[Outer Hosu – Train to Yokohama – 7:20 PM Sunday]
The train felt strange to him, just as he remembered it back when he'd taken it to Edgeshot's heroic office. It was because it did not bump or shake or remind him in any way whatsoever of the trains in Illinois where his grandparents lived. Those things were rough monstrosities, old and built to do the work they were designed for and nothing more than that.
He was staring out of the window as it went, high above the last fetches of Hosu as it faded into the distance. It would level out eventually but not for now, he wasn't even sure how long it would take to get there. The city was too mesmerising to not watch and to check that, it felt bigger from the outside than it did when you were in it and far brighter. It was noisier too and polluted the sky above it with light.
In the chair he rested he was alone, or rather separate from his co-conspirators. They were in a booth ahead, he could barely see the back of their heads with how tall the chairs were. Kirishima had gone to do something, maybe go to the bathroom or make a call, he wasn't sure. That had left him alone with his thoughts and sometimes images, there was nothing else much to have as empty as the intercity train was for a Sunday. He wondered if this was the train his uncle took but he doubted it, the man loved his rickety car too much for that. He had offered to teach him a few times back home when he was older and sometimes that had even led to him being allowed to drive it in a parking lot. Not that it mattered now, he didn't need to learn to drive in Hosu and it wasn't even something he could do if he wanted.
He was unsure why that had been what trailed into his head, his uncle that was. Probably because he'd be worried sick if he knew. Even that was preferable to thinking about Bakugou's situation despite the fact they had yet to come up with a plan short of anything but 'rescue him.' Hopefully they would take the time to do that when they arrived. It was wishful thinking, they were in over their heads and willing to drown themselves further if that's what it took.
Thunk, two cans chunked the top of the table as Kirishima slid into the seat opposite him. Then he pushed himself up and turned in the seat, handing the bag over the back of it into the crowd of four before collapsing back. "Here," he said as he pushed one of the two forward and then began to rifle within a second, smaller bag.
He grabbed it and popped the tab and didn't hesitate to sip it. It was coffee flavoured, he realised and checked the side of the can. Caffeine-less iced coffee, it read, he was unsure how Kirishima had known that about him but it didn't matter. The drink had a strange flavour that lingered on the tongue with an after taste that clung to the back of the throat for bit, not in a bad way though.
"These are for you as well," his friend pushed across two thick looking granola bars and a square packet containing something called a 'Hunger-buster beef crepe.' "Chow down man," he said while having a similar snack himself, though not quite as filling as the ones he had pushed on him.
"Gee, thanks dad," he rolled his eyes and tore open one of the bars. Even considering the situation his friend hadn't forgotten. It was getting kind of ridiculous, even if he did appreciate it.
Kirishima smirked at him in response, "Just looking out for you."
He nodded at that, he knew. He hadn't really meant his sarcasm. "Not far now," he said.
"...Yeah. We'll get him back, we got this."
"I just don't understand why they wanted him," it was better he just spelled out what he'd been thinking about.
"No idea man but it can't be good."
Mhmm, he answered. "No matter what those bastards have planned we gotta stop it."
Kirishima frowned a bit at that, "Remember it's a rescue mission and nothing more. We promised that."
"I'm not gonna do anything stupid," he said as chunks of bar crunched between his teeth. "A fight is what Janus wants and I don't really know why. So I can't give him that... besides this rescue is all that's important."
"Yeah," his friend nodded as he watched him eat. "You're kind of a different person when serious stuff happens, ya know? Even when you're stuffing food into your mouth."
He shrugged, "I guess." He recognised his habit to lock up a bit in the moment now, for better or for worse. "It's probably my quirks fault."
"Bakugou is kind of the same, all business all the time."
"More like all anger all the time," he laughed.
"Yeah and anger," Kirishima nodded. "Wish I knew what was going through his head half the time. The closest I get is when he's trying to blow a hole in me."
"I mean," he answered as he took the crepe. "Besides Midoriya who really knows anything about Bakugou outside school? I certainly don't," his interactions with Bakugou, as cut and dry as they were, never went in that direction. If anything that guy had some kind of disdain for such topics.
"I know it doesn't look like it but if anyone's serious about becoming a hero it's him."
He put down the can again, it was more than half empty now. As much as he despised coffee he could use one more of these. "Pretty sure he still holds a grudge over the festival, our fight was kind of a shitshow with what happened."
"You can bet your ass he does," Kirishima grinned. "He wants to knock my teeth out too for losing to you."
He could only chuckle at that, "I think I'll lose more than just teeth so count yourself lucky."
"True that," Kirishima tapped the table. "So... what's your reason for wanting to become a hero? Like your real reason."
"What?" he paused as he emptied the last of the wrappers.
"It's fine if its a secret. It just dawned on me I never really got a straight answer out of you back then."
"It's for my sister and I guess for myself now," something had changed, he didn't feel shy to say it now.
"Your sister, huh."
He rubbed his jaw, it was a bit sore from the chewing, "I owe my sister a lot, anything I can do to make it easier on her... and mom, I'll do it. First step was being able to take care of myself and the next step, well," he pushed his palms outward slightly. It was all of this, really.
"So that promise you made, it's something to do with your sister then," Kirishima folded his arms like a sleuth. "What's the promise?"
"I'm not going to say it," he answered in a stern tone. He'd only ever repeated it to himself and for good reason. All his guilt, any he'd ever experienced after that had happened, it paled in comparison to the reason for the promise. It was a lifelong shame.
"I understand," Kirishima said. "I didn't mean to pressure you."
"It's whatever, I honestly thought Jirou told you about it all."
"She told me stuff but not that."
Hmm, he answered. He was surprised if anything, out of all the things Jirou could have told him she hadn't given that up. That in of itself was pretty impressive, he hadn't given her enough credit. Then again when did he ever? Somehow topics always devolved back to him when they talked. He should change that. He would make that effort once she had awoken.
"Like for instance she told me that you're kind of a nerd when it comes to retro movies," he chuckled.
His face brightened at that, "S-shut up. You're no better fitness nerd."
Kirishima snorted, "Well you got me there," he said.
"Hello passengers aboard the express train to Yokohama City. We will be arriving at our destination in ten minutes, please prepare for disembarking."
"Almost showtime man."
"Yeah," he nodded and took the rest of the drink down in one long gulp.
[Yokohama City – Police Station Bathroom – 7:25 PM]
Toshiniro tugged at the bronze felt of his lapel and removed his jacket in a careful fashion. Beneath it were stripes of red and blue set among white, it was his Silver Age regalia that still gave off the same sheen as it had the day he had first received it. He messed with his hair next, pushing the unnaturally golden strands beneath his fingers as he smoothed it all back in one stroke, an action which the frail man in the mirror mimicked. Then he touched the familiar wound on his stomach with two fingers which caused him to wince, it was purple and singed into his flesh as if it had been done with a branding iron. The truth of it was far more ghoulish, he remembered.
