WARNING: BLOOD AND GORE. Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Before Midoriya even hit the ground, Shouto was running. He reached out his left hand, desperately trying to summon up a spike of ice- -but before he did, a roaring red blur rushed past him.
"FUCK D'YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN', BIRDY?!"
Bakugou Katsuki flung himself in front of the onrushing monster, between Midoriya and the beast, which roared it's challenge. Bakugou crossed his arms and gripped the pins of his grenade-gauntlets- -Shouto remembered the devastation those had unleashed in the urban combat exercise, and nearly felt sorry for Nomu. Nomu, however, built up more speed, despite being lopsided and one-legged.
The beast was mere feet from Bakugou, roaring- -Bakugou screamed back, a primal challenge- -and yanked the pins from his gauntlets.
The world turned white- -Shouto threw his arms up, feeling the tiny hairs get singed off by the heat- -the blast howled in his ears, mixed with two high, ragged cries of rage and pain. As the light faded, Shouto lowered his arms. Nomu was on the ground, facedown in a pool of blood. Standing upright between the fallen beast and it's prey was Bakugou. He was standing in a small crater, hair and eyebrows singed, soot marks and blood on his face, arms hanging limp by his sides. He stepped forward and spat blood at Nomu. "Yeah, that's what I fuckin' thought, asshat."
The beast stirred, pushed itself up with it's remaining arm and regained it's feet. Bakugou's mouth fell open. "You gotta be shittin' me!"
"Bakugou! Get out of there!"
It was Aizawa, one hand wrapped around his scarf, one hand against his forehead. Holding his eyes open. He was standing over Midoriya- -he must've gotten there when everyone was watching Bakugou.
"Fuck off!" Bakugou shouted, girding himself to fight Nomu. The beast rushed him- -Kirishima ran past Shouto and leapt at the creature- -a portal opened in front of Nomu, and moments later, another one cracked open mere feet in front of Shouto. Nomu hurtled out of it- -Shouto raised his arm and tried to call up an ice wall, but Nomu was upon him. Shouto twisted, avoiding the massive claw- -but ending up directly in the path of the bone-spike.
Pain exploded through Shouto's body. He screamed. His hand flew up- -a massive spike of ice appeared, spearing the monster through the chest and hurling it into the air. Shouto staggered back, blood poured from his shoulder, through both sides. His left side was even more useless now.
Kurogiri. Kurogiri.
Shouto spun, looking for- -there! The smoky villain was a little ways off. Shouto flung his arm out, sending a wall of ice spikes at him. Kurogiri opened a portal, which swallowed the spikes- -they emerged behind him.
"You cannot win!" Kurogiri shouted. "We will kill you all!"
"Eat my ass!" Bakugou shouted at Kurogiri from where he was leaning against a spike of concrete. Shouto took advantage of the villain's distraction to fling another ice wall at him- -the wall encircled Kurogiri, and Shouto whirled, looking around for his other classmates, while Asui and Kirishima rushed the warping villain.
Yaoyorozu had kept Shigaraki engaged- -she was swinging at him with a simple staff, which he disintegrated as she swung it. The villain inched closer- -Shouto flung a weak wall of ice at him, which Shigaraki easily dodged- -Yaoyorozu kicked him in the chest- -Shigaraki stumbled- -pounced at her- -she twisted away- -but he caught her.
The villain's right hand clamped about Yaoyorozu's neck. His right gripped her ponytail.
She screamed. The sound rattled in Shouto's brain- -he was running, stabbed arm flopping and bleeding- -he slammed into Shigaraki. They tumbled aside together- -Shigaraki regained his feet first and rushed Shouto- -he scrabbled away on the concrete- -Shigaraki clamped both hands about Shouto's neck. Shouto braced himself for the agony he was sure was coming- -
Nothing.
Nothing happened.
Shigaraki's pale eyes widened behind his hand-mask. Before Shouto could shove him away, the villain lurched upwards with a snarl. "Eraserhead."
Shigaraki spun and raced away. Shouto got to his feet- -Aizawa was swaying ominously, still forcing his eyes open. As Shigaraki approached, Aizawa's scarf lashed out- -Shigaraki dodged the tendrils- -he lunged at Aizawa, who lurched out of the way and spun, his foot slamming into Shigaraki's back. The villain tumbled to the ground but got back up quickly, hurling a handful of dust at Aizawa. Aizawa threw himself forward, fist swinging into a punch- -Shigaraki caught his fist- -and pushed.
Crunch.
