By the time she and Ojiro make it out of the Fire Zone, Toph is breathless and a little charred, but nothing more. It's actually concerning how little damage she took. Not to disparage Ojiro's skills, but even the tail guy could have taken care of all these villains with no back up. The villains that jumped them were untrained, and unprepared for teenagers that could fight back.

I should be relieved, Toph muses. They're just here to keep us out of the way.

Yet Toph doesn't feel relieved by this observation. In fact, it does nothing but stoke the flames of wrath blazing in her chest.

The Fire Zone has its own enclosure to prevent the flames from spreading out of control, and she earthbends a boulder to seal over the door. There's ventilation in the dome, so she doesn't concern herself with the villains trapped in rubble or unconscious inside.

"That was insane," Tail Guy gasps, taking deep breaths. "We'd better get to the exit…" He turns to run, but Toph is moving away. The USJ is large, but all of it is well within her range of sight. The students were scattered into different zones, but none had left the facility.

Ojiro stumbles, looking back at her. "Beifong-san, what are you doing?"

Toph hasn't forgotten what the villains in the plaza had been talking about. These tools think they can kill All Might, but the scrubs she just fought were nowhere near his level. The warp villain is dangerous, and the hand-covered kid seems like some sort of leader, but they aren't the big guns, are they?

"That thing in the plaza is here to kill All Might." Toph says sharply. "I won't let it."

"What? How would you even know that?" Ojiro gapes at her. "You can't be… you can't fight them, Beifong, this isn't a game, this isn't even training!"

"You should leave," Toph cracks her knuckles, and taps her fingers against the canisters that lay against her legs. It was a simple reel, admittedly, but that meant it wouldn't take long for Toph to adapt to using it. "I know what I'm doing."

There are some sights that can't be translated into Toph's sight by shapes and vibrations. Ojiro stares at the earthbender, transfixed by the spectacle of his classmate—she's a small girl, sometimes mistaken for shy or modest when her bangs hang over her face and she tilts her head low. But in this moment; in the split second he glances her way, Toph Beifong stands like a titan, like a force of nature indifferent to anything or anyone in her path.

Steel cables burst from the canisters at her hips, latching onto tall structures and pulling taut. Toph lets the cables tug her forward, hurling towards the plaza like a living avalanche before Ojiro can even lift a finger.

Izuku can't breathe. Game over, the warp gate just said game over, someone's alerting the teachers. Eraserhead is facedown in a crater. Game over, the villains are leaving, but Izuku still can't breathe, can't believe they're really done. That decay man wanted to kill All Might. It can't be this simple. Eraserhead is in danger, he could be dying, this isn't simple at all.

"Oh, right." The decay villain, Shigaraki, speaks in a dry, lethargic tone. "Before we leave, let's smash some of his pride…."

Izuku doesn't take his eyes off the villains, but suddenly the man is there, his gaze manic, his pale hand outstretched past Izuku. Not towards him. Past his face. "...as the Symbol of Peace!" Shigaraki howls in glee.

He's looking at Tsuyu. He's putting his hand on Tsuyu's face. Aizawa's arm cracked apart like broken glass. She's dead. She's dying. She's going to disintegrate.

Izuku isn't breathing. He isn't even blinking.

Tsuyu is still breathing.

"Damn it." The decay villain's tone reverts to that slow drawl. He turns his head to the side, hand drawing away. He had just been touching Tsuyu's face, but she's still here. "You really are cool, Eraserhead."

Midoriya follows his gaze back to the Nomu and his teacher, whose bright red gaze is fixed, furiously, on the decay villain. The Nomu crushes his arm, and Aizawa screams—Izuku leaps from the water, feeling the rush of heat and power surge through his arm—"Let go of her!" He screams, and lets loose One For All. "SMASH!"

The shockwave is immense, a burst of wind that knocks back villains and makes the ground shudder.

Izuku looks down at his arm when he doesn't feel any pain. I controlled it? I got a hit in?

His rush of relief is smothered by the realization that the Nomu stands between him and Shigaraki. No. No, no, no. It's not even injured. There was no effect. Did he even use One For All?

Midoriya's mind is flying a mile a minute, trying to figure it out. So its quirk isn't strength, but shock absorption? Something like Fatgum? This makes no sense.

"...Smash?" Shigaraki repeats softly. His eyes are red, Midoriya is close enough to see that. The villain's gaze burns into him. "You there… are you a fan of All Might?"

Izuku barely registers the underlying rage in the villain's voice, hardly has time to blink—then the world erupts around him, dust flying everywhere and clouding over them. The decay villain lets out a grunt, and Izuku is blown backwards, a spray of water dousing him as he skids to a stop some distance from the villains.

Tsuyu and Mineta flop onto the ground beside him, bewildered but unharmed after being thrown from the shallow water. "What the fuck?!" Mineta wheezes, and Tsuyu scrambles to her feet, but Izuku—

Izuku is calm, because he realizes what must be happening. Spirits, it better be her or I'm dead. He seizes each of his classmates' arms and drags them farther from the plaza, his thoughts nothing more than a stream of pleas and promises to any and all earth-related spirits he knows of, because if it's not her he's dead.

He shoves them forward, away from the villains, and when he turns around, the dust has cleared.