He tugged the loose costume into place, the sight of himself always gave him immense dissatisfaction at times like these but doubt wasn't something he could easily afford today. The image of his disdain vanished with the thought into thin white smoke and soon the image of All Might had replaced him. He knew in this form his frailty did not show, that like this he had the power to stop history from repeating itself.
Vrrm, his phone vibrated in his belt. He knew what it meant without as a much as a look. The time to act was almost upon them now, something he had been waiting on for hours now. If it had been up to him he would have already been out there with the vanguard ready to strike. It would have been payback for what they had already done but also petty and something he could not indulge. The situation was too delicate and he needed to conserve the time limit he had left, still it was hard too feel anything but livid. He had to keep that emotion banished if he wished to prevent Bakugou's harm. The potential of ransom, or to have Bakugou used as a bargaining tool was the same reason was why Naomasa had insisted it all went through official channels.
The very building they were in was the result of that, it was now filled with allies, acquaintances, sympathisers and the very people who had once called themselves students of Yuuei. They were all of similar mind after what had been shared in the meeting; the first kidnapping was an unforeseeable tragedy, the second blatant and unforgivable.
What they were about to do would be a show of defiance. That was why they had the backup of not only heroes but the entire police force of Hosu and Yokohama behind them. It was a joint force, a united front of justice. A statement to the villain underworld that they could not act as they pleased and get away with it.
He let his hands off the basin in front of him, he knew deep down it was all the doing of one particular man. The same man that had given him his fatal wound that numbered his days, All for One. Even thinking of the alias chilled him. He had little more proof other than what Naomasa and him had deduced since a few days ago, which wasn't much. Still he knew he was right to think it, all the evidence indirectly pointed toward it. It formed a caricature of the villain through the distinction of it's unique handiwork, manipulative was what he had come to describe it as.
His deadliest foe had a gift for bending people to his will, changing them in a fundamental way that no quirk could imitate. He felt it would be tonight he would witness the man's insatiable appetite again, his hatred that was born from having his throne smashed to pieces beneath him. He did feel prepared, he had been prepared for a long time just like all the users of One for All before him. It would be his last gift to the world and his legacy.
He looked up at the mirror once more through which All Might stared back. It might be the last time he saw it like this, he knew. He dismissed the thought and the grimace vanished as he replaced it with the unwavering smile he had worn countless times before. Failure wasn't something he could allow himself to succumb to again.
[Yokohama City, Kamino District – Matsu Train Station – 7:30 PM]
The train stuttered as it came to an abrupt halt and as soon as the doors slid apart he left it with an eager jump. He had to envy the efficiency of the transport here, the whole journey had taken them less than an hour and a half in all.
Frigid air enhanced by the persistent drizzle was first to hit him but he paid it no mind as he jogged to the edge of the high platform upon which they had been set. He wanted to get his bearings and as he looked down he soon did, though not in any way that he might recognise the city. He had never been here, in Yokohama, but he could tell at a glance it was not somewhere he wanted to stay.
It looked different to Hosu and in many ways negative, like they had entered an alien place dedicated in it's antagonism to the city in which they lived. It stared back at him with slanted, moss covered roofs stacked high, squashed into decrepit streets marked by rusted and broken signs. It gave off a sinister feeling through which one could not see more than a street or two away but could hear much further. It was the sound of a city which lived by night and died by it too, partying and celebration of the last breaths of Sunday careened through the streets in ecstatic voices. It felt odd to think that somewhere in this city Bakugou was being kept but he knew it true, it was the one place his uncle had never talked about after having gone there.
"It's, um," Midoriya hesitated. "Different."
"It looks like crap man. A real villain's lair," Kirishima said.
Ahem, Iida coughed. "Let us not assume, it has just had a bit of downturn as of late. It is far removed from other cities and we shouldn't judge it by it's cover. I'm sure the people that live here are just like any other."
"The most unassuming cities are the most dangerous," Todoroki shook his head. "Let's proceed with caution."
Kirishima gave an eager nod, "Alright enough talk! Tell me where to go Yaoyorozu!"
"What part of caution do you not understand?"
"...Haha, right, my bad," he chuckled.
"We need an escape plan before we head off and something to hide us, we stick out like sore thumbs."
"Then let's go there," Momo pointed over the railing at what looked like a costume store.
"Disguises... really?" Riley said. "They'd have to be pretty convincing considering the villains know our faces."
"I'm sure Yaoyorozu can pull it off," Midoriya said.
The girl nodded, "Leave it to me."
He looked at the vice-rep then shrugged, she seemed to have confidence in it and it wasn't like he himself had a plan. "Let's go then," he said and began marching in quick steps down the ramp that led to the streets below and into the guts of Yokohama.
[Kamakura City – Havawa Room – 7:40 PM]
The man gave a recurrent cough as he pushed his handkerchief into his face. Once he was sure it was finished he tucked it away and went back to inspecting his take beneath the dim light of a chandelier. It wasn't as much as last time however it would last him a month, and his nephew several in addition to that. After finishing his counting he was decidedly more careful putting it away than he had been with his handkerchief.
He took the fancy glass off the counter and pushed the cheap beer it contained to his lips, it was on the house and he knew better than to refuse. Neshi, the lanky man who tended here always gave him one after their work was concluded, especially now that the times they saw each other had lessened. He preferred to spend his time near Hosu now, near Riley. One side effect of that was that it kept what he did to get his money far from his mind. He wasn't exactly proud of it but it was a necessary evil, not illegal but not ethical either. The glass clinked as he put it down on the mahogany table. He swallowed the last of the amber liquid and along with it his distaste of the thought. A few seconds later he watched the glass melt away, the temporary construct returning to the man it had come from as wisps.
It was all worth it, just as it had been for a year or so now, it meant his nephew wouldn't be stuck where he had been because of his ass of a father. He pulled at the inside of his jacket again for his wallet, what he searched for was a picture. It was the only thing he kept pristine, he went as far as he could to reprint it every few months. He knew it wasn't good to linger on it but it kept him going. The picture was of a woman, back when she had met his sister, back when he'd been much happier.
One look was enough and he put it back. Many people wouldn't call him a smart man but even he knew that the most important thing was family, even if that family wasn't one he had fostered on his own and now never would. A bit of distaste was the least he could put up with for sis. He pushed the chair back and stood.
"Alright, I'm out," he waved a hand toward the man as he turned.
"Done already?" Neshi asked.
