Green Scale
Chapter 25 ~ One Mistake
Rated M
I Don't Own MHA
Hello everyone and welcome back to the story!
Sorry about the small delay for today's update, but since Corona is pimp slapping the world right now, I've had to cover for some people and help my dad with his business. Things are actually not too bad right now, and it probably won't affect things going forward (cuz I ain't no bitch), but I just wanted to give y'all a reason for why I just left you hanging for 10 days lol.
Anyway; last chapter was pretty good and we had Muscular vs Izuku, which was always gonna be a moist fight for me to write, but now we have the aftermath of that, and the secret being inside Izuku's body has now taken control of his brain and made him go on a rampage. Kinda cliche, but fuck it. I like edgy transformations.
Now, in this latest edition, we will see all the other students and what they will do while Izuku is out there stomping A class villains, and we will also see a certain person enter the battle and cause a little (fucking loads of) trouble for the UA side.
This will be a small set up for the hideout raid, but that will play out differently, as we will have a load of new things going on in the villains side…
Prepare to be surprised, and enjoy the chapter!
(also, remember to steer clear of COVID-19 if you can. Washing your hands and getting all the dorito dust off your fingers will really help. Stay safe out there fanbase!)
RESPONSES!
Yamerooo ~ Well I can't really deny it at this point lol
Bio RL ~ You're very welcome. Hope you like this one!
Aisune ~ Thanks for the support dude!
MIKE202303 ~ Thanks again bruv :)
Guest ~ thanks for the compliment, and I'm not telling you the identity of the voice, but you'll find out it sayyyyyyy, 4 chapters?
FatGumRedScale ~ fuck sake… these names man...
Thanos69 ~ the hell is with all these questionable usernames lmao. I'm glad you could look past the physical pile of garbage that was the first 3 chapters and like this story. Your support means a lot!
Boris ~ Gigantomachia is a really good guess, but I'm gonna introduce him later when I focus on Shigaraki more.
Guest (2) ~ Yep, that will be quite a hype part of the story, but for reasons you are not yet aware of hehehehehehehe…
Alexanderjuarez499 ~ Explained by the PM, but glad to see you back!
GG ~ My thanks, oh great one…
Raven Mordrake ~ sent a PM already, but yeah, All For One being something of an urban legend is just fucking dumb, considering he nuked the shit out of an island and curb stomped Nana Shimura with one attack lol. Strange how Izuku doesn't even know who Nana is when he's a worryingly obsessed fan of Toshinori.
For my story, I've decided to stick with him being unknown, but he will definitely have his moments in the series. Thanks for checking in!
Donovan2771 ~ PM'd you already, but I'll put it here as well. I didn't think the whole police thing was even needed in the manga or anime, mainly because nothing came of it, and if we already know that quirk use without a licence is a crime, we don't need a scene to remind us. I thought it was boring to write, and ultimately, I only write stuff that I wanna write, so this decision was enforced even more by the fact that it was only mentioned again when Froppy made some really shitty reason as to why Midoriya shouldn't go rescue Bakugou from the villains.
Eastwest ~ thanks for the support! I will expand more on Kota's dynamic with Izuku, and they will have more interaction in the future. Thanks for the advice!
Thirsty Boi ~ neither can I, so I posted it (200IQ)
(Outside The Shelter)
It had been almost 10 minutes since a villain attack had been reported to the pros, but it showed no signs of stopping. There were already the 4 pusscats on the scene - four veterane pros hardened in combat - and a collection of students from classes A and B in the first year fighting. They were already enough to beat a good number of trained villains, but these criminals didn't seem to be going down so easily…
That spoke volumes about their caliber…
The other students that hadn't wandered off into the forests to find Bakugou and Midoriya were all still held in the shelter, but should the situation worsen, then the teachers would have to rely on them for support, as pitiful as it would seem.
Vlad stood outside the building as a guard because he knew that these villains weren't above murdering children just for enjoyment. Their target was most likely Midoriya, but it wouldn't stop the more twisted members from hunting down the weak people that couldn't fight back…
That trait they possessed really made Vlad despise villains, no matter who they were…
To kill children that hadn't even properly lived their lives made you a monster in the blood hero's eyes, and that view wouldn't ever change.
Aizawa was still inside, calming down the children and probably contacting any nearby pros, so he couldn't help right now…
If some sort of villain did happen to attack, it would be up to Vlad to deal with them…
Midoriya was already showing improvements in his behaviour, and with some proper counseling, he'd be a valuable student in the years to come. It made the vampire man slightly proud to see a kid rise from all the animosity surrounding him, and it really did inspire some of his pupils in 1-B, who went out of their way to contact him with words of support…
The future was looking bright with all this fresh talent almost eclipsing the current roster of heroes in power, so it stung that villains would decide to attack at such a crucial time…
…
The man's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked to the left…
That was somewhere that was totally untouched by all the chaos…
Someone was coming from that way…
'A pro? No...Aizawa only sent out the distress call 3 minutes ago... So why is a villain coming from over there?'
The teacher readied his body for some sort of attack…
Just in case this villain was strong enough to keep up with him, he'd focus on barring the entrance to the shelter. At the very least, he needed to ensure the students' safety…
The man wasn't someone he recognised…
He was tall, approaching 6'8ft and had a build similar to his own… His eyes were a glowing purple in the shadows and his hair was jet black and brushed back roughly… He had a perfectly trimmed beard and he wore a long grey trench coat, covering his black and purple armour…
Vlad was getting danger signs from every corner of his brain…
The hero began to sweat…
This guy was strong…
Too strong for anyone here…
There was a large sheathed greatsword on his back…
This man's face seemed somewhat familiar when the light shone on him...