The decay villain brushes the dirt off his clothes, perplexed. Him and the Nomu weren't thrown by the explosion, because it wasn't directed at them. "Oh… another NPC?" He muses, looking around.

Izuku's eyes settle on the newcomer at the same time as the villain.

"Was that your attack, little girl?" The villain asks, amused. "You missed."

Toph Beifong stands not far from Izuku, her expression stormy. She says nothing at all, feet sliding against the concrete definitively. Midoriya recalls the footage from her fight with Iida, but it can't compare to what she looks like right now. The earthbender is the embodiment of her element, nothing but sharp edges and steely indifference. She takes up an unfamiliar fighting stance, something reminiscent of antiquated martial arts, looking right at home in the midst of chaos.

Beifong looks calm. Serene, even. So why does Izuku get the sickening feeling in his gut that she's on the warpath?

"Hah, aren't you poised," Shigaraki muses when she doesn't respond. The villain glances at the beaked monster, frozen in position from blocking Midoriya's punch. Beifong's arms shift, and Izuku can see the glint of steel from the support item on her hip. "A long-range attack… I didn't see you coming. That's unfair." The Nomu twists around towards Beifong.

There's another command in Shigaraki's last words, Midoriya realizes, because in the blink of an eye, the Nomu goes from standing over Shigaraki to making a lunge at Beifong.

"NO!" He finds himself screaming this time, finally regaining his voice, but it's still too late. The beast punches into the earth, throwing debris everywhere with a shockwave that makes Izuku squint his eyes. "TOPH!"

Silence.

The dust settles again.

The decay villain hums in amusement, and the Nomu pulls away, still as a statue with another command from Shigaraki. Izuku feels his heart jump into his throat—because he sees no blood, no smear of a teenage girl within the crater caused by the monster's fist.

"How…" The villain's voice goes up an octave, gritty with annoyance, "...how did you dodge my Nomu?"

Toph is panting, pale, and still in one piece, standing farther from Izuku now with her back to the front entrance. She stomps lightly on the ground, but Izuku sees no immediate effect. She flicks her wrist and a cable detaches itself from the side of a building, zipping back into the spool device on her belt.

"Granted, I didn't let him chase you," The villain admits. "Toph, is that your name?" She scowls. Shigaraki stares at her, wild-eyed. "Huh, I thought so. Hey, Toph, those reflexes are something else," he murmurs, working through what data he's seen. He did the same with Eraserhead before catching him between blinks to decay the hero's arm. "Almost like you moved before Nomu did. Was that just a lucky guess, Toph?"

No, Midoriya thinks to himself. She didn't move first, or that thing would've been able to follow her. But she knew it would attack, and mid-jump, the Nomu couldn't change direction. Like Iida, when he made a charge at her—Toph had to wait for him to pick a direction before she could counter it. She wasn't this fast against Iida, but now she had those cables to magnify her speed.

That's her fighting style, waiting and listening before choosing the best moment to strike. Beifong must've been watching Aizawa fight for a while before she intervened, just like Izuku.

But why knock Izuku and his classmates away instead of attacking the villains?

"You've got a lot of anger, I can tell," Shigaraki says to Beifong lightly. Toph still refuses to speak, and it strikes Izuku at that moment that she is angry right now. She's so furious that she can't speak, can't taunt her opponent like he's seen her do plenty of times already in school. Shigaraki cocks his head to the side. "Don't hold back on me now."

The decay villain scratches his neck idly—and then he lunges at Beifong with no warning. Midoriya is able to follow his movement with his eyes this time, but knows he'd be in danger with Shigaraki's speed. Beifong is even faster, deflecting his forearm and shifting even closer to the staircase leading up to the entrance. Shigaraki is jerked around, unsteady as she oscillates between bending the concrete beneath his sneakers and deflecting him with her arms. Her footwork, usually slow and crisp, devolves into rapid shifts of weight and dragging heels.

Aizawa got it wrong in class. Toph is fast enough. Izuku marvels at her, wondering what sort of training she's done to keep up with a villain like this. It's different, though, when the stakes are real. Izuku knows how it feels when your body moves before you have a chance to think.

The Nomu lumbers towards the decay villain, watchful. The creature doesn't attack, though. Midoriya stares at its back, trying to figure out why.

Shigaraki lets out a frustrated shout as his fourth swipe misses Beifong again, his feet sinking into the ground like quicksand. They both go still, the student stepping just out of the villain's reach. The villain looks down at his bare hand for a moment, flexing his pale fingers as if to check that they work.

"You can only keep blocking for so long, why don't you fight back?" Izuku figures out what Toph had seen earlier, just as Shigaraki confirms it. "Ha. You figured out that Nomu will take the hits for me."

Midoriya sags. The Nomu's head was bird-like, and it was constantly tilting its head, rolling its eyes to keep track of Shigaraki. Anything visible as an attack would be instantly blocked by the Nomu, that's why Izuku's punch was stopped. The monster only stepped into the fight when Aizawa went after the decay villain, too. The Nomu had a few basic orders it was following, and it was commanded by Shigaraki alone.

Beifong probably couldn't move the Nomu, so she moved her classmates out of the way instead. Izuku desperately wants to save her in return, but he can't do it without drawing the Nomu into the fight. Neither of them can match that thing's strength.