"I can't be waitin' around. Gotta get back to Hosu," he shrugged.
"How's that kid of yours doing?"
"I ain't drunk nor foolish enough to tell you that Neshi. And he ain't my kid," he gave the man an annoyed scowl.
The man chuckled, "Right. I'll see you soon, Alo."
"I hope not Neshi, I hope not," he said and proceeded toward the door. Above it a monitor crackled. It had been bothering him all night, now he only gave it a cursory glance. He did not have the means nor the bravery to stomach the situation, not again.
[Yokohama City, Kamino District – Streets – 7:50 PM]
Riley groaned as he looked at himself in the reflective glass of a shop window. The getup Momo had chosen for him was as uncomfortable as it was impractical. It proved that black hair did not suit him in the least and that the way it sat so straight on his head looked off, in fact it could not have looked more fake. To accommodate the mockery of the style he felt at ease with he had a long flowing trench coat on whose sleeves his hands could barely peek out of. It was deliberate to hide the thin scarring. The bits Momo hadn't been able to cover with it she had instead powdered with a foundation that matched his still paled skin tone. In the end he could see what she was trying to do but it did not make him to feel less silly with all of it on. One final sigh was what he allowed himself before he decided to bare it, it was necessary. He then turned back to the group, within which he watched Kirishima continue his effort to help Midoriya disguise his distinctive voice.
"Awwww riiight," the boy said with jutting jaw.
"No, no, it has to be further out man," Kirishima hung his jaw low as if he was trying to dislocate it.
"Uhh, like this?" Midoriya tried to copy it with little success.
Kirishima pinched his brow as he tried to hold back a snort and frustration. "Not quite but good enough dude," he said before he turned on Riley with a smirk.
His face turned sour before his friend could even speak, "Don't say a word, I know I look ridiculous."
Kirishima gave a sympathy chuckle in response. His disguise wasn't much better, jagged horns sprung from his gel-less hair combined with a black jacket and multicoloured red and yellow shirt. He looked like someone who was trying to cosplay but had very little experience in doing so.
"Say Yaoyorozu, couldn't you have made these for free?" Todoroki asked as he parted his new black fringe and tied it back in a neat ponytail behind his head. He looked the least like himself with the exception of his face, which hung expressionless as ever. It all kind of suited him.
Momo looked flustered as she tugged on the hem of her long red cocktail dress, "Um well, you know I can't just go around making everything I want for free! I would disrupt the economy and that would just be ethically wrong."
"...Ethically wrong, sure," Riley threw her a sceptical look. If that was the case then he might have to reconsider exactly how she was so wealthy. Back when Kaminari had told him about her estate before the exam he hadn't believed him, until he had shown a picture. It had been just a bit more than ridiculous.
"R-right," Iida said as he swallowed loudly. His costume was on the other end of the spectrum, far from hipster and more closely representing Momo's butler than anything else. Riley was glad to see someone else was as uncomfortable in their new skin as he was. "Let's get on with it, I don't want to wear this for any longer than I have to."
"Awww riiight!" Midoriya tried the slang expression again. This time Kirishima and him couldn't hold back a snort, it was too much to not lose his composure.
"Please stop messing around," Todoroki shook his head.
"Sorry," he and Kirishima apologised in unison. He had to remember what was at stake.
"It's still going?" a man said over from their crowd. He was watching a TV behind some glass, on it was a sight he had been trying to avoid. It was the press conference Momo had talked about.
"Yes, it's dragged on quite long," the woman beside the man said.
"Well, that school sure has a lot to answer for. They're getting what's coming to them."
Worry crossed his mind watching the spectacle on screen and he knew those beside him hid similar feelings. The teachers had acted as best they could, they had taken every precaution yet there had been nothing they could do. Now they were paying an unfair price. Aizawa looked so different on the screen under scrutiny, all the teachers did.
"This is the fifth time this year that student's have been exposed to villain activity. This isn't the first time students were injured or even kidnapped for that matter. What steps are you going to take to address this issue?" one of the reporters asked.
"We're taking strong measures against villain activity. Security has been strengthened and the entire outer ring of the Campus's crime prevention system has been reworked recently," Nedzu answered from behind a tall wooden desk. It dwarfed him in size but he looked calm and practiced nonetheless.
"Ehh? They're not protecting them at all. Just look at the result!" the first man spoke again.
"Indeed, what a bunch of liars. I have better things to do then watch this tripe," a second man beside him shook his head before turning and walking away down the street.
They were fools he felt but only out of ignorance. It wasn't something they could criticise them for and it made the air feel rigid in turn. It was a microcosm of the flack the school would take, judgemental eyes from all over the country would use this against them. And considering all that, if they were caught doing what they were about to do...
"We have to save him and prove them all wrong," Midoriya whispered.
"Yeah," he answered. There was no question about it and no time to spare. He turned and left the public execution behind, when they returned it would be with Bakugou.
[Yokohama City, Kamino District – The Silver Glass – 8:10 PM]
Fhwoom, the thin walls of the bar shook as flame engulfed Tomura's face. The blow pushed him downward where he stayed frozen as one of the many hands on his face fell to the floor. He grasped at it while covering his face with a real one, a desperate measure to hide the flaking white skin which had withered to the very bone that sat beneath.
"You heard them you shitheads! That's how it is," Bakugou yelled. "My combat restrictions haven't been revoked so you better stay the fuck out of my way."
"I told you not to undo his restraints Tomura," Kurogiri said from behind the gold inlaid counter, where a half polished glass sat between cloth and vaporous finger. His other hand had been preoccupied keeping one of the few bottles of vodka he had left nailed to the wall where it belonged. His concern for the bottle was short-lived as he now saw exactly what the boy had done to his confidant, in turn his eyes narrowed.
"So he understands the position he's in, what a clever boy," Magne said.
The girl beside him grinned with glee. "Let's stab him," she said. The words weren't enough to flinch their prisoner.
"He isn't clever, he's just an idiot. He could have pretended to be won over, not that it would have done him much good," Dabi shook his head. His fingertips had already begun to glow as he made his approach one step at a time.
"I'm not the type to lie about things I don't want to do, got that? Same reason I have no desire to stick around in this goddamn shit-hole," Bakugou said before lashing out at one of the lamps beside him, causing it to crash to the floor.
"That's the last we'll hear from you," Dabi held up his fingers and aimed them like a gun.
"Tomura..." Kurogiri said.
"Enough!" Tomura threw up his hand to block Dabi as he gave Bakugou one glare, it stabbed out like a spear from between his sapped white strands. This time it was enough to freeze him and make him take a step backward, it gave him room to secure the hand safely back to the centre of his skull. "This one is mine. He is an important piece."