"Don't move! Reveal yourself now!" The hero barked, but he knew that he couldn't win in a fight…
He just needed to make sure the kids were safe…
"Don't take another ste-"
Blood covered Vlad's vision…
Thousands of purple lines suddenly spread across the man's entire body…
His body went cold…
When he blinked again, he could no longer see the villain, as he'd already walked past him…
Vlad watched him throw the bloody needle on the floor…
That was when the pro's entire body collapsed in a shower of blood…
The swordsman continued forward, barely even acknowledging the life he just took…
"I have no interest in fodder…"
Yaoyorozu was pushed back again…
These bullets wouldn't stop, and she had to rely on the clicks of the gun to predict when it would fire…
This fog was making it impossible for her to see the shooter, and her shield wouldn't hold up for much longer…
She'd tried to lash out at the villain with her steel bar, but it did nothing to the guy that constantly changed his position inside the gas. When she tried to attack, her arm was shot, and after that, she didn't want to risk any more damage…
Yet again...she felt so powerless…
But this time it would cost Izuku's freedom...
Mustard hadn't sensed a single lifeform get anywhere near him since he'd started bullying this girl; probably because they were all fighting Moonfish and all the clones of Dabi that Twice made. This entire attack was running just like how that mercenary said it would, and the predictions he'd made were hauntingly accurate…
Perhaps now he knew why even Muscular was scared of him...
"Don't you know to just give up? You aren't going to beat me." the kid said as he kicked Momo onto the ground and shot her again. "How many shots until one of my bullets goes through your head? 10? 5? Maybe even 2?"
Somehow, she was still able to block it with her shield…
Insults aside; it was incredible how she was even able to survive this long. Her reaction speed and combat skill were actually approaching the level of a pro, and she wasn't even listed as one of the dangers… He'd stopped joking around a while ago, but she was still able to stay safe and protect the mask she was wearing…
Maybe she really was one of the strong ones?
Momo struggled and her fears were increasing when the distress call didn't receive a single reply. 'Looks like everyone else is held up somewhere…'
She needed to hold on, for Izuku…
"HUUUUAAAAA-"
*Bang!*
Another gunshot rolled through the trees, but Yaoyorozyu didn't feel the harsh force of the bullet impact her shield. 'Did it hit someone else!? They don't have the same protection I do!'
Her heart sank for a second when she thought she'd witnessed the death of a student, but to both their surprises, the girl and the masked villain heard a groan come from where the bullet landed.
"Someone survived that?" Mustard wondered as he shot another bullet to the guy's head. He didn't seem all too concerned that a child could live after that. "Must be one of those sturdy guys that Shigaraki mentioned. Which one's it gonna be? Rock or iron?"
The villain's aim was on point and the bullet hit straight between the eyes, but this person still lived. The criminal was certainly skilled, but with two students present, they could still win.
Yaoyorozu took her chance and jumped up from the floor to drive down her pipe onto the head of the villain.
However, Mustard just took his time and shot both of them again, catching Yaoyorozu in the thigh and the other student in the chest…
"Kuh…" the guy coughed as he swiped away at the violet mist.
She recognised that voice.
"Kirishima!?"
The hardheaded friend of Bakugou rose from the ground, but couldn't even spare her a glance as another bullet bounced from his skull…
"Where's Midoriya! Did you see where he went!?"
Momo still had her shield up, but managed to pass Kirishima a gasmask before he got dizzy. "I thought you'd be looking for Bakugou!"
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing, funnily enough…" Mustard cut in as he shot Kirishima again…
The boy felt blood slowly drip from his scalp. 'Those bullets are gonna pierce my skin soon… The force of their impacts are already making my head spin…'
Now he needed to guard his gasmask. If that thing came off, it'd be over for him…
"The hell you mean!? Aren't you dirtbags after Midoriya!?"
Mustard laughed. "Sure we are, but why just have one potential villain when we could have two?"
Kirishima glared through the smoke. "Why him!? He hasn't done anything to you!"
"He's still messed up enough to blend in with guys like us, seeing as he had no problem blowing up a girl at that festival you clowns hold. As a bonus, his quirk is pretty damn good and really has just one use, which is destruction. Don't you think we'd put him to better use than you fools playing hero?"
"YOU BASTARDS!" Kirishima ran straight for the masked criminal, but he then saw the gun move to the left and line up with Yaoyorozu...
He shielded Momo from whatever gunfire would come her way. "Ku...go find Midoriya… He's probably grouped up with someone now!"
"He'll just shoot me! I'm no use in this fight!" her voice was almost cracking from the guilt.
"Dammit...I'll just cover you!"
Momo tried to stop him but Kirishima just ran forward into another bullet...
"Hmm?"
They both heard the villain utter a confused hum...
"Strange…"
The winds were gradually increasing…
"Why's the gas getting thinner…"
A huge blast of wind was then sent his way from above…
The purple gas dissipated
It was then that he felt his abdomen…
Blood was dripping from his school blazer…
But then he realised that it wasn't just his stomach that was bleeding…
Kirishima and Momo wouldn't even process what they were seeing, as a single flash of green blitzed past their eyes…
Mustard's head was separated from his body as he watched a winged creature fly above the trees…
Todoroki looked Bakugou dead in the eye, not allowing anything to slip past him. "What's going on here? Weren't you and Midoriya together just a while ago?"
The entire team of students looked at him in concern, seeing him sweating all over, but Todoroki was livid.
"Don't tell me you let him go out there alone…" His voice was colder than the ice he used…
"T-Todoroki! You shouldn't jump to any conclusions! Bakugou's just as surprised as we are!" Mineta shouted with fear leaking from every word he said.
"Speak for yourself…" He snarled at the cowardly boy and then looked back at the blonde. "You've been odd since we came back from Hosu, and just a few minutes ago, you and Midoriya met in secret out here… Where did he go…"
That wasn't a question…
Todoroki was willing to get violent…
And Bakugou knew that two powerful students clashing would reveal their locations to the villains…
"I don't know!"