But Aizawa, he should get Aizawa out of the way! Beifong is drawing the villain further and further from the Shipwreck Zone. This is their chance—

As Izuku lifts himself up, Tsuyu seizes his arm. The look on her face is severe.

The Nomu might be docile now, but it follows the villain's every order. And there's still the warp villain in the plaza to worry about. Izuku relents. Not yet. He doesn't know how to get the jump on that black mist, but he's the next most dangerous player. Izuku feels so useless.

Shigaraki reaches down and disintegrates the concrete around his feet lazily, still focused on the earthbender. "….But that's not all Nomu is good for."

Midoriya can see Toph grow tense. If the order is specific enough, Izuku doubts she can evade the Nomu.

As if Shigaraki has the same thought as them, he speaks. "Pin her."

The resounding thud vibrates the ground as the beast slams down Beifong with one hand spread over her entire torso. Spikes of earth thrust upward violently, but they crumble against the Nomu, and Beifong gasps as the hand tightens over her chest. Mineta slaps a hand over Izuku's face, hissing a warning before he can scream.

Shigaraki looks over, directly at Midoriya, anyway. He seems to be smiling behind the hand over his face. "Did you really think you'd be able to save your classmates? Your teacher?"

Izuku isn't sure if he's asking him or Toph, but he shouts anyway. "Let her go!"

The villain lets out a low chuckle. "You... you're the type I hate most. Why don't you make me stop, Small Might?" he taunts, knowing Izuku can't do a thing.

Beifong punches at the ground with a fist, angry but immobilized. It's a strange show of frustration from the otherwise silent girl. Beifong was rather stoic when she wanted to be, her control of her earthbending just as solid as her control over her emotions. Izuku's eyes flicker from Shigaraki to Beifong, an inkling of comprehension forming in his head.

Here and there during her fight, Beifong would shift her weight, add an extra stomp without releasing any attack. The only explanation is that she's waiting for something only she knows about.

What's the range on her seismic sense?

"Ho, you're still conscious," Shigaraki dips his head, eyes scanning over the girl. Her fingers dig into the edges of the Nomu's palm, straining with effort, and her body is sunken into a decent crater in the ground but she's yet to be crushed. "I expected you to pass out by now, make this easier. Hell of an earth quirk, eh?"

Izuku watches the beast lean forward incrementally, sees the snarl of concentration on his classmate's face. The pressure leaves no room for a reply. Beifong must be using her quirk in some capacity, but it won't protect her chest from caving in forever. Seeing her struggle, seeing that villain leer over her is unbearable for Izuku.

"Frustrating, isn't it?" the young villain says mockingly. "You're right there, but you can't save each other." He's toying with them.

Toph exhales harshly, grimacing under the steady weight of the Nomu's hand. Her teeth are stained red. "'M not… trying t'save them," she wheezes out, and Shigaraki's attention is pulled back to her now that she's finally broken her silence.

"What?" The villain stares at her blankly. He crouches down to her level, scratching at his neck incessantly. "That's a strange attitude for a hero, little girl…"

Midoriya sees the vicious, bloody slash of Beifong's smile, clear as day. Normally, a smile like that was disconcerting, much like Kacchan's smirk. But here and now, it can only mean something good. To Izuku, it's almost as uplifting as All Might's grin. "I'm just… here to stall you… bitch."

Shigaraki cocks his head. "Wh—?"

BOOM!

All of them jerk their gazes up towards the entrance, where another mass of dust obscures the top of the staircase. A huge, familiar silhouette appears. "It's fine now," the voice rumbles. "I am here."

Shigaraki could have disintegrated Toph at any moment. She was totally pinned, Midoriya was too far away to stop him. But the villain's eyes are locked on All Might, and he gets to his feet as if in a trance. "I've been waiting, hero," he says, and his voice quavers with overwhelming anger. "You trash of society."

All Might moves even faster than the Nomu. The low-level villains still milling around the grounds are promptly taken down. Izuku breathes in. There's a jerk on his body.

When he breathes out, he's standing on shaky legs beside Mineta and Tsuyu, but now Aizawa and Beifong lay in front of them, and the decay villain is on the other side of the plaza. Or rather, Midoriya had just been transported to the far side of the plaza. Toph struggles to stand, spitting blood. Eraserhead is motionless, though, and that scares Izuku even more.

"Toph-chan," Tsuyu lifts her by the arm, voice quivering. Beifong doesn't answer, but allows the frog girl to pull her up. All Might was quick enough to pull her out from the Nomu's grasp, but there's no telling the damage it's already done to her.

All Might addresses them while staring down the villain. "Everyone, get to the entrance. I'm leaving Aizawa to you, he's unconscious." Izuku stares up at his idol, relieved and horrified. He's so strong, Izuku wants to believe they're safe, but that thing, that Nomu…

Shigaraki is muttering hysterically to himself, pressing the disembodied hand back until it settles properly against his skin. Izuku already assumed he was unhinged, but that's a detail he won't forget.

"A-All Might, you can't," Izuku speaks up finally, pulling Aizawa over his shoulder. "That beaked villain, it took One Fo—it took a punch from me, but it didn't even twitch!"

"Young Midoriya!" All Might cuts him off, and Izuku bites his tongue. "It's fine!"