Click, a sound in the back of the bar went. A door opening, followed by a clang as it shut again. Then it was followed by a harsh snap, as cold as the face it belonged to as it stepped from the darkness.
"Wha-t do we have here..." Janus said as he approached the room, next to where Tomura stood.
"An important piece," Tomura said with the irritability of repeating himself. "One that might understand a proposal when it is offered to him."
"No chance," Bakugou answered.
"I remember now. It is the same one. From that night. He has taken your interest," Janus walked toward the boy as if the arms that held his fiery quirk did not exist. Each step was slow, analytical and accompanied by an uncompromising stare. His mask was whole again and with it his face emotionless. "If you truly are an important piece then there is no room for you to act on your own. Yes, this one implores you to make it easy. Sit. Down."
"Fuck off bastard," Bakugou swiped him across the face but he avoided the blow by an inch and caught the hand. He looked at it as if he was sifting through it for impurities.
"Careful now. This one implores you to be careful. Even a driven subject such as you. Even one such as you that has been deemed important with a destructive quirk. Should you grow in-com-pla-cent then you may demoted to a mere pawn at any time," he dropped the hand. "Then you might find yourself the subject of someone who carries no such interests in your importance."
"Hands off doc," Tomura placed four of his five fingers on the villain's shoulder before looking over it at Bakugou. "We are already out of time, the heroes are launching an investigation. I would have liked you to hear me out but if you won't then there isn't another choice."
"I see," Janus walked away from the grip and shrugged his gloved hands. "Might you try with a different one. A different result it could be. They are all so malleable."
"Your game hasn't worked out so well either doc, you shouldn't be lecturing others on what to do."
"This one's game has worked out exactly as desired, only the path has changed," the villain stepped out of the back room and into darkness. What followed was the sound of rushing water and then silence.
"Now where were we," Tomura looked over his shoulder at a monitor. "Right... teacher, lend me your strength," he said as he turned back toward Bakugou.
[Yokohama City, Kamino Ward – Storage Facility – 8:15 PM]
The city had funnelled them toward their destination with nothing but speed, alcoves and pockets and side streets made it easy to navigate into the depths of the city and into what was an industrial district. They had left the sound of partying behind except for a few stumbling drunkards. They were beneath a building now, or rather beside it. It stood tall and had been hard to single out but with the help of the GPS they could be sure it was the correct one. It was fenced by tall walls but unlike the buildings around it air did not have crevices to whistle through and it's windows still remained whole. It was an intimidating sight and one they couldn't approach easily.
"So this is the place? Damn it's so cramped!" Kirishima said as he shuffled through the alleyway in front of him, almost side on.
"I'm going to get stuck at this rate," Momo said behind them.
"Bare with it, we're almost at a window," Todoroki said ahead. "We can get a better view there before we try anything."
"Guys, are we sure this is the place?" Midoriya asked.
"A warehouse in the city is just as inconspicuous as a tree in a forest, this has to be it," Todoroki answered.
"I'm not sure..." the boy mumbled incoherently.
"This isn't the time for that Midoriya, we gotta check it out," Kirishima said. "Yo, Riley give me a lift and Iida you help him out," he pointed at Midoriya.
He bobbed down to give Kirishima the lift he desired, though he was sure his shoulders would collapse under his friends weight. He was just as heavy as he looked but with some effort he brought him up. He wasn't sure why Iida had gotten the easy job with the far lighter person.
"It's too dark to see anything," Midoriya whispered.
"I'll make some night vision goggles for you to use," Momo said.
Kirishima pulled at the back of his pocket and took out a green slab, "Don't worry about it, I have just the thing." It was the same one he remembered the guy buying when they'd gone back to pick up camping supplies.
"That looks really expensive, are you sure?" Midoriya looked at him. He was right, the thing had a pretty little price tag even with a discount.
"Never mind that, this isn't the time to worry about stuff like that," he said as he used them to peer inside.
"Anything?" Riley huffed after a minute or two. He adjusted his stance, he didn't want to drop Kirishima.
"It's pretty bland inside, wait.. what's that?!" he almost toppled backward, only for him to grip his legs firmer.
"Careful dude," he whispered.
"Look Midoriya," Kirishima ignored him and handed over the scope.
It only took him a few seconds by comparison to see what Kirishima had, "There's so many Noumu... it's like a storehouse. Wait, someone's coming," he gasped.
"Who?" Kirishima snatched the scope back. He looked through them and then dropped the scope to his side before he looked down, "Janus."
His skin crawled a bit at the name but he tried his best to shake it. Of course the man would be here, why wouldn't he be looking over his precious creations? It was natural that he would be.
"Shit, get down Midoriya!" Kirishima yelped as he bobbed down and behind the wall, a struggle Iida remedied on his behalf by pulling the student down with him.
"It looked like he was inspecting the Noumu they kept there but I could see him messing with the buttons on the machines," Midoriya said.
"Perhaps they're about to use them," Todoroki said. "Our cover could already have been blown if that's the case."
"I don't think they need Noumu to deal with us if that's the case," he shook his head as he forced Kirishima off his shoulders. He'd had enough.
Kirishima nudged him in the side, "There's still time for you to retreat if you want to change your mind Riley."
"I don't, I can't run away now. I'm not afraid of him," he said but he didn't believe it. He looked a Kirishima and leant his back into the wall. "I'm not," he repeated himself, to which his friend gave him an unsure nod.
"It can still only mean trouble. Where do we go from here?" Momo asked.
"We might be best off going around to another side and get closer to the building. There isn't much we can do from here," Iida said.
"Yes, he's right. If we're going to barg-"
Boom, the world imploded around his ears. The wall took most of it but not before it was riddled with a series of small potholes, enough for him to look through with caution. On the other side he found not what he had expected but instead a sight that brought him elation.
"The cavalry arrived," Kirishima said wide eyed.
"It's Ko," he said as he counted the heroes. There were four of them in total, including the aforementioned sidekick as well as Mt. Lady, Best Jeanist and Tiger. In their hands and quirks respectively they held Noumu, as well as a woman, Ragdoll.
"Suppression complete," Best Jeanist said. There were threads coming from his clothes, a quirk he had read about. Complete and utter control over the fibres within clothes. It was fast and deadly, something that could easily capture villains.
"This job was a bit too easy; perhaps we should have gone with All Might. Are you really alright with being given clean up work, Jeanist?" Mt. Lady said with a booming voice from atop the building through which she peered down.
"There's no need to intertwine the degree of difficulty with the importance of the job, rookie," he answered as he sheared together the many monsters he'd grabbed into one tight bundle.
"Now those damned villains ain't gonna be able to launch a counter attack or nothin' from this base," Ko nodded.