"Oh really? I find that hard to believe…"
Bakugou pushed the teen out of the way. "Fuck off! I couldn't see where he went!"
"How?"
This was just like with Deku… Todoroki wouldn't let anything but the truth get to his ears...and he was prepared to fight for the answers he wanted…
Did he really care about the nerd that much?
"He just vanished! You know his speed, right? I couldn't find him!" It physically hurt him to admit something like that...
"Which direction did he go?"
Bakugou struggled. "East...and I think he was after some kid…"
"Was it the one that struck Midoriya back when we arrived at the camp for the first time?" Tokoyami asked, but it was clear that he was struggling with the shadow inside him.
"I believe so…" Todoroki continued to glare. "But if that's true, and he went to save someone helpless like that child, then he'd be held back in a fight… Midoriya is probably struggling right now…"
Bakugou gritted his teeth. "It wasn't my fault… I didn't do anything wrong…"
Shoto looked back at the blonde with a static grey eye. "Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that he's somewhere in here being hunted by villains above even my level. He's strong, but against bastards like these, even he would fall eventually."
"Yeah, it doesn't help that they're organised either…" Shoji patted Katsuki on the shoulder, pitying the boy for all the blame thrown his way.
"Well, whatever the circumstance may be, we need to act now and save him. We're not even heroes yet, but we're already being called to do their job. If we can't even save a comrade of our own, then how can we be trusted to save people in the future?" Todoroki turned to them all.
Conflicted expressions spread around the large group…
"Iida and the guys following him went round the other side of the forest, and from what we've heard, there's some sort of villain making sleeping gas. It's too late to try and link up with them, and the numbers we have right now are equivalent to some of the top pro hero squads out in the world, so we should be enough to handle these guys if we cooperate with each other…"
Todoroki turned back to Bakugou. "I need a full explanation on what went on with you and Midoriya, but we don't have time for that now, so join our group. I couldn't care less about personal grudges and problems. We have a guy fighting for his future, and possibly his life, so right now, we need every able body to fight against these villains… I detest you for what you did to Uraraka, and how you treat Midoriya, but there's no denying that you're on my level in power, and we need that power tonight…"
The boy held his fist out, mimicking what Izuku did in their meeting outside UA. "Come with us Bakugou, and let's rescue our friend…"
Bakugou hesitated, and really thought about what would actually happen if they were to go through with this and fight these elite criminals...but he bumped the fist dismissively and began walking forward. "Fine, but don't get in my way…"
The blonde glared at the ground; the words of Volt Break playing on repeat in his head as his heartbeat increased… If that hero really did tell him, then for what purpose? There just had to be something to gain for him…
The only one he could think of terrified him…
He was doing it for the sole purpose of making him emotionally suffer…
'That bastard… Playing with people's lives and calling yourself a hero… You have power...but a pile of shit in place of your heart…'
He wasn't about to let Izuku go and become a pseudo Red Scale, and he wasn't going to give that smirking yellow devil the satisfaction of seeing him break down…
He was still Katsuki Bakugou, and he would save his friend at all costs…
An explosion was heard as he shot off into the depths of the beast's forest, leaving everyone else behind...
Mandalay heard the footsteps of the villain through the earth she was lying on…
She was shaking with fear, and so was everyone else…
The students that stayed behind with them had mostly fainted or thrown up from the sudden appearance of the monster…
The pressure he exuded crushed them all down to the floor…
He'd just walked through the battle they were fighting...and everyone fell to the ground…
It was impossible that someone like this could stay hidden from Ragdoll…
Simply impossible…
How could he bypass the search quirk!?
The villain didn't say a word and just walked deeper into the forest…
The two members of the league just knelt there, sweating buckets as they trembled at the sight of his face…
'W-Who is that man!? He rendered everyone useless without even doing anything!'
She had to get in touch with someone...and fast.
Vlad's line was unresponsive, even though he'd sworn to be open for communication, and the blood hero was also the only way to contact Aizawa, since they were both located in the same place…
She couldn't use Telepath…
If somehow that villain caught onto what she was about to say, then he'd kill her...or just stop waiting and massacre everyone in those woods…
This was a man that none of them could hope to even look at…
He was far beyond anyone she'd ever seen…
Who could even reach this level of pure might?
She could only stare helplessly as the single rogue swordsman vanished into the darkness of the woods...
The dragon could feel his insides burning up, and it took considerable effort to not let the withheld power within him be released… Should he really abandon any semblance of control now, he would compromise the task he needed to complete…
There was no fatigue, and he felt no pain, but the creature knew that this body it was occupying was only able to withstand so much of its strength before it crumbled into the same black ash that became of all his opponents…
"This one too… There is no challenge in hunting down the common trash…"
The man held the bloodstained white arm of Moonfish as he wiped blood from his scaled mouth…
"K-Kill…"
His green slits looked down in disgust…
The villain beneath him shuddered in fear… Now even his crazed speech pattern was shattered by the crushing terror he felt from this student's sudden new strength…
"P-Please k-k-kill m-me…" the murderer wept…
The dragon showed a thin smile as he suddenly pressed his boot down on the villain's stumped shoulder…
"Since you asked so nicely…"
Then, two fingers hovered above Moonfish's eyes...and the villain only voiced a silent cry as they shot through his head…
And the dragon's eyes didn't even waver…
He felt nothing from it...
"I was hoping to question the gas villain on whether he'd been in league with that Liberation army I've been hearing about, but those students got in the way. Interrogating villains in this body, and then swiftly disposing of them isn't the desired outcome, since those kids would get the wrong idea…"
His wings spread out as he sent out another shockwave of air, blowing away a good portion of trees around him…
"This gives me enough room to properly engage the remaining members of the Vanguard Action Squad without showing off too much. If those pitiful bands of brats pieced too many things together, it would be a major problem, even for me…"
Izuku Midoriya was already capable of killing, but only under life or death circumstances, so it wouldn't be easy playing off the literal murder of two major A rank villains… He'd have to hide behind the "kill or be killed nature" of this attack…
After all...it was all designed to be that way for this exact reason…
"D-Deku!?"