Shouto ran forward, ignoring the stabbing pain in his everything. "Hey!" he shouted, hurling a wall of ice spikes at Shigaraki. The villain jumped out of the way and rolled on the ground, pouncing up to charge Shouto.
Shouto ducked under the villain's outstretched, grasping hands, slamming a punch from his right hand into Shigaraki's ribs. Shigaraki grunted with pain and swerved, looping back around to lunge at Shouto again. Shouto rolled under the leaping villain, leapt to his feet, and ran for his teacher, Shigaraki hot on his heels.
"Stop running, you little bitch!" Shigaraki screamed. "Let me kill you already!"
Shouto spun, flicking his right hand through the air. A thin layer of ice formed on the ground, sending Shigaraki, flailing, to his hands and knees. Shouto raised his hand, forced his frigid fingers into a fist, and called up a dome of ice over Shigaraki's prone body, before spinning to face the collapsed Aizawa. The teacher was laying on the dusty ground, eyes rolled back in his head, sprawled out. Blood was everywhere.
Aizawa's eyelids fluttered.
"Oh shit," Shouto hissed. He reached out, tried to force Eraserhead's eyes to stay open, but his fingers wouldn't obey. He'd used them to call up too much ice.
Aizawa's eyes closed.
Behind him, Shouto heard the monster Nomu roar, triumphantly. Yaoyorozu and Mineta cried out- -Shouto leapt to his feet, spinning again- -Shigaraki had dug his way out of his ice prison and was kneeling on the ground, coughing.
The villain's head turned. He locked eyes with Shouto. A terrible grin stretched his face.
"Heh." Shigaraki climbed to his feet. Shouto stayed, rooted to the spot, unable to move. "You lose."
Another roar from Nomu. Shouto dimly heard Asui scream. Shigaraki gingerly dusted off his pants and slowly walked toward Shouto.
"And look at you! Frozen solid!" The villain let out a high, cackling laugh. "Some fuckin' hero you are! As soon as the tables are turned and violence is brought to bear against you, you short-circuit!" Shigaraki spat blood on the ground. "You all deserve to die. From the top down."
"Nomu. Kill the kid."
Shouto felt, not heard, the creature's footsteps. He slowly turned his head, locking eyes with the onrushing, blood-soaked beast.
He should defend himself.
But he was so tired. And cold. And it would be so easy to just accept the fate rushing at him like a locomotive.
But what about the others?
Shouto raised his left hand, preparing to call his fire.
What about Midoriya?
Shouto reached in trying to find the spark inside.
Nothing.
He couldn't call up his fire. And trying to summon his ice might kill him.
And Nomu was nearly upon him
and Shigaraki was still laughing.
The ground shook as Nomu advanced, pounding like an earthquake. The beast leapt at Shouto, claws outstretched- -
Boom.
The whole USJ shook- -Shouto lost his balance and fell, Nomu went sailing over his head- -Shigaraki collapsed- -and a massive cloud of dust rose from the entrance to the complex.
Everything froze. Shouto, unsteadily clambering to his feet, saw a massive shadow emerging from the dust. The cloud parted to reveal a massive man, clad in a garish gold suit. His face was set in a mask of cold fury, and he reached up to rip off his necktie and toss it aside. Shouto heard the villains around him gasp, and Shigaraki muttered "Round two."
Shouto didn't care.
All Might had arrived.
They were saved.
He started laughing, a grim sound, and turned to face Shigaraki.
"What's so funny, punk?"
Shouto kept laughing, blood dripping from his stabbed shoulder onto the ground.
"You guys are fucked."
Shigaraki let out a harsh laugh, narrowed his eyes, and lunged at Shouto- -
there was a gust of wind, the world swirled around Shouto, and he was gently deposited, along with Mineta, Kirishima, Asui, Yaoyorozu, Bakugou, and the prone forms of Midoriya and Aizawa. All Might loomed over them, massive and powerful, standing between his students and the villains.
"Never fear, students," the hero said quietly, "I am here."
"All Might," Yaoyorozu breathed.
"Is anyone dead?" All Might asked, with a look at Midoriya and Aizawa. Something unreadable flickered across his face.
"Not quite," Asui said. "But they tried."
All Might nodded, quietly muttered "Stay behind me", and stepped forward to face the villains.
"Ah," Shigaraki hissed, his eyes dancing with mad glee, "the great All Might finally deigns to visit our little party- -"
"Shut up, villain." All Might said. The anger in his voice immediately shut Shigaraki up. "I'm giving all of you one chance to leave before I get mad."
Shigaraki scratched his chin with a single finger. "Tempting. But here's my counter-offer." His voice raised in volume. "Nomu!"