"They took care of it, we should leave before they spot us," Iida said, his voice trembled with relief.
"Yes, the heroes can handle it now," Momo nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "Bakugou is probably already safely in their hands. There isn't much mo-" he paused to look again as a deep, discerning voice silenced him. It was ushered in by a clap from somewhere within the darkness of the collapsed building.
"I'm sorry, Tiger. I thought she had a useful quirk a long time ago. I suppose I just can't keep my hands to myself."
"Another member of the league?" Tiger asked. It was far too dark to see anything. "Someone shine a light."
"Ever since my body became like this I haven't been quite myself you see. There is only so much work that can be achieved through the means available," the voice continued to speak uninhibited. The clapping became louder, though now he recognised it wasn't clapping at all. It was the sound of hard leather shoes on concrete, coming closer bit by bit.
Best Jeanist threw his hand at the sound in response and tightened it into a fist, causing it to silence. "That really hurts hero," it muttered, though not as if it was in pain even, as the cords and strings tightened.
"Ho-hold on, Jeanist. If that's a civilian we'll be in real trouble!" Mt. Lady said in a panicked voice.
"Think about it, if we hesitate for even a moment it could decide everything. Don't let this villain act."
"You have the right idea but it's a shame. I thought you could see things my way for a moment there," the villain said. His voice sounded sad at the realisation. It was followed by a rumbling in the floor as the darkness that still surrounded him fell away from around his body to reveal a man in a suit. His head was not that of a human but a metallic mask with tubes radiating downward into his body.
Black webbing ebbed from behind him as stretched across the floor and toward the heroes in an instant, gripping them by the legs. It then stretched in all directions from where it had travelled, entwining pillars and walls alike. Everything looked like it had been dipped in oil.
"What the hell is this?" Tiger yelled as he tried to pull away from it but couldn't.
"This is your demise," the man said and the building vibrated, the wall upon which he leant vibrated and their very bones themselves vibrated. Kshhh-shing, the sound of a knife slicing another knife rang as he covered his ears. It made him spasm as he felt everything collapse where he had been looking moments before.
Then it's fury ended, just as fast as it had begun. All he could do was grab the wall as he dropped his hands from his ears. He felt overwhelmed by it, it made it impossible to move at all. He knew it could have torn them apart if it had found them, if it had touched them with just one bit of it he would be dead. It would have choked the life out of him and everyone else around him. Sweat dripped down his brow and each breath felt hard to make. He knew the heroes had lost, though he could not even force his body to peek at look. He was sure Ko was dead, that Tiger was dead and the rest of them.
The villain's voice broke the stillness of the aftermath, "Why do you heroes always insist on interfering? And just when Tomura was learning to draw others to him, learning to lead other people, how disappointing." Every word was tinged with indulgence that had been long suppressed and the steps he had taken before were now slower. Finally he stopped and he did clap his hands, a sound much higher pitched than that of his shoes. "As expected of the number four hero I suppose, in the very last moment you pulled all of them out of the way. That kind of strength, those nerves of steel must have been culminated through years of practice and experience," his voice sounded unimpressed.
He gritted his teeth as he listened to it, Stain's wrath felt like a child's wrath compared to this. It still felt like his whole world was wobbling and he wanted to throw up at the thought of it, the idea that someone like this had been hiding the entire time.
"I won't let you get away with this!" Best Jeanist said. He sounded weak now despite the sound of ripping fabric that signalled the activation of his quirk.
"Your quirk is magnificent, sadly I have no need for it. It does not suit Tomura's personality, you see. Goodbye fourth hero, I'll have All Might sending you my regards soon enough," the air gave another shorter shing. The cry that followed, the yell of pain was something he knew he would not soon forget. It lasted for an eternity and reinforced his rigidity as another set of steps joined the courtyard.
"Most unfortunate. A necessity but unfortunate," Janus said.
"How many Noumu did we lose?" the man asked, remorseless over his transgression.
"Ninety-nine percent incapacitation rate of our Noumu. The ones we sent are all dead. It matters not. I will make more, I will make better ones."
"Very well, I suppose that means I cannot sit idly any longer either," he said. A sound like rushing water filled the air as he finished the sentence, it ended like it had spilt on the ground where it turned into several thuds.
"Ugh, this smells like shit. What the hell is this?!" Bakugou shouted as he pushed himself to his feet. The realisation was enough to lend his body movement again, which allowed him to turn his head toward the others who were still petrified and then back through the hole in the wall.
"I'm sorry, Bakugou. This was a necessary measure."
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?"
"You can call me All for One but it matters not for now, we can have a formal introduction later," the villain said as he turned to Tomura. "So, you've failed again."
"I haven't failed," Tomura answered.
"You must not get discouraged. I have brought your comrades back for you, along with the boy who you deemed important. Try again, as many times as you'd like. That is why I am here, all of it, everything is for your sake."
Riley's throat felt numb, the way the man spoke. Not only had he been around the entire time, he had a direct hand in everything. Janus... Tomura... they were only puppets for this man. He didn't feel hatred as it should have been, only hopelessness. How were they only finding out about him now?
He mustn't have been the only one feeling it, a glance to his left showed Midoriya struggling with both notions of defiance and desolation. Before the boy could move to act on it Iida grabbed him by the collar and he gave him and by extension all of them a long cold stare. It was as clear as any words would have been, he would not let Midoriya throw his life away. Not any of them.
"Tomura you and I must leave before All Might comes. He comes at any moment. Should he reach us..." Janus trailed off. The villain almost sounded nervous but there was excitement in it too.
"It's too late for that," All for One said as a crackle came from the sky above. "All Might is already here. Do not forget your role Janus."
"It will be done. As you have envisioned."
Before the sound of thunder cracked through the air All for One lashed out at his comrades, slinging them back and making room for the landing of a voice that even in the distance shook with discontent and spite. "I will take everything back from you All for One, I will force you to give it! I will crush you!" All Might boomed as if he were a comet falling to earth.
Crash, All Might tore into the dirt and flung a torrent of dust in all directions. There was no mistake in his vision, he'd come again to save them. This time the man did not spare words and instead launched a fist directly at the villain. Thwoom, it went as it parted the air and pushed every other villain further away. It should have been a punch that annihilated the thin man, yet all it did was scuff his suit as he stopped it dead in it's track using a single finger. The earth cratered beneath the two, All Might and All for One as they held against each other. There was animosity between them that looked old, it made his own feel small by comparison.
"Are you going to kill me again, All Might?" the man tossed the fist aside. It had taken him no effort, as if the gigantic man was a mere child. All Might didn't answer his taunt and instead threw another. "The bar isn't even five kilometres away and yet it took you so long to arrive. Have the years made you soft?"