He peers at his hero's face, his fierce smile, and relents. Tsuyu takes Aizawa's other side, and the four students trudge towards the stairs. Izuku focuses on his task, feeling his broken fingers throbbing now, but he can't help but worry for All Might. They turn a corner, taking the safest path to the entrance, and he loses sight of the battle.

That Nomu was engineered to fight the Number One Hero. There was something wrong about it… And Thirteen had given a signal to Eraserhead before the start of class. Izuku read the newsfeed this morning about All Might sightings.

All Might has already reached his time limit for the day.

Everything is not fine.

And on the plaza below, All Might punches and punches but the Nomu won't go down. There's another explosion from the plaza, and they all pause. Mineta comments something light-hearted about All Might suplexing the monster.

Izuku can't see through the dust. "Beifong," he says quietly. She had been able to sense All Might before he'd even reached the gates of USJ. She must know what's going on in the plaza. He turns his eyes to her.

Toph's face is drained of color. "The warp villain."

Midoriya's heart leaps again. They hadn't done anything to subdue the warp villain, and All Might might not have even known about him. He peers at the expression on Beifong's face, the dread and fury solidifying into something resolute. She can't look him in the eye, but a silent agreement passes between the two students regardless, entwining them with purpose. It doesn't matter that Izuku can't feel two fingers on his hand, nor that Toph's steps are heavy and unsteady. The clarity of what they're going to do leaves Izuku breathless and determined.

"Asui, carry Aizawa." He shifts the teacher's weight onto the frog girl without waiting for an answer. Beifong is already sprinting when Midoriya takes off for the plaza.

"Shock absorption, Midoriya," Beifong picks up Izuku's train of thought, but her voice is strained and thin. Midoriya feels a tendril of worry coil in his gut, reminded that Beifong was injured by the Nomu. Her sleeve is burnt up too, with a nasty red patch of skin showing beneath it. "You were about to tell All Might it has shock absorption—and regeneration."

Midoriya's eyes flash. He'd been trying to come to terms with the Nomu's power since it was able to neutralize his punch, but he hadn't seen any sort of healing ability. "What—"

"You heard me," Toph shouts back roughly, wiping at her mouth as they run. "I pierced its skin but it sealed up in seconds."

"M-multiple quirks?" He asks, bewildered. "Is that even possible?" Izuku considers himself close to an expert on quirk research, and there's never been such a case before.

Beifong's expression darkens. "It's possible." She says it like a fact.

He stares back, but there's no time to answer. All Might can't die here. There's so much he needs to teach him. The Symbol of Peace can't die today. Midoriya sprints towards the villains, seeing that All Might is being dragged into black mist, and reaches desperately for him.

Several things happen at once.

Toph throws out two cables at the hand guy.

Midoriya is nearly engulfed in that staticky-something as the warp villain draws himself up to block the student.

Bakugou bursts onto the plaza, firing at something directly in front of Midoriya that clangs to the floor—a metal collar.

The Nomu is frozen solid. She'd been wondering when Shouto would crop up. With his help, All Might breaks free of the beast's grip.

Kirishima aims for Shigaraki, but Toph flicked out her cables before him—the first cable snaps under the villain's hand, but her other cable lashes around him long enough for Kirishima to change course and punch Shigaraki directly in the face.

"Ha! Nice, Toph—Uwah!" Toph jerks her cable to coil over the student instead, and reels in Kirishima to her side before Shigaraki's fingers can make contact. "What the heck? I had him!"

"He disintegrates people," she informs the energetic student in a clipped voice. God, he doesn't even have a shirt on.

"Oh. Thanks." If they weren't still facing villains, she would slap Kirishima in the face.

Bakugou cackles at the metal collar beneath his palm. "Just as I thought, only parts of you can turn into that warp gate!" He sets off a few warning explosions, threatening the staticky villain into remaining still. So that's what the warp villain looks like. Toph would never be able to pinpoint something in midair like that…

"Ah, look at this," Shigaraki murmurs, just loud enough for them to hear him. "Not only did you capture my companions, but you're all uninjured." His gaze sweeps across the assortment of heroes and villains. "Well, mostly uninjured," he amends. "Kids these days..."

Midoriya huffs, clenching his left hand shakily. He broke two fingers before Toph made it to the plaza, and nearly shattered his arm against the Nomu. And Toph herself, well…

Kirishima makes a startled sound from her side, probably catching sight of the streak of red she wipes away from her mouth. It's only from biting her cheek, but it happened when the Nomu slammed her into the ground. Four of her ribs are either bruised or fractured from that hit too, and her arms are still tingling from the strain of keeping its hand from flattening her.

"Oho, All Might… you should have seen it," the villain continues thoughtfully, "Nomu was so close to crushing that blind girl. And that plain-looking guy, what a punch, he really went all out, I could tell…"

Toph balks for a fraction of a moment. When had Shigaraki noticed she was blind? He'd gotten pretty close to her face, but hasn't mentioned it until now. He talked about her reflexes, figured out she had an earth quirk, but chose not to taunt her about her disability?