Shouto's veins filled with ice as the ground shook again. "All Might," he shouted, "look out!"
The hero whirled to face the onrushing beast. And simply stood there, until Nomu leapt high into the air, prepared to grasp at All Might with it's dreadful claws. When the creature reached the apex of it's jump, All Might sprung into the air, wrapping his massive hands around one of Nomu's ankles and twisting his torso. The hero slammed the monster into the ground, shattering the concrete, before placing his foot on Nomu's other leg and twisting the one he held.
The bones of Nomu's leg shattered with an audible, sickening crunch. All Might released the brute's ankle and stepped back, careful to keep his body between the villains and his battered students. Nomu crawled away, it's twisted leg curling and resetting, then stood again and turned to face All Might.
"What the hell?"
Shigaraki laughed again. "All Might…meet Nomu. He has a Regeneration Quirk. And a Shock-Absorption Quirk. And he hits like a motherfucker."
The creature roared again, flexing it's claws.
"He's bigger than you, stronger than you, and able to take any punishment you dish out." Shigaraki paused, relishing the spotlight. "He's our perfect, genetically-engineered, anti-Symbol of Peace."
"Kids," All Might muttered, "stay back. Do not engage. This is dangerous."
"Gee, ya fuckin' think?" Bakugou said, waving his limp arms around.
All Might smirked and stepped forward. Nomu roared it's challenge and clawed the ground.
"Are we gonna fight?" All Might shouted. "Or are you just gonna stand there?"
Shigaraki laughed drily. "Of course the great hero wants a fight. Your type always do. Holier-than-thou thugs who think they can beat the shit out of anyone they want as long as they can call their victims 'villains'. And then you get applauded for it, and people love you. But you know what? That pisses me off!"
The villain was scratching his neck again, showering droplets of blood onto his sweater. "It's time someone used violence against you so-called-heroes and taught you a fucking lesson! Nomu!"
Nomu screeched and drooled.
"Kill."
The monster charged at All Might- -the air blurred, and suddenly, Nomu was hurled into the air. It came crashing back down, hard, and All Might closed the distance swiftly, hammering punches into it before it could react. Blood flew through the air, and the force of the punches sent up a cloud of dust.
"Didn't you hear me?" Shigaraki screamed, arm raised to protect his face. "He has a Shock-Absorption Quirk?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
Despite the gale force punches All Might was subjecting it to, Nomu managed to struggle to it's feet and lash out again, catching the hero in the side with it's claws. All Might staggered backwards, falling into a crouch. Nomu hurled forward- -All Might straightened as the beast reached him, hurling an uppercut into it's jaw. The creature bellowed in pain and lashed out again, slashing All Might across the face, stabbing it's claws into his side again. The hero shouted indistinctly and wrapped his hands around Nomu's neck- -Nomu gripped his sides tight, drawing blood- -All Might lifted Nomu off the ground, above his head, freeing it's claws from his skin, tearing his suit- -he slammed the creature to the ground and hurled himself onto it with a move Shouto vaguely recognized as a piledriver. All Might kneeled on Nomu's torso and pummeled it, spraying blood into the air.
The force of All Might's blows was like a hurricane, a wind that buffeted Shouto and the others back. The rushing wind filled his ears, deafening him. He barely heard Shigaraki screaming over it, or Kurogiri's bellowed reply. The smoky villain seemed to ripple for a moment, eyes narrowed, and then All Might shouted.
Shouto's head snapped around. All Might was bleeding. A lot. Nomu's claws were lodged in his sides- -and Nomu's legs were several yards away, sticking out of a portal. It's upper body was sticking out of another portal, and it was dragging All Might closer to the black opening. The hero struggled against the claws, but couldn't escape. Shouto, Kirishima, and Mineta moved immediately.
Shouto raised his his foot- -he slammed it down, sending a sheet of ice racing across the ground to Nomu's legs- -the ice crawled up the monster's legs and waist, emerging through the other portal and encasing the beast's arms and neck. All Might grinned, grunted, and broke free with a twist that snapped Nomu's hands off. Shouto stumbled backward. Head pounding. Hand locked. Leg numb. Over-extended.
Kirishima ran at Shigaraki, dodging under the villain's outstretched hands and kicking him in the knee with a hardened leg.
Shigaraki screamed. Fell. Kirishima vaulted over him to charge Kurogiri, who was distracted trying to catch Mineta. The purple midget was running in circles, screaming and hurling his balls at Kurogiri.
A strong hand grabbed Shouto's shoulder and pulled him back. Yaoyorozu, who shoved him behind her and hefted a large, round shield she had crafted.