This time All Might's fist did go through the man, pushing him back a few feet with it's power, "You're one to talk. Aren't you trying a little too hard with that ominous industrial mask All for One?"
"I guess we both have our little clichés," All for One chuckled.
All Might took his time approaching again, this time with his fist already bunched up. "This ends today. I will not make the same mistake I made five years ago and I will not let you do with my student as you please," he said in vengeful tone.
"It's already too late for that. I'm already far further embedded in your precious student's psyches then you ever imagine, All Might," the man laughed. The whole sentence made Riley's stomach turn, only adding to the discomfort of his shaking hands.
"The lives of others aren't your plaything. I will take back young Bakugou and this time you're going to be locked away for good, along with your little league of villain puppets!"
"Just like before you're all talk, nothing has changed. Nothing except the years catching up with you," the man raised a hand as All Might lunged.
Thwoom, All for One's left arm engorged and became massive, on it little bolts settled turning it almost metallic. He threw it forward in less time then it took to blink. Bang, the hand struck All Might hard across the face sending him through the building behind him as he was launched like a cannonball. Crash, three more fell as if they were trivial obstacles. It looked like someone had run each block down with a bulldozer.
"Atmospheric Compression, Corkscrew, Rivet, Burst and Reinforcement. I need to remember that one, what a fun combo," the villain shook his head as his arm returned to normal.
"All Might!" Bakugou yelled.
"There isn't a need to worry Bakugou. He won't die from something so simple. Now, however, is the time for you all to leave. Otherwise I'm afraid you're going to die too along with the Symbol of Peace," the man raised his other hand that hadn't been torn from the sleeve. Hardened black tendrils erupted from his hands like charcoal vines and stabbed in a straight line through the unconscious Kurogiri. The villain erupted in a massive black swirl that engulfed the immediate area in a warp gate.
"Kurogiri, you awake man?" Magne asked his downed companion.
"He is not, this quirk simply activates another by force. Now go," the villains voice was growing as agitated as it was arrogant. All the while his eyes were peeled on a specific spot where he had launched All Might.
Boom, as if on cue the buildings beneath which the man had been buried were torn apart and flipped like plates, shattering as they collided with ground already torn asunder. There was murder on All Might's face as he dragged his fist and dashed, it was fast enough to serrate any concrete in his path.
"Teacher," Tomura said as he stood at the peak of the warp gate. The villain turned toward him at the words.
"I want you to remember Tomura, there is still so much room for you to grow," thoom, All Might's fist landed in the villain's stoic embrace as his hand engorged and took it once more.
"We are out of time. Let us go. Or it will be the end," Janus said behind Tomura.
Tomura hesitated and looked back at the gate, then at his supposed teacher, then at Bakugou. "You're right," he said. "But bring him with us."
"It will be done," Janus answered. The rest of the villains were already well ahead of him, encircling Bakugou in an ever growing, tighter net.
"We'll seize what's important and then leave to rebuild," Mister Compress nodded as he reached out his hand at Bakugou, who retaliated by burning it and half the man's body. He was already at a wall, it was all he could do.
"No, I will not let you!" All Might broke from All for One and kicked the man hard in the gut before disappearing in a mind-numbingly fast display that left the villain reeling for a moment. He reappeared inches from the back of the villains and his fist almost connected with two of them in one swoop. Before All Might's strike could land three more of the dark prongs sliced him in the back and impaled him to the floor, "I can't allow you to do that All Might. That is why I'm here after all."
"Gah," All Might spat. "So be it!" he tore the wire from his back and pulled the villain toward him, connecting his fist to the mask and sending him flying.
"This isn't good, All Might is being completely overwhelmed by the amount of enemies," Todoroki said. The words came unexpected enough to startle him and cause him to turn back to the group which he had almost forgotten about.
"We can help. We need to help and give All Might the chance to fight back," Midoriya said.
Iida gave him a distraught look, "What are you saying? We can't fight, even if we wanted to."
"Please listen and I'll explain. There is a way for us to save him without combat and for us to get out of here too," he answered. "I need help from all of you but especially you Kirishima."
"Me?" Kirishima asked.
"You're the key to its success, if I were the one to do it it'd surely fail. This is the only way."
He gave a stoic nod, "Then tell me man, whatever it is I'll do it."
Toshiniro's mind was on fire, this wasn't going his way. He needed to separate Bakugou from those villains before they reached him. A look over his shoulder revealed he was almost out of time, he regretted checking almost immediately as a metallic riveted fist gutted him.
"Leave him out of this," he coughed as he hunched over from the blow.
All for One gave a sadistic smirk from beneath the mask. "I'm not the one who dragged him into this, I believe that fault lies with you Symbol of Peace," he said.
"Nonsense!" he punched the man across the face but it only served to keel him, it wasn't opportunity enough to jump away to help Bakugou. He peeked another look, there was smoke in the way of his sight, the boys efforts to retaliate.
Schick, he swerved as a steel blade launched sideways from the villain's hand, barely grazing his left shoulder but still leaving a shallow cut. He wiped his hand across his mouth but his dirtied gloves left more grime then they took with them. "I will not let you!"
"The choice isn't yours," All for One struck up his hand. "He is going to go with Tomura whether he likes it or not. Magne-"
The villain's words were cut off by a crash, which caused them both to pause and watch as the wall behind their battlefield shattered. "BAKUGOU COME!" the student who had sailed through it yelled beneath him.
It was young Kirishima, he recognised him in an instant, the carriage which he rode were two more, Midoriya and Iida. It was a reckless manoeuvre and one that left him breathless as he watched it. "Those kids...!" was all he managed to gasp as he watched Bakugou launch himself upward with a tumultuous boom and catch the offered hand just by the tips of his fingers.
"Do you think we'll just stand idly by?!" Magne yelled as he pulled the villain next to him onto his shoulder. The rod attached to his shoulder quivered as it surged with magnetism and sent Mister Compress hurtling upward toward the four. Fingers grasped at them as he made it within inches.
Thwoom, a tower erupted and blocked the path of the misguided magician, colliding him face first with Mt. Lady, it was an instant K.O on both their parts and she fell down like a tower, but she had succeeded in blocking the attack. On the ground Magne met a similar fate as a blunt hit ran through the bone on his leg and up through the shoulder, the pain of it caused the man to pass out on his feet as Gran Torino appeared beside him.
"A precious subject. Cannot be let to escape. This easily. It is unjust. It will not stand," a figure, who he could only recognise now through the pictures he had seen spoke. Janus, he realised. The villain raised his hand and wires fell from it like tangled fishing line, "Marionette; seize!" At the sight of it he turned back to All for One and pushed him as hard as he could, only to not budge as if he'd been stuck to he villain like glue.