"Nomu," Shigaraki says blandly, and Toph freezes. She has no idea what the villain could be commanding, but the Nomu is being pulled out of the warp gate. No, no, Toph can't help if she doesn't know what the command will be. The creature staggers out of the gate, its right side shattering to pieces from Shouto's ice. It lurches over to stand in front of Shigaraki in muted, unfazed steps.

"Shit," Midoriya hisses, taking a step back.

"He's still moving like that?" Shouto stares at the thing in horror, barely noticing when Midoriya takes his arm to pull him further from the beast.

The Nomu begins to regenerate.

"Shock absorption wasn't his quirk?" All Might demands, straightening up. "What is this?"

"I didn't say that was his only quirk," Shigaraki replies with malicious glee. "This is his super-regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you at 100%."

Modified. Toph feels a chill go down her spine. She hears Shouto growl under his breath. Shigaraki said he was only here to kill All Might, but it wasn't true. Not really.

Because if they were experimenting with quirks, modifying powers and making human weapons—chances are, the League of Villains are connected to Amon's Vision.

The rest of the battle passes too quickly for Izuku to register. All Might is too fast for him to follow, and he gets glimpses every time him and the Nomu hit the ground, before they kick up another cloud of dust to conceal the fight. There's so much kickback from each punch All Might makes, it's all Izuku can do to stay on his feet. At some point Todoroki freezes himself to the ground, and Toph anchors herself and Kirishima, crouching beside Kacchan.

Kacchan, who'd nearly been obliterated by the Nomu before All Might intervened. Earlier, Toph had been able to dodge the Nomu coming after her, but only All Might had been fast enough this time to get the explosive boy out of the way.

Even if Izuku couldn't see it, even if she was still standing, Toph was hurt, wasn't she?

All Might blasts the creature right out of the facility and into the stratosphere. Midoriya stares at his back as the hero addresses the remaining villains.

"As expected, it seems there's no need for us to fight," Todoroki comments, pulling his feet free from the ground. Kirishima and Kacchan get to their feet too. Beifong follows, albeit slowly. "Toph, can you move?"

"Don't need help," she slaps his hand away stubbornly. "Fuck off." Izuku is still worried about the damage she took from the Nomu, but if she's well enough to curse out Todoroki, Toph will probably be fine.

"Midoriya, we should get out of here now!" Kirishima calls to him. "I don't want to slow down All Might."

"The other villains are approaching," Todoroki warns, moving to Kirishima's side. "We should focus on them," he advises, and his classmates begin to shift their attention to the opposite side of the plaza.

But Izuku can't bear to look away from All Might. The dust hasn't settled yet, but he can see steam rising from the hero's skin. It's the same sort of steam that Izuku had seen the day he met the number one hero, and he was forced to revert to his true form.

He's out of time.

Beifong hisses an acerbic string of curses as she stands. Behind Midoriya, villains that All Might and Eraserhead took out are beginning to stir. The students turn their eyes away from the pro hero, trusting his judgement to face the main villains, but Izuku can't follow their lead. None of them know about All Might, they don't realize he's still in danger. Izuku can't leave him like this. The other students move back, but Izuku steps towards All Might unconsciously.

Shigaraki is muttering loudly, agitated despite the warp gate trying to calm him. They're going to fight, they're going to attack All Might, Shigaraki and the black mist will kill him—I have to fight—!

"Midoriya, no!" Toph shouts.

Izuku is jerked back with a snap, and his legs buckle from the pain that follows. "Gah!" He gasps, staggering abruptly. He'd been about to leap towards All Might, but his legs are—stuck? He can feel One For All's power subside, a rush of energy flushed down the drain prematurely, leaving him shaking. But he hadn't properly released the energy that would normally shatter his limbs, so—

Izuku sucks in a sharp breath to look at the student behind him. Toph didn't leave with the other students to take on the subordinate villains like he thought. Instead she's right there with him, glowering at Izuku, her fingers outstretched towards him.

"Beifong," he whispers in horror. Shigaraki attacks. The warp gate spreads his mist wide, preparing to overwhelm All Might. Izuku desperately reaches for One For All, but Beifong's grip is iron-like, even if he breaks free and shatters his legs he'll be too late— "No, no, we can't let them—!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Shigaraki's hand is deflected away from All Might just in time, blood spurting from new bullet holes.

Izuku freezes. Toph collapses to her knees, and the pressure over his legs all but disappears. The villain screeches in anger, and the warp villain drags him away through the mist.

What?

Is it… over?

"Sorry we're late!" The principal's voice carries over the building, light and self-assured. "I gathered all who were immediately available!"

The teachers are here, Izuku thinks in relief. He looks up, back to All Might.

Oh. Oh, shit.

Shigaraki hadn't been able to decay All Might's body, but it looks like he managed to reach a bit of the hero's hair, because his signature bunny-ear locks were uneven. But more than that… All Might was half-shrunken now, steam coming off his skin in waves. There was still a decent amount of dust shrouding the plaza, and the other students had separated from Izuku to deal with the other villains.

But Toph sensed people through the vibrations in the ground. There's no way she could miss him.

All Might coughs into his hand. He looks at Izuku nervously, and then his eyes fall to Toph's bewildered face. "Shit," he says.

"Shit," Toph repeats right back, her voice thin and high.