The suspicious student froze in his tracks at the sound of the voice… 'His senses aren't good enough to single out specific people in this forest… If I had access to my skills, she wouldn't get anywhere near me…'
He looked at the girl and realised it was Uraraka…
His eyes lost their reptilian hue and all the black scales on his body turned to dust as his wings vanished into his back… "How'd you get here?" She couldn't see his transformation in the shadows, but that was only because his colour scheme was dark enough to obscure him in this light...
Ochaco was taken aback by Izuku's slightly hostile tone. "We've been trying to rescue you from these villains!" She shouted to him breathlessly, but then looked around her as she noticed the cover of the treetops ending… "What h-happened here?"
The entire space around the two of them was filled with trees that had been blown over by the incredible air blasts of the dragon's wings, and there was a huge claw mark etched deep into the dirt that stretched several meters and would be fatal for any normal creature…
And in the centre, she saw the eyeless corpse of Moonfish…
"Y-You-"
"I killed him…" Izuku confessed as he gave the dead villain a kick in the head as confirmation. He saw her horrified face and resisted the urge to sneer. "Don't go looking at me like that. There wasn't another way…"
"How do you mean!?"
The man posing as the student sighed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose as his sage green eyes darkened ever so slightly. "What villains have you encountered so far while stupidly searching for me? Did you even encounter any danger?"
Uraraka blinked in realisation. "We didn't even…"
"So where do you think the rest of them are? Just waiting to get arrested? They're obviously grouping together to have a better chance of capturing me…" he then turned back to Moonfish and drove his hand inside the inmate's mouth, plucking out a huge silver blade. "Wanna know how tough these things were? They could shoot through trees like they were wet paper and even scratch the scales I had equipped, so they'd make short work of your soft little skin…"
She looked at the villain and then saw all the "teeth" scattered around Izuku… Those things looked more like blades that could extend as far as they wanted, but for them to scratch the scales that she hadn't even seen take damage was scary… "But you still killed him!"
"And if I didn't, he'd probably kill me and then go after you… I don't think there's anyone in our class capable of taking him out on his own, and the rest of those villains wouldn't just allow one of their members to be taken out so easily…" Izuku's eyes narrowed threateningly. "You should be thanking me...because you'd be a corpse without my help…"
She shuddered from his tone.
Of course, the man was lying through his teeth and only deceiving Uraraka. There was no way in hell Moonfish would actually be able to harm him through his scales, and the difference in speed and power was laughably large… It was true that she would be dead meat if Moonfish decided to go after them, but he wasn't about to let that happen…
He smiled slightly. "We can't worry about our own beliefs right now. If you hesitate under a villain's blade, you're gonna end up dead…"
Ochaco felt some sort of change in her friend, but she had to agree with him… These villains were here for him...and he could have been forced to use lethal strength… "I-I'm sorry for accusing you…"
"We're all in one piece. That's what matters right now…" He patted her on the head, though his eyes didn't express any of the care that the real boy would have had… "Where's everyone else? Are they still with Mandalay?"
"No, we all split into two groups to cover more ground. Iida and Todoroki were desperate to find you, so they organised it on the spot and got most of the A and B students together, and I went with Iida."
"Where is he?"
She looked around nervously, thinking that villains were closeby. "We got seperated when we got a call from Kirishima saying that there was some sort of gas villain attacking Yaoyorozu. I went forward with a few others...but somehow I'm the only one…"
"And Todoroki?"
"He should be here now…"
Izuku sighed. "Seems so…" His dead eyes watched a group of students come out from the shadows of the forest…
There was Ojiro, Mineta, Tokoyami, Shoji, Tetsu Tetsu, Kendo and Todoroki coming to greet them. They didn't have many injuries and seemed to be in the same boat as Uraraka…
"So it's come to this?" Shoto asked as he looked directly at Izuku's bloody fingers…
The dragon's gaze hardened slightly with a small scent of malice leaking out… "Anything to say?"
Todoroki took another glance at the corpse, but couldn't bring himself to say anything negative through his relief. "No...I'm just glad you're still on your feet…"
"Thought I wouldn't be?" he smiled back.
"You have to assume the worst in these situations… I thought you'd already been captured…"
Despite Shoto's genuine concern, the dragon couldn't help but be disgusted in him even thinking that he was outmatched…
He looked over to the other group and saw that these were mainly power types. "I don't know you guys that well, but I'm grateful for your efforts…"
"We didn't encounter any villains, but that was probably because we were trying to avoid the guy making these blue fumes in the trees. He's a bad match for me and Tokoyami, so we thought that it's only smart to fight villains we can beat...though I haven't seen that smoke as much as before." Todoroki explained as everyone gathered in a circle.
'So Dabi must be on the move… That doesn't give me much time…'
He quickly traced Izuku's memories of these people back to the sports festival and was able to get an accurate read on their quirks… Together, they'd be able to take out at least half of the squad...but if they faced Muscular or Dabi, there would be quite a few deaths…
"You do realise that you were walking into a deathtrap here, right? If you ran into the two strong villains in this group, most of you would be wiped out…"
"And how'd you get that idea!? You working with these dirtbags huh!?" Tetsu-Tetsu shouted from the back.