"You won't be allowed to interfere, didn't I tell you? Watch your precious students pay the price for their idiocy."
He twisted at the grip but even as it came loose he knew it was too late, the line the villain had thrown had ensnared a leg mid flight, it threatened to pull Iida to the earth as it tugged. As Janus wrenched the wire back into his hand he paused, as if he had lost his footing. Skshhhhh-fwwww, the ground hissed with steam as vaporous clouds erupted from beneath the dust caked landscape. It was hot and masked everything like a dirty smokescreen for but a few seconds. His mind whipped to find the source of it and as it cleared he saw it at the far end, just behind the very villain who had thrown the cord, who was now looking at the tattered wires on his hand like he was coming to a grand realisation. He must have, as his head snapped exactly to the wall where the source of it had huddled, Momo, Todoroki and Torenagi.
"A chance for redemption," the voice crawled from Janus's throat. "You will be mine," the villain dropped his hand and began to walk in a single minded one two step. The students backed away, scrounged off the floor but the villain was much faster. He hadn't been able to help Bakugou escape but he would help the rest of them. The taste of iron filled his mouth before he could even raise a hand to smash All for One and daze him long enough. He fell in bundled heaps backward and far out of reach of what he had planned to do.
"Even if every little thing should go wrong I will make sure that you die here All Might," All for One said. He was already in front of him again. "And that you find yourself with as much regret as possible."
Smack, the engorged fist hit him again. "Augh," he coughed up blood. It had hit his injury, a deliberate strike.
"Still feeling a bit sensitive? We both have souvenirs from back then," the villain chuckled before turning his head toward Janus. "Leave him, there are more important matters at hand."
Janus turned back with a glare, "It must be do-" crack, a flash collided with the villains shoulder, it broke the metallic carapace to pieces and knocked the villain to one knee.
Gran Torino landed beside Janus and launched another kick. This one the villain caught it with a net of wires from his other hand. "You're a tough one, eh?" his mentor said. "Go you three! Get out of here!" he yelled at the students. Torenagi looked shell shocked, however Todoroki grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. They disappeared over the last cusp of the already fractured wall along with Momo.
He pulled himself to his feet, all he'd done was watch as his students had done all the heavy lifting. No more, now that Bakugou was out of the way and the rest of them safe he could go all out without a care.
"Oh how I've missed that endearing little look in your eye All Might. A pity, it looks so much dimmer than before."
"Enough of your games," he said as the power of One for All surged with all its remainder around his body. "This is going to end now."
Three new prongs sliced through the fabric of the All for One's hand, he dodged them with ease and drove his fist underneath them into the man's cast iron mask, cracking it. All for One grasped at his throat as he did, catching it in a steel grip as the prongs he had thrown impaled the incapacitated magnet villain, Magne. He snatched at the wired quirk but it was too late, it had already activated the effect.
"Teacher, I still haven't..." Tomura said as the magnetic power pulled him and Janus backward toward the portal with the rest of the villains.
"Continue the fight my student," All for One cut him off as the portal swallowed him. The look on his face would almost have been regret, if it wasn't covered by a taunting smile. "Now we can both go all out."
He threw his fist in response as he watched the black tendrils curl back into the villain's hand, he couldn't give him a chance to react. Black oil ripped from the man's pores and he dissipated like smoke, his fist still hit flesh but not the flesh of whom he wanted. Gran Torino shuddered under the weight of the blow as he took the remainder of what he had not been able to pull back.
"Sorry!" he shouted as he turned to where All for One had moved, five metres behind him. His face tightened into a scowl, "Play dirty all you want All for One, you will not walk away from this."
All for One scoffed. "I only came here to rescue Tomura but I am not foolish enough to think of escape, not when I have the chance to end you in your weakened state All Might," he said. "After all, I despise you. You brought down so many of my comrades one by one with that idiotic smile of yours. How is the view from up there, on your mountain of corpses All Might?"
He jumped forward toward the villain, who now floated. "You can't speak so chivalrously from your position," he growled as his fist was cut off and pushed into a stalemate. "Your 'comrades' were mere puppets, you threw them away like cheap toys. Nothing more than something to be used and then discarded!" he yelled and dodged All for One's quirk enlaced hand. There would be no escape this time.
"You laugh at those who want to live peaceful day to day lives. You force hardships onto them! Those are the kinds of things I simply cannot, will not," he felt the energy of One for All surge through his arm, "Forgive!" The crackle bared through his wrist and shuddered his fingers as it slipped past the villain's guard in an uppercut. It rose through the mask, the metal and glass splintered as he drove the villain upward.
"Augh," All for One stuttered as his body shuddered and was wrought upward. Before the man could fall he brought his foot back and grabbed his fist with his other hand. He twisted his body and spun in a fraction of a second allowing his elbow to come down into the villain with full force.
Crash, All for One smashed into the floor and bounced before laying still. His face was now a broken shell, his respirator was smashed and beneath sat wreaths of scarred flesh. The image was grotesque and unknown to him, the eyes he had grown to hate had been marred from his body as if a bird had ripped them out with razor sharp precision.
Blood spilled into his mouth again as he beheld the villain, enough to keel him and force him to hold his wound. My time limit, it's almost, his hand shivered as he contemplated the thought and wiped his mouth. He needed to end this now.
The first movement that arose from All for One's stricken body was a strangled cackle that transformed into a long, dull laugh. "What irony. I've heard all these excuses before and to hear them again is just as satisfying as it was the first time."
"What are you talking about?" he spat away the blood.
"You sound just like your predecessor, Nana Shimura. She said the same words just before she died."
Anger filled him, "Don't you even dare speak her name you fi-"
Thwoom, All for One swept up beneath him and struck his fist into the wound again. It had been faster than he had been expecting and more powerful as it threw him skyward, further than the wounded villain should have been able to. He almost caught a helicopter on the way up, the blades rang in his ears before he began to fall again, however his fall was no longer unassisted. Around his waist Gran Torino had grabbed him and was pulling him safely back down.
"Get a grip Toshi, it's do or die now. You can still do this!" his mentor said as they landed and he set him down slow. He looked up at All for One who had gathered himself up off of the floor, with one hand the man dusted down his clothes before he looked at him in turn and spoke.
"Even though I killed your precious teacher you've taken something away from me too, that's why I'll make sure you die the most gruesome death possible. However first I'm going to start with something you value more than your life All Might, your precious pride."
"Dodge and counter attack!" Gran Torino yelled as All for One's already unsheathed hand drew back and twitched, muscles pulsed and his stance changed.