"Toph? Midoriya?" Todoroki calls from across the plaza worriedly. Izuku freezes. Toph's face twists grimly. Todoroki is running towards All Might, he'll see—

Suddenly the ground trembles, and a thick wall of concrete spring up between Todoroki and the rest of them. Midoriya's eyes land on Toph, but he hadn't seen her move at all.

"...Oi. What's this for?" Todoroki's voice is sharp and suspicious. "Beifong is injured over there."

"We need to make sure all the students are safe, so please tell the others to regroup at the front gate," Cementoss appears from the side of the impromptu wall. "We'll deal with the wounded here."

"Right," Todoroki agrees after a moment of deliberation. They can hear his footsteps lead away into the distance.

Izuku and All Might sigh in relief. Toph just looks shell-shocked.

"Thanks, Cementoss," All Might huffs, resting in a crouch. He's completely shrunken to his true form now, and with the blood stains over his face and body, he looks awful. "You really saved my skin there."

"Ah. I wish I'd gotten here sooner, though," Cementoss replies, turning to Midoriya and Beifong. "We should be careful getting you to the infirmary, to prevent any more… surprises."

Toph's face screws up in annoyance, and she takes a breath to argue—and then she coughs wetly, her breathing labored, and oh my gosh there's blood still coming from her mouth—

"Beifong!" Izuku squeaks, scrambling to kneel beside her. He grimaces at the strain it puts on his legs, but it feels like a bad sprain, not broken limbs. She really was able to stop One For All in an instant, and without even practicing it first—! "Please don't move, we'll get you to Recovery Girl—" he reaches over to pull Toph up but she just slaps his hand away like she did to Todoroki.

"Fuck off, Midoriya. You're the one with broken bones again," She scowls, shakily balancing on her feet as she accuses him.

Izuku huffs. "I-It's just my fingers, it's fine—!"

"Your right fibula is broken," the earthbender cuts him off quietly. Izuku freezes. "Your kneecap too, stop kneeling on it—"

"Young Midoriya?" All Might calls out to him in surprise. The hero's eyes land on Izuku's left hand, covered by his elbow pad to protect his shattered fingers. He sighs, turning to Toph. "Young Beifong, you may have internal injuries from that creature. Both of you need treatment."

"I bit my tongue," Toph snaps at the Number One Hero. Izuku might faint. She really has no respect for authority, not even All Might's authority. "There's no internal bleeding, all I did was crack my ribs."

"Th-that's not any better, Toph," Izuku points out, fretful, even as he eases out of his kneeling position (His leg doesn't feel broken, not like in the entrance exam, but if Toph says so...). He's not sure she's being truthful about her injuries anyway, because he had no idea how her arm had gotten burned. And her tongue shouldn't still be bleeding it that was really where the blood was coming from...

All Might looks pained when he looks at Beifong. "P-Please, let Recovery Girl treat you as soon as possible," he says, almost beseechingly. "I would rather not have to call your guardian if you're sent to the hospital."

Toph freezes, eyebrows raised. "Ah, yeah. You're probably right."

Izuku blinks, looking between All Might and Beifong in confusion. He has no idea what Toph's guardians would have to do with any of this. "Um? Are we…. Should we talk about…?"

"Later," All Might sighs. "Let's make sure all the students and faculty are safe first. Young Beifong, I must ask that you—"

"Spirits," Toph rolls her eyes. "Of course I won't say anything, I know how to keep a fucking secret."

All Might peers at her, and then at Midoriya for his opinion. Izuku gives the hero a long, thoughtful look before nodding. Toph is ultimately very rational and considerate, even if she doesn't always seem that way. It's not an ideal situation, but Izuku thinks they can trust her with this.

The hero concedes. "Alright then. Let's get to the nurse's office, shall we?"

The students nod, and they all begin to move towards the exit. Beifong glares at the ground and drags Izuku's arm over her shoulder, lessening the pressure on his right side.

"And, Young Beifong?" The earthbender pauses. All Might looks at her evenly. "I'm entrusting you with an immensely personal part of my life right now," he says seriously.

Toph takes slow, unsteady breaths as she absorbs this. "Yeah, well. It's about time, ain't it?" Izuku jolts at her cavalier tone, and has to bite his tongue avoid interrupting. Cementoss seems equally disturbed, shooting the girl a reprimanding look (that she definitely doesn't notice).

"Oh?" All Might murmurs, nonplussed.

"This means you're going to have to retire soon, right?" Toph continues softly. "So it's about time you start trusting your life to us future heroes."

Izuku stares, struck dumb by the wholehearted confidence in the way Toph speaks. Suddenly, All Might bursts into deep, bellowing laughter that echoes through the entire building. Toph startles, bumping into Midoriya with a sour look.

"Such drive! I look forward to seeing the heroes you two will become!"

Izuku feels his heart clench at All Might's words, indescribably happy that the hero is okay. Tears collect in his eyes but he beams at All Might anyway. Toph just ducks her head, clicking her tongue.

Soon, Midoriya and Beifong are split up from Cementoss and All Might, and ushered to the infirmary on one of the motorized carts used to move between UA buildings. Izuku feels tears dripping from his face all the while, but really, he can't help but cry. They pass by an ambulance taking Thirteen and Eraserhead to the hospital, and an assortment of police cars and officers spreading around the USJ.