"Stay back, Todoroki-kun. You've done enough."
Shouto nodded dumbly and sat on the ground by Midoriya's prone form. Almost instinctively, he reached out to grab his friend's hand. His fingers groped for the pulse point. Wrapped around Midoriya's wrist.
Nothing.
Shouto's breath caught in his throat. He squeezed the wrist tighter.
This time, he felt a pulse. Weak, but present. He sighed, hand still clutching Midoriya.
The ground shook- -Yaoyorozu and Asui cried out- -and a noise like thunder shook the air. Shouto turned around. Nomu was struggling it's way out of a crater in the ground, left arm rapidly regrowing. There was another crash and quake, and All Might landed in front of the monster.
Nomu charged.
All Might raised his fist.
"Listen to me."
The creature grew closer, screaming with fury.
"You may have heard these words before."
Nomu roared. All Might clenched his fist.
"But now…let me teach you what they truly mean."
Nomu was upon him- -
"Plus!"
- -All Might twisted at the waist, slammed his fist into the monster's abdomen- -
"Ultra!"
- -the ground shook- -there was a sound like a bomb going off- -Shouto was buffeted aside by the wind, rolled into Asui's knees- -and Nomu vanished. Moments later, an ear-shattering crunch rocked the USJ as the wall above the Landslide Zone rippled, before crumpling and shattering. Shards of glass and metal sprayed across the quaking facility.
All Might turned, panting, to face Shouto.
"Well?"
From behind him, Shouto heard a harsh laugh.
"Well, well…good job, hero."
Shouto turned around. Shigaraki was gingerly standing, supporting his weight on his left leg. Scratching his neck.
"You've lost, villain." All Might started walking toward Shigaraki, gently brushing by Shouto, Aizawa, and Midoriya. Kirishima, carrying Mineta, scarmbled back toward the rest of the group. All Might pushed Kirishima behind him. "Give it up."
Shigaraki shrugged. "It seems reasonable, doesn't it?"
With surprising quickness, the villain lunged forward- -there was a crackling sound like static electricity- -a portal opened up in front of Shouto- -pale fingers emerged from it, inches from Shouto's face- -there was a wet crunching sound. Something warm sprayed across Shouto's face. The fingers withdrew, the portal closed, and Shigaraki lurched backward, bleeding from the palm of his left hand. A familiar, high, reedy voice rang out across the USJ.
"Protect the students- -apprehend these criminals!"
The group clustered around All Might turned as one, as the teachers flooded the facility, accompanied by a dozen police officers wielding shock batons. Some of the villains rushed the teachers and cops, but most ran away, toward Shigaraki and Kurogiri.
"Get us out of here!" Shigaraki screamed at Kurogiri. Dozens of portals crackled open across the facility, closing as soon as the villains jumped through them. As Present Mic, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, All Might, and a trio of policemen converged on them, Kurogiri opened another portal. He and Shigaraki vanished in a thunderclap.
"Quick, try and track them," one of the cops- -a tall, serious-looking man with thick glasses and a ponytail- -said, turning to face another officer. She nodded, put a finger in each ear, and walked away. The first officer pulled out a radio and barked into it, demanding stretchers. He then pulled All Might aside- -the two spoke in low voices.
Someone tapped Shouto on the shoulder. He looked up- -it was a police officer, smiling at him. "Hey sweetie, can you do me a favor and let go of your friend's hand?"
Shouto stared blankly at her. Then looked down. His fingers were still locked around Midoriya's wrist.
"We really need you to let go, honey."
Shouto nodded and slowly uncurled his fingers from around Midoriya's wrist, releasing it to flop on the ground.
"Thanks, sweetie."
As the two cops loaded Midoriya onto their stretcher, another finger tapped Shouto on the shoulder. He looked up again, into the face of a young, male police officer. "Hey dude. I'm officer Matsuda."
As he spoke, Matsuda knelt down, rolled up Shouto's sleeve, and gently swabbed the skin with a damp cotton ball.
"So hey, I'm gonna stick you now- -give you a sedative. Just relax, okay?"
Shouto nodded slowly- -winced when the needle pierced his shoulder- -started to fall back, but was caught by strong hands, which then rolled him over onto something, something soft, everything was soft, actually, and he felt so…tired. Relaxed. His eyes were going dark, or closing- -probably closing- -they were closed now. As Shouto slipped into darkness, his thoughts wandered away- -to a boy. A boy with green hair.
If he could've, Shouto would've smiled.
Instead, he just slept.
I'M BACK, FUCKNUGGETS.
