku, and the red glow around her turned blue. Yanking out another shiv, she drove both into the ground and held on for dear life.
Magne watched the glow on one of her hands change color and just stared. "Wait… Huh?!"
Ochako kicked off the ground, and let the full effect of Magne's powerful Magnetism Quirk yank her through the air at speed. Magne only realized what was about to happen just as Ochako screamed, "LUNA ARC!" and hit her with a full axe-kick to the face.
The red glow around her faded and Ochako landed, huffing and spitting out some blood. Himiko dropped her transformation and moved besides Ochako, while across from them, Dabi and Mr. Compress stood side by side.
"How do you want to play this, Himiko?" Ochako asked with a frown. "It's three vs three but…"
"Three?"
A cursing, grumbling Katsuki was back on his feet. The makeshift compression bandage Ochako had made from her overshirt was already stained red. "Three, Bun Bitch… And it's not going to be three for long. They're getting back up."
It was the unfortunate truth. The villains were recovering faster than they were. Magne was shaking the cobwebs out of her head. Spinner had been spending the whole fight chipping himself free of the concrete. Beros had recovered her arrows and was already notching them. Mustard was helping Twice back onto his feet. They hadn't been able to deliver any full knockout blows. Or at least, none that compared to the ones their side had gotten.
"Hey… here's a thought. You got shot… why aren't we getting shot now? They have a sniper, right?" Himiko asked Katsuki.
Katsuki blinked a few times. "That's… fuck, what the hell?"
The answer came as the darkness of the forest was swallowed up by a black vortex. "That would be my doing."
Himiko reacted first. The voice had been right beside them, so she turned and shoved Ochako and Katsuki away, diving back at the last second as Kurogiri portal expanded out from where they had been standing.
Ochako and Katsuki hit the ground hard, while Himiko rolled and started throwing all her shivs right where the portal villain's yellow eyes were. "Such bad manners."
The knives vanished into the dark, and Himiko had to dodge and weave further back as portals opened up around her and the shivs came right back at her. "Fuck!"
"It's time to leave. I've retrieved our lady sniper. We're leaving." Portals started opening up around all the villains. Ochako watched as they started disappearing. Then she saw a portal open where Izuku lay.
"DEKU! MOVE!"
Izuku, body spent, mind drained, nothing left inside to do anything, heard Ochako. Heard her screaming. He didn't understand the words. But he could hear she was distraught. So of course, he moved towards her. Rolling away from the portal, he began to crawl towards her. "O…cha…ko?"
Dabi clicked his tongue in annoyance, and leapt out of his portal and took off running for Izuku. "No chance, kid!"
Ochako was in a panic. "Katsuki, launch me!"
"Fucking… God damn it, don't blame me if you get burned." From the ground, Katsuki swung his hand towards where Izuku was, just as Ochako floated herself and lept right into his line of sight. "GET THE NERD!"
BOOM!
Ochako was propelled forward. Rocketing through the air, Ochako was laser focused on Izuku.
I'll save Deku. I'm going to save Deku! I'm going to save—!
From the portal Izuku had moved away from, a scaled blue hand reached out and grabbed Izuku by the scruff of the neck, hauling him up as Chimera stepped partially into view.
No!
"I have the target. Let's get out of here." He stepped back, pulling a limp, hanging Izuku along with him.
No! No! NO!
Dabi smirked and stuck his hand out. Not having to worry about Izuku who had been between them, he could fire off a blast of blue fire. Right at Ochako, who had no way to stop herself, change direction, or defend against the attack.
Ochako watched as her world was engulfed in fire. Even yards away, the heat singed her. Once it hit her, she would be dead.
But just before the fire hit, she felt it. A warm pressure around her body. Gentle. Firm. Safe. It was a feeling she would never forget. Feeling it for the first time after she and Izuku had completed their ten months of hell, it was Izuku's Quirk. He had her. And just as the fire was about to engulf her, Izuku, in a moment of clarity that defied all logic and reason, used whatever gas fumes he had left in his tank to push Ochako out of the way of Dabi's attack.
"I'm sorry… Ochako."
And he was gone.
When Ochako crashed into the ground, her left side was smoking. Her clothes were charred. Her skin blistered and red from the heat. Her hair burned close to the scalp. She didn't feel any of it, though. She didn't feel anything. She just stared where Izuku had been, and felt her world shatter into nothing.
Izuku was gone.
She had failed.
And the cry that ripped itself from her soul was one of complete and utter despair.