Izuku sighs, leaning back in his seat and finally wiping at his eyes. He hears a quiet gasp from his side, and turns to check on Beifong. She looks unchanged, her mouth still set in a scowl and her bangs hanging heavily over her face. Toph hasn't shown many signs of pain, not even after being pinned down by the Nomu, so it's hard to Izuku to tell if she's in trouble or not.

"Toph," he says tentatively. "Are you okay?"

The earthbender lifts her head with a bitter sort of smile. "Are any of us okay?" she asks.

She's crying. She still looks poised and strong, so untouchably self-assured, but she's crying, and makes no attempt to hide it. Toph just sits there, back straight, chin high, but shaking ever so slightly like she's unable to stop it.

Izuku doesn't reply, because the answer is obvious. None of them are okay.

In the nurse's office, hours later, All Might tells Toph Beifong about his injury.

"I sustained a pretty major wound about six years ago, and lost some internal organs. Since then, my time in my hero form has diminished. I think I've lost more time with today's fight, so I can probably maintain my form for about an hour each day now."

Toph listens from her bed next to All Might's, Midoriya sitting in a chair between them with a cast over his hand and his right leg wrapped up tight with bandages. He's essentially been healed at this point, but the hero has let him stay to listen.

"...As for Midoriya," All Might continues hesitantly. The nurse's office is pretty quiet, save for the hum of electronics and the slow drip of IVs. It's not hard to hear his heartbeat in this setting, fluttering and nervous and unmistakable. "I'm sure you're wondering why Young Midoriya knows already… w-well, you see, he happened to find out—"

"Wait, wait, stop," Toph holds up a hand quickly before All Might can speak. He grunts in surprise, not used to being cut off. Midoriya makes a little noise of dissent too, and Toph clicks her tongue. "Sorry, but I really, really need to say this first."

The two of them waited for her to continue with bated breath. Toph rubs her temple.

"You're both shit liars, oh my god."

Midoriya squeaks. All Might's heart rate skyrockets. "I—I beg your pardon?"

Toph exhales a long-suffering sigh, and tilts her head towards her classmate. "Haven't I told you before, Midoriya? You're going to think yourself into a heart attack."

He stares at her, stupefied by her words for a long moment. Then Midoriya makes a strangled noise of shock as the pieces click into place. "All Might, Beifong can hear our heartbeats," he says hollowly. "Oh wow, that's phenomenal. I should have guessed it sooner. Oh my god. That's why you're always telling me to stop worrying, you can tell that I'm actually worrying—"

"Heartbeats, uneven breathing, fidgeting with your hands," Toph tallies off each tell. "I hear your voice all the time, Sensei, I can hear it when you sound off."

"I… see," All Might said weakly.

"You haven't straight up lied, but you're not telling me everything," she folds her arms. "And… I think I've heard enough now, don't you think?"

"Huh?" Midoriya whips his head around to look at her. "You're really not curious—?"

"It sounds serious as fuck," Toph cuts him off firmly. "So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's safer if you don't try to feed me some watered-down version I won't believe, and just keep me out of it entirely." She pauses for a beat. She doesn't strictly have to tell him the rest, but the things Shigaraki said today were nagging at her. It might be a coincidence, but if it wasn't, she ought to warn them…

"All Might. I'm still a target for an active villain group," Toph says in a rush, taking both the hero and student off-guard. "I don't expect to be attacked or anything, but the last thing you need is for any villains to find out you have a weakness. I'm just a student. I should stay unconnected to all this if I can."

Endeavor made the choice a while ago to keep her, Shouto, and Inasa up to date on the AV case. While there haven't been any attempts on the students since Cato Hospital, the group is active, and whatever tests and DNA samples taken from her and Inasa during their abduction were still being floated around the confusing dark web that Amon's Vision was hiding in. AV was involved in practically every illegal human experimentation and trafficking ring in the country.

"What?!" The number one hero asks, aghast. "What villain group? Why isn't that in your file—?" All Might wheezes, coughing into his hand. "Shit! Endeavor's leading the case, isn't he? Of course he wouldn't warn the school about active investigations! Honestly, that man...!"

Toph gives a tentative nod, cringing at the metallic smell of blood. "I can't actually talk about it unless you're brought into the case," she admits sheepishly. "But I think you will be."

"Christ," All Might gripes, "He had you sign an NDA? That's barely legal, with him being your guardian…"

"Well—"

"Huh?! T-T-Toph's g-g-guardian is Endeavor?!" Midoriya stammers, clutching at his heart. Toph rolls her eyes for the nth time today. "Toph, what? Was I supposed to know that? I didn't know that!"

"Midoriya, we just faced a bunch of villains trying to kill us in the middle of school," she says dryly. "Why is this more surprising to you?"

"Don't turn it around on me! You're too calm about all of this," Midoriya moans. "A target for villains? Endeavor's your dad? You're not even that shocked about All Might's secret!"

The earthbender grumbles, picking at a scab on her neck. She'd rather Midoriya not point it out, but the truth is, Toph feels like she's hanging on to her composure by a thread. Wasn't it embarrassing enough that she had kind of cried in front of him on the way to the infirmary? Toph could only handle so much emotion in one day.