The dragon's eyes flashed for a second, but he restrained himself. "I got to a good vantage point when I rescued Mandalay's cousin and fought one of those guys in the process…" He then turned to the loud newcomer. "In contrast; what exactly did you accomplish so far? You ran away from someone stronger than you and then decided to take your frustration on the person that just saved your life…"
Tetsu Tetsu hesitated. "Who's to say you're not lyin-"
"How strong was the guy you beat?" Kendo cut him off before he became a target for the more powerful student. She was sweating slightly when she saw how ready he was to engage her friend in a fight.
The dragon wondered whether or not he should tell her how strong Muscular really was, but he then realised that they'd never know what happened to him, since his flames devoured the criminal whole. "Speed that surpasses Iida and power that would be out of your leagues by a large margin…"
"What quirk?"
"Muscle Augmentation, and he didn't seem to have any weaknesses other than his exposed being vulnerable to cuts and piercing… You wouldn't stand a chance…"
Mineta stepped up to him. "Don't go saying you're so strong Midoriya! We're in the same class, which means we're equals!"
"No, we're anything but equals...you disgusting leech…" Izuku spat. "If you want to be a hero so badly and fulfil your rancid little fantasy, then go find the villain with the blue fire and die like the fodder you are…"
A few of them took offence to that, but after seeing the raw power he held against Todoroki in the festival, they really couldn't try to stand against him. Almost everyone in the world had seen that tempest of green fire explode out of Izuku's mouth and hands in the final match, and most people alive today would rather not get involved with a quirk that could kill by just close contact…
Kendo knew this as well, and was aware that Tetsu Tetsu would get melted in seconds against that power…
"Well...we should just focus on finding Iida and the rest now… You know where Bakugou is?"
He was turning to Todoroki…
"He went on ahead… I thought he was gonna get to you first...but no…" The ice and fire user looked extremely sceptical about that, but the dragon didn't really care too much.
"Then he must be the one that led the villains here, right?" His eyes wavered slightly as he thought out what he was about to say...
They all turned to him...
The concealed villain held back his smile…
Bakugou was just as innocent as one would think…but there was no way this dragon would let Izuku's friends believe that...
"Think about it… He's been acting suspect all this time, and he was in the same place as Todoroki, Iida and I when the league sent those Nomu, so he obviously has some knowledge about them that we don't. The fact that he's holding that stuff back is already going against not only us at the camp, but the entirety of Japan...and now these villains are coming for my power…"
Uraraka was shocked at the venomous words coming from his mouth. "Y-You can't just assume something about him like that! He's our classmate! And your fri-"
She felt some sort of force come onto her when she tried to finish that last sentence...and only one look into what she thought to be Izuku's eyes told her that she'd crossed some kind of line…
Luckily for them all...he ignored that… "I have enough things pointing to him being the mole I'm looking for…"
Todoroki's eyes widened at hearing that...remembering what was said in the Hosu hospital room…
"Mole? What are you talking about Midoriya?" Shoji asked, more concerned about Izuku's speech than anything else right now.
"You think these criminal filth just appeared here? Don't be so naive… Aizawa specifically stated that this was a secret kept from everyone but the principal and All Might, and we even had all our outside communication restricted…"
"Then it couldn't have been a student! He couldn't have sent his location without that!" Ojiro shouted in defence of his peer.
The green eyes of the so-called kid were getting darker as his patience thinned. People like this weren't above justice because they were young… "Hence why I brought up Hosu… You think a mole wouldn't have anticipated the top eastern Japanese hero school to be extra cautious after Red Scale's only counter was almost abducted by Prism of the four blazing fangs? He probably had someone in the league tail the busses and he gave information to them by meeting up in the forest…"
Everyone felt some horrid feeling when he said that…
It made too much sense…
"I went out tonight to catch him in the act...and the villains saw their informant about to be killed...so they took action and sprung their trap…"
Even Todoroki - the person most against Bakugou when Midoriya wasn't involved - stepped back in shock…
"Katsuki is the UA traitor…"
…
Everyone was silent…
But on the inside, the villain controlling Midoriya's body was laughing…
There was no way that they'd ever trust Bakugou again...and he'd now be their enemy…
Izuku himself couldn't see or hear what was going on, since if he did, the villain's identity would have been revealed...but when he found out the false truth that his childhood friend betrayed him yet again…
Oh…
He would never forgive him…
"That's a very nice show you put on, dragon…" He heard clapping come from behind him…
Everyone turned to see someone come out into the forest clearing…
He was wearing a navy coat with purple burns scarring his face and arms… His hair was black and his eyes were a bright blue as he smiled at the back of Izuku…
All of the students stepped back and activated their quirks, but Izuku just stood there, not seeming to care about who was behind him…
Dabi smirked when he saw them all group up. "Kneel down and stop resisting… We'll spare you if you behave…"
Then, they all saw several other villains come from the darkness…
Someone wearing a black and grey spandex costume brandished what looked like a measuring tape on his wrists…
A young girl, the same age as the students, twirled her knives around her fingers as she eyed Izuku…
A magician-like figure elegantly strode forward and rustled what sounded like marbles in his pocket…
Finally, loud footsteps could be heard as a green Nomu wearing an odd headpiece screeched behind the kids…
Izuku lit up his arm with fire…
Dabi noticed Moonfish's motionless body just laying there without eyes… "Seems we underestimated you… Muscular...Mustard...and now even Moonfish got mauled by you alone, and the latter two with little to no effort…" The villain ignited his own left arm with blue flames… "You're a monster I'd never expect to find in UA, but we'd get along fine if you came with us…"
They were gonna take him alive, but if he became too difficult...they would use as much force as they wanted…
"What's the motive behind this attack? Why go to all the bother? Surely I am of no value to bottom feeders like the league of villains and the fanclub Stain brought along, right?" Izuku smiled coldly. "Are you apes here to avenge his death?"