Crashing through the brush, Tiger and Aizawa rushed into the opening, ready to fight. Aizawa's eye glowed red as he kept scanning as wide an area as he could. Behind them, Mandalay had her claws at the ready while Midnight had fresh rips in her costume. But the four came to a stop when they saw all the students, kneeling, sitting or standing off. Looking lost, exhausted and defeated.
Midnight pushed past Aizawa and felt her stomach drop when she saw Himiko, crouched over, clutching a motionless Ochako, Tsuyu behind her, holding her while she wept.
"Oh no…"
Aizawa turned, and found Tenya limping up to them, helped up by Mei, who looked blank and emotionless. "Iida, what's happened?"
Tenya shook his head. "We couldn't save him. We tried, but…" Tenya wiped away tears that started falling. "They took Midoriya."
Slowly, All for One lowered himself to the floor. The whole time, his attention never wavered off of Inko. When his shoes clicked softly on the floor, he addressed her with a small respectful bow, an arm crossed over his chest. "Midoriya, I'm afraid I must offer my most sincere apologies. About Young Tomura, and for what you are about to experience."
Inko did not like the sound of that. There was something at play, and it felt like suddenly her ability to have any control over her life was just stripped from her. But she was not about to show she felt like that. So she took the moment to work to regain that control. First by making sure she didn't suddenly find herself in a bloodbath. "Tell your dumbass bodyguards to drop their weapons before they end up splattered all over the place." Inko glared at Curious. "Now."
Chitose blinked, startled at being talked to in such a manner. Even more so when Inko reached over, and forced her to lower her Curious Flattener. "You… wait… How the fuck…?"
Inko gave her a hard look, before she shifted her gaze back to the big fucking monster that had just strolled into the restaurant. "What, did Hisashi never tell you this?"
"He said… he," Chitose glanced nervously at All for One, "showed up once… but this sounds like…"
"Ha ha ha ha ha," All for One laughed. "I see. So you never spoke about our full interaction to your husband. You're a shrewder woman than I gave you credit for."
Never spoke… WHAT THE FUCK?!
Inko frowned, and despite the fear gripping her, moved away from the table, and walked up so much like the way she had once before on the beaches of Bespin, standing toe to toe with a man that could kill her without a thought, unflinching and proud. "You came to apologize?" Inko made sure to look as sceptical as she could. "Since when does a man like you apologize for anything he does?"
"Ah, it seems the years have not dulled that backwater defiance I saw in you." He reached out, and Inko had to fight every instinct in her body not to flinch away. And to not let her eyes focus on the holes in All for One's palm. His fingers gently took her chin, and lifted her head up. "If I was a man given to indulging in his baser instincts, I think I would have enjoyed taking you from that little island."
"And if you had, I'd be running your whole criminal organization by the end of the year." Inko recalled what those hands could do. The danger she was in. She ignored it. "Why are you here? Last I heard, you were dead."
"And who told you that? All Might perhaps?" All for One chuckled darkly. "How unlike him to so openly lie like that." He pulled his hand back. "But yes, I suppose I should get to the point. Unfortunately, even one such as me can not afford to be out in the open in this day and age." Inko was sure that, behind that mask, he was smiling. "At least not yet."
That gave everyone in the room something to think about. All the members of the Meta Liberation Army shifted while they followed Chitose's lead and lowered their weapons. Inko, though, pushed past it. "Shigaraki. You came because of him?"
"Yes. I fear Young Tomura has caused you a great deal of duress. Coming so close to death, I know is none too pleasant an experience. And while I'm no stranger to spilling blood, such casual disregard of purpose behind a death, I find most distasteful. Hearing that you had been the victim of one of his… unfortunate tantrums disheartened me greatly." All for One's head tilted to the side, and Inko just knew he was looking at her neck. "How fortunate that it seems that the wound you suffered was so easily healed. Quite fortunate indeed."
Inko frowned deeply. "It almost sounds like you're more familiar with him than your average figurehead."
"Legacy makes strange partners out of those that leave it and those that inherit it."
…The hell does that mean?
"So your student fails at the USJ. Fails at Hosu City. But it's after our run-in that makes you reveal yourself? Why am I so important?"
"Oh, it's not you that's important. Oh. I find you endearing. A fond experience from a time where I was normally surrounded by dull boot-lickers. No, I fear you are just the messenger this time. It's why I said I was here to apologize not just for Young Tomura, but for 'what you are about to experience.'" Inko didn't like the sound of that. "It is true that I find you quite endearing, and wish we could have more time to catch up. But I know, as a mother, when your son suffers. you suffer."
Then when Midoriya blood is thinned by half, the demon will come back to take the calf.