"I'm too tired to get worked up about it," is what Toph ends up saying, though. The day's nearly over, she can hold it in for a while longer. "Also, Endeavor's not my dad. Don't call him that."

"Hang on," All Might intervenes, "About Endeavor's case, why do you think I'll be let in on the investigation? Endeavor works alone."

Ooh. Ain't that a touchy subject? She gives the hero an approximation of a smile. "No offense All Might, but that really just applies to you."

"Ah."

Endeavor, for the most part, does work alone, but Toph knows there's been cooperation between Endeavor and a couple of underground heroes for the AV case. "But I was thinking that because of the Nomu. It had multiple quirks. The villains said it was modified to fight you."

"Yes," All Might agrees, growing tense. "And, Endeavor's case…?"

"...Similar group." She says curtly. "Shigaraki could be connected to them." Then Toph snorts. "That's already more than I should say, but what's Endeavor gonna do about it? You're the number one hero."

All Might chuckles, the sound deep and raspy from his throat. "Goodness, I suppose I won't ask anything else then. I'd hate to get you into trouble with your dad."

"Guardian," Toph corrects him tartly. "Seriously, drop the 'dad' thing, you don't get how weird it is."

"My mistake," the hero chuckles again. It sounds like he's teasing her, but Toph can't find it in herself to argue any further with All Might. It'll be his funeral when he says it to Todoroki-san's face, and the Flame Hero erupts.

Then the door slides open. "Excuse me," a stranger walks in. Toph flinches, caught off-guard because her feet were hanging off the cot. "All Might, it's been a while," the man continues genially.

"Tsukauchi-kun, you're here too?" All Might wheezes again, wiping the blood off his lips. Toph's brow furrows in worry. It was one thing to stay vigilant over her idiotic classmate breaking his bones, but now she knew All Might had the constitution of a wet napkin…

"A-All Might, is it ok for him to see this form?!" Midoriya whispers loudly.

"It's okay! Why, you ask?" All Might's voice turns almost lyrical, repeating the familiar melody of his catchphrase. It sounds both exactly the same and totally wrong, coming from the weakened form of the number one hero. "Because he's Naomasa Tsukauchi, my best friend in the force."

"What's with that introduction, eh?" Tsukauchi chuckles. "There's a lot we should discuss, but ah—we should move you to a separate room, All Might. Endeavor's trying to get on campus to see his, um, daughter?" He pauses. "I assume that's you, Toph Beifong?"

"I guess." Toph makes a vaguely disgusted face. She's never going to call Endeavor 'Dad'. Don't get her wrong, Toph genuinely loves the Todorokis. She respects Endeavor a lot. And technically, she is Enji's adopted daughter. But it feels so unnatural to call herself a part of their family. It's hard to explain why, but it's just how things are, and Shouto and his siblings seem to feel the same way. Natsuo said it best, some months ago, when he promised that he loved Toph like a sister but hated the idea that his eldest sibling was being replaced by her.

Some things are best left unknown. Like the details of All Might's quirk. Like the actual extent of Inasa's quirk. Like whether or not Touya Todoroki is also Touya—

Toph turns to All Might calmly. "I don't suppose you want to surprise Endeavor today?"

"Ah, no, best if we don't!" All Might gives a gentle laugh. "I'll get out of your hair—"

"Nah," Toph slides off her cot before All Might can get to his feet. "Why bother when I can go to him? I'm tired of lazing around in bed."

"Young Beifong," the hero protests sternly, "It's not being lazy. Recovery Girl healed your ribs, but you should really be on bed rest for the rest of the day."

"And I'll do that at home, on my own bed," Toph insists, silently hoping that All Might stays put. She just wants this day to be over. "I have to give a report to the police anyway, right? I'll find an officer outside to talk with."

"But—Young Beifong—" All Might almost sounds plaintive. "Don't worry about me. I can certainly move instead—"

"All Might," Tsukauchi laughs, patting his shoulder. "Ms. Beifong has a point. Why don't I escort you to the gate, and you can give me your report on the way?"

"Lead the way," Toph waves a lazy hand at him. She doesn't bother saying goodbye to Midoriya or All Might, but strolls out of the nurse's office like she would any other day. Tsukauchi takes her cue, pulling out a notepad and telling her to start from the moment they reached the USJ.

When Toph finally slides into the backseat of the luxury car, next to Shouto, it's nearly the end of the school day.

"Are you okay, Beifong?" Endeavor asks gruffly from the passenger seat. They have a driver today, so she doesn't have to worry about Todoroki-san's driving from hell.

Toph takes a deep, slow breath, sinking into the cool leather seat. "What do you think?"

A/N: Whew, there's a lot in this chapter! We pretty much went through the whole USJ arc. I forgot how much there would be to cover, haha! We're not even close to finishing the story arc for 'Book Three: Avalanche', but I'm so exhausted after trying to make sense of this behemoth chapter!

Sorry it's all Toph and Midoriya this time around, we'll check back in with other characters in the next chapter!

Small edits have been made to this chapter, just to clarify this point, but—Toph did use her quirk and stopped Midoriya from breaking his legs trying to defend All Might. In canon, he shatters both his legs again, and in this version, he only breaks a fibula and a patella. It certainly hurts, but Midoriya assumes he's sprained a muscle because the pain isn't as bad.