The man's blue eyes flickered dangerously as he heard that...but he didn't act. "We came here for you...on orders from Red Scale…"
All the students felt dread well in their stomach, hearing that name and knowing the man was still active in the underworld…
"I call bullshit…" The dragon pointed his finger at Dabi. "You pissants couldn't even hope to have an audience with someone like that, and even if you did, you wouldn't match up with his standards…"
"Standards? What are you spouting?"
"Everyone has a way they look at heroes, villains and society as a whole, and that man likes to pick and choose just who he lets live and die. Undoubtedly, if you even entered his field of vision, you'd be reduced to mere atoms…"
Dabi's eyes narrowed in irritation. "And how would you know? You talk like you know him…"
The boy only smiled after hearing that...
"C'mon kid, I don't bite... - We'll hurt you!" Twice shouted loudly.
Izuku looked around and saw that he couldn't use brute force with so many kids around… It seemed that he would have to utilize some maneuvers that didn't belong anywhere near him…
Dabi held his arm out as the air became warmer… "Since you're just a kid, we'll give you two options…"
All the villains edged closer…
"If you stop fighting and come with us back to the hideout, then we'll leave everyone else alone and make sure not to harm anyone you care about…" Both of the man's arms erupted in blue flames as he decided to go all out, knowing that this guy was capable of beating him… "But if you're an idiot and try to throw hands...then we'll slaughter every last one of your friends and drag you back to our place by force…"
He wasn't joking…
"I follow Stain's dream of a society without corrupt heroes, and those guys behind you didn't prove to be fake...so it'd be kinda sad to kill them off, but those deaths 'll be on your hands, so choose carefully…
But then, all of the criminals flinched, almost on their own, as all the scales on Izuku's body vanished and his green eyes flared up with power… His muscles were expanding and his popping veins had a green light running through them…
Everyone looking at this person was suddenly grasped by a freezing hand of death…
This feeling was familiar, but no one there could have known where the fear came from...
"Very well then…" For these lines only...Izuku's voice completely changed into the one belonging to the man controlling him…
"You shall experience...terror…"
He drove his left leg forward and crouched slightly as he held his left arm over his chest and his right arm forward and through the opening… The light in his green eyes intensified and the ground beneath him crackled slightly when his arms linked…
This aura wasn't one of power, speed or bloodlust…
It was far more malevolent than any of that...
"What exactly do you plan to do with that stance, young man?" Compress chuckled to himself…
...
He was gone…
...
No one saw him move, and even the villains didn't register any change in his posture…
The green Nomu ran forward when the boy vanished, but was lit up into a blaze of emerald the moment its huge foot left the ground… Dead before it even felt pain...
Then, Compress saw something akin to a green trail of fire in front of him, and a glowing green hand pressed against his mask… The villain didn't even have enough time to see who was doing this, as his entire body was thrown to the ground by the power of the dragon…
The disguised villain looked down at the unconscious criminal and kicked him away as he went to face the flame user...
"Dammit… What the hell was that just n-" Dabi suddenly felt all the air in his chest leave him, and his head shot forward in a state of shock as he was folded by a punch and sent flying into a tree… He couldn't see the kid move, and even if he could, the shockwaves from his movements alone couldn't allow him to get close…
Toga and Twice watched the student slowly massage his fist as he turned to them, and they failed to make a sound when two rock hard knees impacted their stomachs and made their eyes go white…
Over before anyone could even properly see it...
He moved almost like a shooting star...and it would have looked beautiful, if the boy's face matched his elegant movements…
At the end of it all, the boy stopped, and looked at the defeated criminals with an expressionless stare...
Izuku sat down on one of the felled trees and breathed out a large funnel of smoke as he cracked his fingers…
He'd finally regained control of his body...but the entity inside him merely vacated his mind the second after those villains were defeated…
Why was that?
"Is everyone alright?" He asked; still unsure of what really transpired since the villain took control of his body…
Everyone was silent…
Todoroki just looked at Izuku in shock, not wanting to believe what he was seeing… He'd used moves that Shoto had never seen before, and a stance that his father once talked about long ago… Those weren't his moves, and none of those power amplifying scales could be seen on his body...so if he had access to such an incredible fighting style...why didn't he use it in the sports festival or in Hosu?
The answer was clear, but it didn't make much sense in this situation…
That wasn't Izuku fighting those villains, but someone else…
Todoroki recognised Izuku as someone that had martial arts beyond anything he'd ever seen before, but this was more than just devastatingly effective attacks… Those scales boosted his strength exponentially, but he wasn't using them, so from what little he could see in that flurry of pure skill...the only thing giving him that insane speed was…
Technique…
But that didn't make sense…
Izuku was someone that had mastered a form of combat that far exceeded anything he'd ever seen, but this far exceeded even him… The punches could have easily made each of those villains implode into mush from the power and speed, but they stopped short every time and didn't even make contact...knocking all the enemies out…
The speed was unexplainable, and Shoto had no clue how he was that fast, but it must have had to be something to do with his footwork, because any human without a top range speed quirk wouldn't even be able to see that happen… 'Was he saving this for a crucial fight? If so...then why didn't he use it in his match against me? This doesn't make any sense… That strength was terrifying…'
Izuku could see Todoroki's deeply concerned stare and knew it was because of whatever this villain just did… These villains were defeated in under 10 seconds, and one of them was even stronger than Muscular, who he was almost equal to in power and speed… Whoever this person was...he was dangerous...but Izuku already had an idea… He couldn't tell them that someone was mentally controlling him on a whim...because that would be almost a laughable excuse.
Anyway...he needed to direct the attention away from his performance, and onto something else...
"Finally showed up?" The boy looked forward as his expression soured. "Took you long enough…"
There was a rustling in the grass as quiet footsteps were heard by all, and a spikey blonde head of hair became visible…
Bakugou stared at all the villains collapsed on the floor, and instantly knew who did it…
"De-"
"Have you decided to clue me in on what's going on? Any idea what we're up against?"
