"DO NOT WORRY ANYMORE!" All Might proclaimed, raising his fist toward the sky. "EVERYTHING IS FINE, BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
Ren felt the tension leave his chest as he saw All Might. His contingency plan had worked. He never intended to defeat the Nomu on his own. That would have been suicide, even with all of Thirteen's power. The goal was always to weaken it enough and buy time until the Symbol of Peace could arrive to finish what they had started.
It worked, Ren thought. The Nomu cannot regenerate. Thirteen destroyed its left side completely. That has to make things easier for All Might, right? He won't have to push himself to his absolute limit if the monster is already crippled.
But even as that thought crossed his mind, Ren knew he should not assume victory was guaranteed. The Nomu was still standing. Its right side was perfectly intact. If its physical capabilities were like the ones he remembered from the anime, All Might was about to face the fight of his life.
Shigaraki began to laugh hysterically.
"All Might! Finally!" He scratched his neck frantically, his skin already irritated and bleeding. "This is it! This is what the Master promised me! The Symbol of Peace will fall today!"
"Tomura," the nebulous form of Kurogiri still struggled against Hagakure's grip. "The Nomu has been severely damaged. We should reconsider our..."
"NO!" Shigaraki shrieked, interrupting him. "I don't care if it's missing half its body! It's still stronger than All Might! The Master said so! It was made to kill him!"
The Nomu turned its pupil-less eyes toward All Might. Despite having lost its left arm and a large portion of its torso, the creature's posture showed no signs of weakness. It simply stood there, processing this new threat with whatever passed for thought in its engineered brain.
All Might's smile never wavered, but his eyes narrowed as he evaluated the situation.
That thing, he thought, his mind working quickly behind his cheerful facade. It has been mutilated, but it is still standing. No blood loss or signs of shock. This is going to be difficult.
"Thirteen!" All Might shouted without taking his eyes off the Nomu. "Take the students to safety! All of you, fall back immediately!"
"All Might, that creature is..." Thirteen tried to warn him.
"I know!" His voice was firm but reassuring. "Trust me! I will handle this!"
Ren remained pressed against the concrete behind the pile of rubble, his arms wrapping around Ochako. The position was awkward and inappropriate under normal circumstances, but these were anything but normal circumstances. The shockwaves of the battle that was about to erupt would be catastrophic. He needed to keep her close and ensure she wasn't blown away by the force of what was coming.
His right hand was pressed firmly against her chest. It was the safest position to keep her steady, or at least that was what he told himself. The fact that he could feel every curve of her body through the thin fabric of her hero suit was just a coincidence. Completely accidental. Absolutely necessary for her safety.
Concentrate, idiot, Ren scolded himself mentally. Now is not the time to be thinking about breasts...
Ochako moved slightly under his grip and Ren's train of thought derailed completely.
"R-Ren kun," she whispered, her face burning red. "Your hand is... uhm... forget it."
Tsuyu was crouched beside them, her eyes following every movement in the plaza. Mina was on the other side of Ren, her body tense and ready to move at any moment. All four were hidden behind what remained of a demolished wall, but Ren knew it wouldn't provide much protection if things went truly wrong.
The Nomu moved first.
BOOM.
The concrete under its feet exploded into fragments as it lunged toward All Might with terrifying speed. The creature covered the distance between them in less than a heartbeat, its remaining right arm prepared for a devastating blow. All Might charged forward to meet the attack head on. Their fists collided in midair.
CRAAAAAACK.
The resulting shockwave was apocalyptic. The ground beneath their feet shattered into a web of cracks that extended for dozens of meters. Debris went flying in all directions, and the wind pressure was like being hit by a category five hurricane.
"HOLD ON!" Ren shouted, wrapping both arms around Ochako and pressing her against his chest as the shockwave hit their hiding spot.
The rubble they were hiding behind disintegrated. Pieces of concrete became projectiles that whistled past Ren's head. He felt Ochako's fingers digging into his arms as she clung to him. Tsuyu's tongue shot out and wrapped around a rebar embedded in the ground to hold herself down. Mina created a small pool of acid under her feet, melting into the floor to generate grip.
The wind was relentless. Ren's telekinesis flared to life instinctively, creating a barrier around him and the girls to deflect the worst of the debris. He felt the strain immediately, his mental reserves already depleted. But he pushed through, gritting his teeth against the pain.
This is insane, Ren thought as another shockwave passed over them. This is what a battle between the strongest looks like. This is completely different from how it looked in the anime.
When the initial blast finally subsided, Ren risked a look at the battlefield. All Might and the Nomu were locked in combat, their movements too fast for normal eyes to follow. The Number One Hero's fists were a blur of motion, each strike powerful enough to level a building. The Nomu returned every blow with its single remaining arm, maintaining its speed despite its injuries.
WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.
The sound of their fists connecting was like thunder. Each impact created another shockwave and another gust of destructive wind that ripped through the USJ. The concrete floor was being systematically destroyed by the sheer force of their exchange.
All Might's smile never flickered, but behind that facade of confidence, his mind worked at full speed.
It's fast, he thought, blocking a strike that would have caved in his ribs. Even without half its body, this thing keeps up with my pace. How is that possible? What kind of modifications were made to create something like this?
The Nomu's fist caught him in the stomach. The blow should have been catastrophic, but All Might's body absorbed most of the impact. He slid back several meters, his feet carving trenches into the concrete, but he remained upright.
And it's strong, All Might continued. That hit... my internal injuries are definitely reacting now. I cannot afford to drag this out.
He lunged forward again, his fist already in motion. The blow connected with the right side of the Nomu's face with enough force to decapitate a normal person. The creature's head jerked to the side, but when it looked back at All Might, there was no visible damage. Not even a bruise.
Shock absorption, All Might realized with growing concern. It has a Quirk that nullifies impact damage. That explains why my hits aren't having the expected effect. I will need to hit it with everything I have to overcome that defense.
Shigaraki watched the battle with manic glee, his hands trembling with excitement.
"Yes! YES!" he shrieked, scratching his neck harder. "This is it! This is what I wanted to see! The Symbol of Peace suffering! Fighting for his life against something he can't beat!"
"Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri's voice was tense. "Perhaps we should consider a retreat. The students have already weakened the Nomu significantly. If All Might manages to..."
"SHUT UP!" Shigaraki's voice cracked. "I don't want to hear your cowardice! The Nomu will win!"
Hagakure was tossed roughly to the side as Kurogiri finally managed to break free from her grip. The invisible girl rolled across the floor, but before she hit anything, an invisible force caught her. Ren's telekinesis enveloped her, slowing her descent until she landed safely behind another pile of rubble.
"Thanks, Ren!" Hagakure shouted, though she was gasping for air.
"Don't mention it!" Ren replied.
Kurogiri's nebulous form expanded, preparing to open a portal. But before he could complete the action, something hissed through the air.
CRACK.
Midnight's whip struck the ground right in front of the villain, forcing him back.
"Oh no, you don't," she said. "You aren't going anywhere."
Kurogiri's yellow eyes narrowed within his mist form.
"Persistent woman," he hissed. "You should know when you are outmatched."
"Funny," Nemuri replied, her whip already moving for another strike. "I was about to say the same to you."
The whip shot out again. Kurogiri tried to open a portal to divert it, but Nemuri had too much experience. She had been observing his patterns during their previous exchanges, learning the timing of his portal creation. The whip curved at the last second, striking from an unexpected angle that caught the villain by surprise.
CRACK.
The impact hit the metal plate at Kurogiri's center, making him recoil in pain.
"Persistent bastard," Nemuri muttered to herself as she prepared for another attack.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the plaza, Shigaraki was moving. His eyes were fixed on the group of students hiding behind the rubble. Specifically, on Ren and the girls clustered around him.
If I can't beat All Might directly, Shigaraki thought as he began to skirt the edge of the battle, then I will force him to choose. Save the students or defeat the Nomu. Let's see what the Symbol of Peace does when he can't do both.
He was fast. Much faster than someone with his thin build should be. Within seconds, he had circled the ongoing battle between All Might and the Nomu, positioning himself for a direct approach toward where Ren was protecting the others.
But someone was watching. Aizawa had recovered from the previous clashes. His eyes followed Shigaraki's movement immediately. The villain was trying to flank the students while All Might was busy. That was unacceptable.
Aizawa moved silently, his capture weapon already unraveling from his neck. He approached from Shigaraki's blind spot, his footsteps making no sound against the broken concrete. When he was close enough, his Quirk activated. Shigaraki's Decay vanished.
The villain felt it immediately. The connection to his power suddenly disappeared. His eyes widened in shock and he turned just in time to see Aizawa's fist heading straight for his face.
WHAM.
The blow connected solidly with Shigaraki's jaw. The villain stumbled back as stars exploded in his vision. He tried to recover and activate his Quirk in retaliation, but nothing happened. His Decay was still erased.
He's fast, Shigaraki thought with growing panic. How is he so fast when he should be exhausted from fighting the Nomu earlier?
Aizawa gave him no time to think. His capture weapon shot out, wrapping Shigaraki's arms and pinning them. Then he closed in, letting his combat training take over. A knee to the stomach followed by an elbow to the temple. Finally, a brutal strike to the solar plexus knocked all the air out of Shigaraki's lungs.