Caution and self-perseverance were instantly thrown away as Inko swung at All of One. her arm pumped full with every ounce of power from Fa Jin she had stored up. But her fist never even reached his body. Her punch hit something that shimmered between herself and him. The air twisted, before All for One moved his hand to the side, and a table exploded with a crack.
"Impact Recoil. A Quirk I picked up to help myself deal with All Might himself." All for One then pointed that hand at Inko. "Perfect for him, and more than enough for you."
While the people in the room tried to figure out what the hell just happened, the tips of All for One's fingers turned dark and several black rivets exploded out. The black spears streaked right at Inko, ripping her off the floor and sending her against the wall with a hard crack.
Everyone in the room thought for sure they had just watched Inko die, impaled and left crucified. But as the people scurried around, that wasn't the case. The black rivets hadn't pierced her, but had just picked her up. She'd still been slammed against the wall, but not stabbed.
"Yes, that's the fight I expected. Heroes may be at their most dangerous when they're injured, but a mother can be just as vicious, just as dangerous when their child is threatened."
"Leave Izuku out of this! If you want me, then—" Inko tried to pull herself free of the rivets, but in the process, another ripped right by her head, making her flinch.
"I fear you don't understand the situation. This has nothing to do with you. You're going to let the heroes know that I'm the one behind this. You are not important, but your son is. Your son is now the epicenter of everything I have planned. Your son is more involved than anyone else, even my closest allies. And you can thank All Might for that."
Inko snarled as she pulled and struggled. "I won't let you touch my son!"
"Touch him?" There was a change in All for One's voice. It almost came off as pitying. "My dear woman. My League of Villains attacked and returned from that camp U.A. took the children to almost half an hour ago. I already have your son." All for One snapped his fingers, and the black portal he came through appeared behind him. "The police and heroes are on their way to find you. They're trying so hard to keep this from leaking out while they try to plan their response. I want you to let them know, it was me."
The rivets withdrew, and the black portal swallowed All for One up before Inko hit the ground.
Inko didn't recall how she got brought down to the ground floor of the restaurant. Vaguely, she recalled Chitose taking her down, before people pulled her away. Everyone was panicking, but Chitose looked pissed off, once again, pulled away from Inko when some strange shit was going down.
Now Inko found herself alone as the fog lifted from her mind. Though even as things cleared, it did nothing to help her.
He said he has my son.
The verse from that damned prophecy pounded in her ears.
Then when Midoriya blood is thinned by half, the demon will come back to take the calf.
Too much was happening all at once. All for One being alive threw everything into chaos. She had let herself believe she'd been wrong about everything, to now have that blow up in her face.
All Might was wrong…
"Or he lied," Nenshouki hissed darkly in the back of her mind. Inko squeezed her eyes shut. Because that thought threatened to shatter the one bright pillar of hope Inko had about heroes in this evil, cruel world.
One thing at a time. I… I need to call Izuku. Warn him that he might be in danger. This was a bluff. All for One just wants to use me to scare the heroes. Make it seem like Izuku is some important piece to things. No… No, there is no way. He just must know All Might was training Izuku at school, and wants to use the threat to make All Might and the heroes panic. It's not real. It's not real…
"Mrs. Midoriya?"
"Ma'am?"
Two distinct voices that Inko had come to recognize instantly. Detective Tsukauchi and Principal Nezu now stood in front of her. The detective looked more than a little worn down, and even the normally strangely jolly principal looked subdued. Inko was also now aware that the room she was in was illuminated by the flashing lights of several police cars parked outside the building.
The detective took a step forward, looking unsure about a lot of things. "Mrs. Bakugou let us know you were here. We… we need you to come with us. There's been…"
Inko could feel the last few strings holding herself together start to snap. "He has Izuku," she whispered. "Doesn't he?"
Tsukauchi glanced at Nezu, then back at Inko. "Ma'am… we don't…"
Inko focused on Nezu, and the longer she looked at him, the more the world began to come into focus. The last time she had seen things so clearly was just after she had buried Sakura all those long years ago. "All for One has my son. You let him take my son."
"GAH! That death shouldn't count!" Star and Stripe screamed as she slammed a fist into one of the hanging punching bags while her techs added a plus one to her Dragon Souls death counter, bringing it up to 356. "That guy jumped from the other side of the map! HAX! HAX!"
It was late, and Star and Stripe was doing her weekly Force Stream let's play. She'd been playing for an hour, and still hadn't made any meaningful progress. "I hate this GAME!"
Her boys were laughing their asses off. Ethan's laugh was heard from off-screen while the chat was scrolling with constant troll faces.