Katsuki scowled at the kid. "No…"
Everyone around the two stared at the blonde nervously. After hearing everything Izuku said before, there wasn't any way they could completely trust Katsuki…
"Well, it's not like it matters...right?"
Bakugou's eyes widened slightly when he heard that. "What are you on about?"
"I took care of everything myself, and now there isn't anything to worry about…"
"You…" Bakugou was still coming to terms with it… "Where's the kid!?"
"I led him back to Aizawa at the shelter. I made sure he wouldn't run into any danger, and with Vlad guarding the building, no villain will try their luck capturing him." Izuku had a small look of relief on his face as he remembered that. "And now that all the villains are out cold and ready for arrest, you don't have to worry about whatever you kept from me…"
"That's…" Bakugou struggled to come out with it. "I thought there would be more than...this…"
Izuku nodded. "So did I, which is why I had my guard up the entire time. There was one villain that could match me in power...but the others were weak…"
The blonde explosion user was conflicted at the moment… He was worrying about his parents, the league and Izuku all at the same time, and now people were staring at him like he was an outsider… "What happened to you then? I take it you didn't run off crying, nerd…"
People were looking between the two as the tension rose...
"Well, I did more than you, so please don't pipe up…" The corners of Izuku's lips arched up in amusement as the blonde became visibly annoyed at the retort. "There were some villains I took out on the way here, but they weren't too much trouble, and by the looks of everyone here, the people in the camp are relatively unharmed…"
Bakugou nodded slightly, but then caught a glimpse of Moonfish… "Did you-"
"Had to be done…" Izuku shrugged his shoulders, though he was internally displeased with his actions. "I'm sure you realised that we're fighting for our lives here, and I'm running around assisting people…the least you could do is be grateful…"
Katsuki glared at Izuku, but the boy's eyes reflected back nothing but cold...and he realised he wasn't messing around anymore… "I don't know what's going on with you right now but...it's good you aren't with them…"
Izuku's eyes didn't revert after that though...
Then, his ears twitched as the two boys looked over to the other side of the clearing to see another group of people coming out…
"Midoriya! Todoroki!"
That voice…
Iida ran through the clearing with the rest of the students following him… He was sweating profusely and all the other people behind him seemed to be far worse off than he and Shoto's group…
Most of them were breathing heavily, but some were bleeding from their arms and legs…
"I thought all the villains were here… What happened!?" Izuku quickly asked Iida as he helped some of the students sit down and tend to their wounds. "Everyone looks busted up...so this must have been a big fight… How the hell didn't I know about it…"
Mina sat down on one of the fallen trees, looking shocked when she saw the aftermath of his battle. "Don't blame yourself Midoriya… None of us even knew the villain was there before he attacked…"
"What she says is true Midoriya… There was a Nomu fighting some of us, and then we had to assist Kirishima in taking down a gas villain...though from his report, it looks like you'd defeated the guy before we arrived…" Iida looked almost ashamed and didn't face his friend…
Izuku looked over at Mina, who gave a small smile. He remembered their tense partnership in the USJ, and he'd suspected that she knew something about him, but it seemed like she'd put that behind her. She was still somewhat of a threat in his eyes, since she could have seen him slicing up villains when no one else did, and reporting that would land him in hot water, but he couldn't place any more doubt on people tonight… "Iida, how did these villains get to you? I'd thought they'd wait for me at the centre of the wood…"
"Me and Todoroki thought the same, which is why we chose to split up and meet you in the centre, but it seems that things didn't go to plan…"
"Yeah, we didn't even see any villains after avoiding that guy's smoke…" Shoto pointed at Dabi, who was slowly regaining consciousness.
Midoriya's brows furrowed slightly in thought… "Could there have been a lookout? I can't find a reason why some of these villains parted from the main group. If they all grouped up together and took me on, you would all get there to stop them, and they'd have no problem blasting you away…"
"Maybe the mole sent the location of Iida's team to them…" Kendo said slowly, to no one in particular…
Quite a few of Todoroki's group glanced at Katsuki…
"I doubt it… The guys I fought and that Nomu seemed to only be interested in killing things, and not completing the task of abducting me. Muscular went straight for the kid, the green Nomu and Moonfish are like wild animals, and the gas-"
Todoroki looked at Midoriya when he abruptly stopped. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Iida, who fought with the gas villain? You never told me…"
Tenya turned to Midoriya and could hear the urgency in his voice… "Kirishima and-"
Izuku vanished from his sight, only to reappear further away on the edge of the clearing…
Yaoyorozu and Kirishima had arrived just after Iida's group because of their injuries, but Izuku saw them before anyone else and swept the girl off her feet before she could fall to the ground...
Momo was bleeding slightly, but she was disorientated from the gas and force of the bullets hitting the shield…
He lifted up her wrist and saw a large purple bruise around it…
"Look how they damaged you…" His voice was cold as he took time to massage the wound. "They touched something of mine… I can't accept that…"
She opened her onyx eyes, and as soon as her gaze met his, the boy's raging black slits vaished from his emerald irises… "Y-You're...okay…" She said in relief…
Izuku's eyes completely softened when he heard that, and everyone that gathered around them could hear the massive amount of guilt she was carrying. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were known to be friends at most, but they shared almost a teacher and student roll, so it took some people by surprise to see the vicious draconic fighter calmly massage her head. "Don't think this is on you…" He smiled. "The villains were bound to fight me. That was inevitable."
"But I-I...couldn't do...anything…" She struggled as she gripped his arm for support.
"That doesn't matter." He reassured her. "You managed to come out alive against a villain carrying a deadly weapon, and that guy wasn't your run of the mill criminal...so that proves how good you really are." Momo looked up but couldn't meet his gaze. "I'm proud of you, Momo…"
He heard her breathe in suddenly when hearing that...