Shigaraki tried to fight back, but without his Quirk, he was just a man who had never trained for real combat. Aizawa was a pro hero who had spent years fighting villains in close quarters. The result was never in doubt.
In thirty seconds, Shigaraki was on the ground, gasping for air with his consciousness fading. Aizawa stood over him, his eyes still glowing red to keep the Decay suppressed.
"Stay down," Aizawa ordered coldly.
But the momentary victory was interrupted by an explosive sound.
BOOOOOM.
The Nomu had been sent flying back by one of All Might's blows. The creature soared through the air, and its trajectory was taking it directly toward where Aizawa stood over Shigaraki's defeated form. The pro hero's eyes widened in alarm.
Dammit, he thought, abandoning his position immediately.
Aizawa rolled to the side just as the Nomu's massive body slammed into the ground where he had been standing. The impact created a crater ten meters wide. Concrete exploded upward in a shower of debris. If Aizawa had been a second slower, he would have been crushed completely.
All Might saw the opportunity.
"DETROIT..." He drew his fist back, muscles bulging as power surged through his entire body. "SMASH!"
The strike was devastating. It caught the Nomu before it could recover from hitting the ground, lifting the creature and sending it hurtling backward. The monster tore through the air at supersonic speed, crashing directly into one of the walls that still remained intact in the USJ.
CRAAAAAASH.
The Nomu was embedded deep into the concrete and metal bars. Dust and debris rained down around it. For a moment, the creature was pinned, its right arm trapped at an awkward angle inside the wall.
"NOW!" Ren's voice cut through the chaos. "TRECE SENSEI! USE YOUR QUIRK AGAIN!"
Thirteen did not hesitate. She had been watching the battle, waiting for exactly this kind of opening. Her hands went up immediately, fingers pointing toward where the Nomu struggled to free itself from the wall.
But Kurogiri saw it too.
The Space Hero's Black Hole, he thought quickly. If she uses it again, the Nomu will be completely destroyed. I have to stop her...
Midnight's whip struck him again, wrapping around his mist form in a way that disrupted his concentration.
"I told you," Nemuri growled, tightening the whip. "You aren't going to interfere."
Kurogiri fought against the binding, trying to open a portal despite the distraction. This was the critical moment. If he could divert Thirteen's attack or save the Nomu, maybe they could still salvage this disaster. But then he saw Shigaraki.
His partner lay unconscious on the ground, vulnerable and exposed. Aizawa had retreated, but that didn't mean the students or the other heroes wouldn't try to secure the villain. Kurogiri's mission was always to protect Tomura Shigaraki above all else. That was what All For One had ordered.
The choice was made in an instant. Kurogiri stopped fighting Midnight's whip. Instead, he allowed the momentum to spin him, using the movement to create distance from the heroine. His mist exploded outward, faster than Nemuri could react. A portal opened directly under Shigaraki's unconscious form.
"No!" Midnight lunged forward, trying to stop him.
But it was too late. Shigaraki fell through the portal and vanished. A second portal opened in front of Kurogiri, and he dove through it without hesitation.
"I beg your forgiveness, Nomu," Kurogiri's voice echoed elegantly as he faded away. "Rest assured that your sacrifice will remain etched in our memory."
The portals snapped shut, leaving only empty air where the two villains had been.
"DAMMIT!" Midnight's frustrated cry echoed in the plaza.
But Thirteen was already activating her Quirk. The caps on her fingertips opened, and the familiar suction of her Black Hole vortex filled the air.
"BLACK HOLE!" she shouted.
The suction was immediate and overwhelming. The Nomu, still embedded in the wall and unable to move, had no way to dodge or escape. The vortex locked onto the lower half of the creature, the part that wasn't protected by its position inside the concrete.
The black skin began to disintegrate. First the legs disappeared, turned into nothingness by the power of Thirteen's Quirk. Then the lower torso followed, erasing layer by layer as the matter was consumed by the singularity. The Nomu's remaining right arm clawed uselessly at the wall, trying to pull itself free, but there was no escaping this attack.
In five seconds, everything below the creature's chest had been completely destroyed. The Nomu went silent. Its pupil-less eyes stared forward without focus. With no legs to support it and no lower body to balance, the creature simply hung in the wall, reduced to a torso and a single arm.
Thirteen closed the caps on her fingers, gasping for air. Using her Quirk twice in such a short period had exhausted her considerably.