"Hmm, should you dodging, I wonder?" he pushed his hand forward slowly and gripped it with his other. The twitching ceased and the muscle settled, his hand opened from a fist to a palm. This was a ranged attacked.
He stood to jump but heard a whimper, one that made him look over his shoulder. Then he knew why he couldn't move. There was someone there, behind him, in a crevice. A girl. An innocent life that if he dodged would be snuffed out.
"You said I could play dirty all I wanted, right?"
Vwoom, he crossed his arms as the blast left All for One's hand like a blinding laser. The bolt hit as if it were searing lava, burning away at his skin. He pushed his arms apart as it did, as it carved at his flesh and diverted the path of the beam to the sides of him. It cut into the floor and touched concrete near him as it burnt through the landscape and terraformed it. Under it's intensity concrete melted and sanded earth turned to glass, leaving shards of ebony stuck to the earth.
The beam fizzled and left smoke behind. All Might had not wavered but he had, as the smoke cleared around him what was left was not a hero but a mere man. His smile that had made the muscles in his face ache had slid off it, leaving behind for all the world to see the remnants of a scathed, broken figure. He still stood, he couldn't afford to fall down even as the sound of helicopters in the air above returned.
All for One floated back to the earth and walked a few steps, then he gave a mocking bow. "Are you ashamed All Might?" he said with a chuckle. "Those sunken eyes, that beaten body. You aren't such an amazing, unstoppable hero after all, are you? The world is watching Symbol of Peace . You're disappointing it."
He knew it already and self-loathing racked him at the fact. Every inch, every fleck of his tarnished, withered body was being shown and judged. "I know I look pathetic, that the world can see me in this terrible condition..." he said.
He knew it but it didn't matter, not any more. His role had always been larger than his shame, that is how he managed to do it all. He pushed himself together and made himself tall as he raised his fist toward All for One. It was clenched and drowned in blood that was all his own, it was not the blood of the innocent. He held it firm, in defiance.
"No matter how much you beat me down my spirit remains. I AM the Symbol of Peace!" he yelled through labored breaths. "And there is not a single thing you can do to take even a fragment of that away from me."
"Magnificent All Might. I had forgotten just how much of a stubborn child you were," All for One chuckled as his body began to rise from the floor once more until he was several feel above. "In that case, I hope it won't hinder that spirit of yours when I tell you this; Shigaraki Tomura is Shimura Nana's grandchild."
His eyes went wide and he lost his words. His mind was reeling, it couldn't be true. "Y-you're lying..." he stuttered as he went through it in his mind. The league of villains, the child of his predecessor, all the events up till now and a single disappearance that had occurred long ago. His heart sank in his chest and it's beat slowed.
"What happened to that smile of yours, All Might?" All for One asked as he placed his fingers on either side of his mouth and pushed upward turning his face into a perverse grin. "I always wondered how much that little fact would disturb you."
He fell to his knee and beat his fist on the concrete, dust stuck to the blood which ran across the floor into the dirt. "You scum," he said. It was followed by a sigh, his mentor's family. His own mentor's family twisted like this, at the will of this man. He felt sapped, drained, like he could slump and die on this very earth. All this pain that had been inflicted, that had persisted and taken on new forms had been because of his own inaction.
"Looks like I got a little bit more than a fragment of your spirit there, isn't that right?" All for One said as he raised his hand once more. The same shaking began but he couldn't hear it. "This is the end of the Symbol of Peace."
He closed his eyes and everything felt slow around him, he couldn't muster the strength any longer. "All Might!" his eyes shot open and he looked over his shoulder, it was the little girl who had spoken. The very girl he had saved earlier. She was still there, huddling and afraid. "Please All Might," she said again with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Help!"
It hurt more than any injury he had, it churned him more than the revelation. She would die with him. He couldn't allow that, he couldn't allow this man to continue to do as he pleased. Everyone was counting on him, on One for All and on the Symbol of Peace. "Of course," he answered and his fingers dragged dirt together as the power was fanned, his quirk irradiated. He turned back toward the villain, where a low golden orb hung in his palm, it crackled with the same dangerous energy.
Smack, his fist hit All for One into the floor. He had never felt himself move so fast, before the man even hit the ground he had grabbed him by the neck and flung him several more feet. The villain caught himself and spun to face him. Before he could utter more vile words he drove his fist across All for One's face and threw him into a wall, dust spun from it as he fell to the floor. The red tint of One for all flickered over his body as he watched the collapse and then he was Toshiniro again, the last of his power had faded. He hoped it had been eno-
"So, that was your final attack All Might?" All for One asked as he rose once more. He froze as the man then jumped high into the sky above. "Even back then you went after me with your guts hanging out. You disgust me," he said as his arm began to expand. "I won't give you that chance again."
"Stoccata," sching, a knife like projectile struck All for One across the face, however it retracted unnaturally back to re-merge with Edgeshot's body. "Do not kid yourself, savage. The likes of you could never strike down All Might."
All for One held the wound with his right hand as his vision snapped at the lithe figure. He opened his mouth but in that instant a fiery orange tint engulfed him from behind. "What's with that unheroic appearance All Might?!" Endeavor shouted, half as question and half as fact.
"This is about as much as we can do for you All Might!" Tiger said behind him. He had the little girl he'd rescued in his arms.
"No matter what your appearance Toshi, he can't strike down your heart," Gran Torino bobbed down beside him. The man looked far older than he remembered. "You remember it don't you? The promise you made to Nana," his head nodded. "Then go. Everyone... is wishing for your victory."
Vwoom, the air pulsed as fire was pushed away. "Enough. You can discard your petty sentimentality," All for One raised his hand and the dark edged prongs sprung out in groups from behind him and lunged. "An audience should behave!" he said as they collided with each of the heroes around him and threw them backward with ease. The villain breathed as the tendrils returned and his floating subsided to the point where he was only a meter above the ground. "This is reality, not a fairy tale. I will strike you down All Might."
The villains arm grew twice the size of what it had before as he raised it, he caught it with a malformed one of his own as he forced his quirk to meet it. His fingers broke but he smashed through the attack and landed his left fist across the ragged face of the villain with a deafening smash. He could feel the embers of One for All burning in one last blaze of glory.
"Shallow," the villain scoffed as he brought his own hand back around and thinned it into a steel blade toward his heart. "Goodbye Symbol of Peace."
"I am not done," he took the knife with the arm he had punched the villain with, lodging him deep enough to keep him still. All of the crackling energy of One for All drew from it and transferred to his fist, that he had already raised far above. It flourished and became strong as it grew into the fist of All Might, the Symbol of Peace for the last time.
"This is farewell All for One," he said. And to you too, One for All. He gave his first sincere smile in a long time. Then, his fist came down all at once.