"Stupid game! Stupid, stupid… Why am I back at the bottom floor of the tower? I rested at the bonfire, right?" Star and Stripe looked completely flummoxed as she got back into her chair. "Guys, WHY AM I AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOWER?! I RESTED, RIGHT?!"
"Nope!" Ethan called after moving to the other side of the room. Like that gave him any protection.
The stream's auto-censor / advertiser-friendly function put in some work for the next twenty seconds or so after that.
A chirp from the chat screen let her know another charity donation had triggered. She grumbled as she looked over at the screen. "Thank you Captain-Celeberty-Fan-Xx69xX for your ten dollar donation. Just a reminder, all proceeds from this BLEEP show goes towards St. Jude Children's Research Hospital."
She paused. "Also Chris, if this is another dupe account to get around my bans, I'm throwing your headquarters into the sea… Okay, let's see. 'Wasn't Izuku Midoriya the kid that was involved in the whole I-Island fiasco?'"Star and Stripe blinked. "Um, yeah. That's the student from U.A. where All Might is now teaching… which is still weird to say. Good kid. Looking forward to seeing where his career goes."
Star and Stripe paused for a second, and glanced at the chat screen. "Huh, what's with all the 'it's him' posts?"Star and Stripe then looked up over the monitors at her boys, who seemed just as confused at the sudden strange mentions.
Another chime indicating another donation. "'Star, haven't you seen the news?'"
Pausing the game, Star and Stripe brought up her web browser and, live on stream, typed in Izuku's name, focusing on news.
What the heck is going on?
Star and Stripe moved the mouse over to where the first news article would pop up. It was just an instinctual thing at this point. Something she'd done so many times. She didn't have a chance to click as her eyes saw the news article's title. 'Famed Japanese Hero School Attacked Again. Hero All Might's Star Pupil Missing. Feared Kidnapped by Villains.'
The story was less than an hour old.
The stream promptly went dead.
Izuku lay on a cold metal table, eyes closed and dead to the world. Save for the harsh violet light that showed on the table, the room was dark. Cables ran along the floor and walls. Medical tools and instruments lined multiple trays. Some looked like they belonged in a hospital surgical room. Others looked ripped straight out of a horror movie. All ready to perform in the hands of a surgeon. Or a madman.
Emerging from the dark, a short pudgy man moved to stand beside the table. His mustache couldn't hide the greedy smile on his face. The goggles on his face made him appear to have bright demonic eyes as they reflected the surgical lamp hanging overhead.
The world was a black void, and All for One smiled as he walked through it. How long had it been since he'd last glimpsed this world.
Years had stopped having meaning for him so long ago.
Dark.
Darker.
Black.
The world swirled around him in revulsion. Each step, a strain on his body. It rejected him.
He was not welcome.
He was not accepted.
He was rejected.
He was rejected.
Eight soft lights. Sparks of a greater flame he could not see.
He would be expelled.
All for One could feel his body breaking apart. The storm ripped at him. Tore at him. Shredded him.
"You reject me again little brother?" All for One reached out. "Won't you take my hand this time…?"
The black storm raged. The lights, the sparks, burned bright. Just like it had when he had tried before, but brighter. Stronger. Now there were more lights.
The storm dwarfed his ability to take. Its very nature rejected taking.
And All for One smiled.
All for One stood over Izuku, looking down at his unconscious form as he pulled his hand off his head. "Well, doctor. I think it's time we began."
Death comes.
Midoriya blood calls to death, and the Reaper hears it from the depths.
Death will come for Midoriya then, four times then once again.
Fear the rage that you have stirred, or you'll drown amongst the animal's herd.
As a demon offering a trade, a reward you must take for your aid.
When land is gone and blood flows free, a two-faced killer you must flee.
A hand of death is at your throat, blood will spill so the knife you must note.
Then when Midoriya blood is thinned by half, the demon will come back to take the calf.
Birthed from fire eight thrones hide, but fear the demon as he slips inside.
Authors Notes:
Sorry for the long wait everyone. November got crazy so I didn't have as much time to write like I usually do in my lab lol. Welcome to the start of Kamino hell. Occupants one unlucky boy.
It's so weird to finally be at this point. The Hedoro stuff, Saito as Mustard. Mei seeing Lady Nagant is with the League of Villains.
…
Ochako's hair.
There are people in my discord who ARE going to kill me for that last one.
Not much else to say, just things are about to get so crazy.
Make sure you check out the TV Tropes page, the next cover for the Kamino arc will be posted shortly!
A huge shout out to my beta reader WereTech
As always, comments reviews and critiques are always welcome!