All Might remained in the center of the devastated plaza, his chest heaving slightly. The fight had been intense, even if it was shorter than it might have been. His internal injuries were definitely aggravated. He could feel blood in his mouth and sense the damage to his respiratory system from pushing himself so hard. But he was still standing. And the Nomu was defeated.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the USJ. The main doors swung open once more, and this time it wasn't just one hero arriving. Multiple pro heroes flooded the facility, led by Principal Nezu and several members of the U.A. staff.
"All Might!" Nezu called out, his high pitched voice ringing through the plaza. "Is everyone...?"
He stopped mid sentence as he took in the scene. The destroyed facility. The injured students and teachers. The mutilated creature embedded in the wall.
"What happened here?" Nezu whispered.
Ren felt the tension leave his body all at once. Reinforcements had arrived and the battle was finally over. They had survived. His grip on Ochako tightened involuntarily, pulling her even closer against his chest. Suddenly he was very aware of how soft she was and how perfectly her curves fit against him. His hand was still pressed firmly against her chest, and he could feel her racing heart under his palm.
Another day of life, Ren thought, his mind becoming a bit delirious from the adrenaline crash. Another day to keep being a complete pervert. I managed to survive the USJ invasion.
He let his weight lean back, propping himself up against Ochako as all the tension left his muscles. Ochako felt Ren's body relax against hers and exhaled slowly; the fear and adrenaline finally let go of her chest. She didn't pull away from his embrace. Instead, she leaned back against him, allowing herself this moment of weakness. Her hands came up to rest on his arms where they crossed her chest, not pushing him away.
"We made it," she whispered with a trembling voice. "We really survived that."
"Yeah," Ren replied hoarsely. "We did."
Tsuyu hopped over to them, a worried expression on her face despite her usual calm.
"Are you two okay? Ribbit!" she asked urgently. "That was really intense. I thought we were going to die several times."
"We're fine," Ren assured her, though he made no move to let go of Ochako. "I just need a minute to process everything."
Mina collapsed onto the ground near them, her legs finally giving out from the sustained stress.
"That was the scariest thing I have ever experienced," she admitted, staring up at the dome ceiling. "All Might is amazing! Did you see those punches? Every one was like a missile impact!"
"The shockwaves were devastating," Ren agreed. "If we hadn't been under cover, we would have been blown away immediately."
All Might approached the group of students, a genuine smile on his face despite his exhaustion and pain.
"Young Midoriya! Young Uraraka! And everyone else!" he called to them affectionately. "You all did exceptionally well! I heard about your coordinated efforts against that creature. Weakening it before I arrived made this battle much easier than it could have been!"
Thirteen also limped over, supported by Midnight.
"Ren's plan was brilliant," Thirteen said, with genuine admiration in her voice. "Using my Black Hole to counteract the creature's regeneration and physical enhancements was exactly the right call. Without that strategy, All Might would have had a hard time winning."
"True!" All Might nodded enthusiastically. "You all showed exceptional judgment under pressure! That is exactly what it means to be a hero!"
Ren finally let go of Ochako and stood up properly, offering her a hand to help her up. She took it with a grateful smile, still blushing but with a look of relief.
"We only did what we had to do to survive," Ren said modestly. "The real hero here is you, All Might. You finished what we started."
"Nonsense!" All Might clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over with the force of the hit. "Teamwork is the foundation of heroism! Your quick thinking saved lives today!"
Principal Nezu was already organizing the evacuation and medical response. Paramedics were being directed toward the students and injured staff. The remains of the Nomu were being secured for analysis. Police were establishing a perimeter around the USJ to process the crime scene.
Aizawa approached the group, his capture weapon coiled back around his neck. He looked exhausted and battered, but there was satisfaction in his expression.
"Good job, everyone," he said simply. "You exceeded my expectations. That is not something I say often."
Coming from Eraserhead, that was high praise.
As the students began to be escorted out of the facility for medical evaluation, Ren took one last look at the devastated USJ. The central plaza was completely destroyed. Multiple zones had been damaged in the fighting. The Nomu's torso still hung from the wall like some kind of grotesque trophy.
This was my first real test, Ren thought as they walked toward the exit. The USJ invasion. The event that almost killed half the class in the original timeline. And we got through it with everyone alive.
He looked at Ochako, who was walking beside him with her hands clasped nervously in front of her. She caught him looking and gave him a small, shy smile in return.
Yeah, Ren thought, smiling back. We're going to be okay.
*****
Author's Note:
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Power Stone Challenge!
Unfortunately, we were just shy of our goal last week, but don't worry! I'm back with a new, more achievable challenge.
The Goal: If we hit 800 Power Stones this week, I will immediately release 3 bonus chapters this Sunday to kick off the new week!
Reminder: Our regular schedule is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Want to read ahead? You can find advanced chapters at: patreon.com/shurazero
Thank you all for the incredible support. Let's hit that goal!