Everyone felt strange about the atmosphere set by the two, but Izuku quickly broke that tension.
"Anyone know where everyone else is? We still have Mandalay and the people back at the shelter…"
Kirishima was quick to answer, despite his headache. "Me and Mina came from Mr Aizawa's class, so we know where everyone is…"
"Yeah, Mandalay should be with the other Pussycats in the main forest clearing, and our UA teachers will still be at the shelter, if a villain hasn't engaged them…" Ashido continued.
"That so? I remember two villains fighting them, but they were weak enough for a few of you to take down. Does anyone else know about a villain we've missed?"
The group of students looked around each other, and they didn't seem to know a thing…
But then Midoriya cast a cold eye on Bakugou, who almost expected it at this point.
"Do you have anything to say about this? Sure there isn't anyone you left out?"
Katsuki was quick to defend himself, knowing that the students were somehow against him now. "Don't glare at me like that, you asshole… I didn't even know about the villains here. I was just guessing…"
"Sure you were…" Izuku wasn't buying it, but since everyone else was somehow completely agreeing with him, he decided to stop. "I find that hard to believe, but I don't think we can dwell on it right now…"
"What? He could be hiding something big that we don't know about!" Kendo looked at Izuku in surprise, thinking that he of all people would be the one to call a lie out… "They could have someone else out there in reserve, and because of him keeping his mouth shut, that person could take you by surprise!"
"I doubt anyone above my level of strength could stay hidden like that. Muscular was almost superior to me, and yet he and the blue flame user stood out from the rest as strong enough to make me work…"
A few people in Iida's group were confused as to why everyone was suddenly hauling blame on Bakugou…
"He's been keeping things from us, at a time like this?" Momo stopped dressing the bruise on her wrist and looked at the blonde. "Do you even realise what's going on right now? Iz- Midoriya is the target of a villain attack… They could…" she struggled to get it out thanks to her own guilt. "Tourture and maim him...and you just think to keep your mouth shut because you're bitter he's better than you!?"
Bakugou's eyes widened with anger. "The fuck did you say bitch?" but he stopped when he felt a hand on his chest.
"Lets all calm down…" Izuku surprisingly neutralised the situation. "We're only gonna weaken our forces if we have infighting…"
Midoriya looked back at Yaoyorozu and saw her face suddenly change as she apologised to him. He was happy she defended him on that… "We don't know how many villains are still out there, so our primary objective should be to assist our teachers and the pro heroes to the best of our ability…"
That was something everyone could agree on, for now…
Bakugou scowled to himself, but didn't act on his anger anymore… He just chose to sit there and brood…
"How should we go about this? Split up again?" Iida suggested.
Midoriya shook his head as he gestured for everyone to gather around him. "No, that would only slow us down. Since I'm now with you and we don't have to worry about the villains in the forest, we should form one single attack force and face the remaining enemies with overwhelming numbers…"
"Yeah! They can't stop all of us!" Mineta shouted, seemingly forgetting that he was almost turned to ashes by Izuku minutes ago.
"That's right…" Said Todoroki confidently. "Now we aren't held back by worrying about you, and with all of us linking up...we should be a match for any villain the league can throw at us…"
Izuku wanted to deny that, because he thought that All For One could be here...but he knew that hiding away for that long and letting the students get stronger with numbers was a foolish move from a man proven to possess great knowledge…
Bakugou suddenly sent out an explosion into the forest, blowing away several trees.
"C'mon then… Stop fucking around and just follow me…"
There wasn't any time to argue with the dubious blonde right now…
Those people near the entrance of the camp were probably still fighting…
Wasting time could be fatal for them…
Everyone began to head through the forest path that Bakugou opened…
But a hand landed on his shoulder as Izuku came up behind him…
Bakugou, for just a second, thought he was about to be murdered…
But all he met was the normal guy he used to call his brother…
Izuku held out his hand, and only Iida, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki were there to see it…
"I was wrong about you, Katsuki… Seems you really are one of us…"
What they met was destruction…
Everyone came into the huge clearing near the shelter, but all they could see was bodies…
There wasn't much sign of a battle, but everyone was incapacitated somehow...
"A-Are they even still alive?" Uraraka worried as she shook Tiger to try and wake him.
Izuku was suddenly feeling that sensation again…
The one from before…
"No, they're still breathing…" Ojiro sighed in relief as he checked Kaminari's pulse…
"T-Then how did they end up like this? These guys didn't even get hit with anything…" Shoji looked around, and didn't like the amount of questions that this rose...
The green haired boy could feel something in the air and turned to Bakugou, remembering the words he said earlier… "Can you feel that too?"
Bakugou was just as shocked as Izuku, and couldn't even believe that everyone had passed out… "The hell even happened here…"
Neither of them had an answer to that…
The ominous prediction that Hoshino told him about was slowly beginning to come true…
Todoroki couldn't see any villains, and the only silver lining was that the pros and students were still alive and uninjured… He went up to Mandalay, who was the only person that was still conscious… "What did this to you?"
Everyone lent an ear when he asked that question, and stared at Mandalay desperately…
She opened her eyes, and even Todoroki was alarmed by how wide they were…
"R-Run… Run away…"
Izuku could hear that as clear as day...and his heartbeat only increased… "Where the hell is Aizawa and Vlad…"
10…
He was sweating and he could feel fear grip him again...only the voice inside him wasn't willing to respond…
9…
Everyone suddenly felt a huge presence invade the area...and they were all forced to their knees…
8…
Izuku looked around and tried to pick up any trace of movement...but whatever he felt was just too fast for him to even locate…
7…
Then...people were pinned down by...swords…
6…
Izuku then looked towards the shelter and used his enhanced vision to see what happened over there…
5…
Vlad's body was now just a mound of flesh…and Aizawa was just ahead of him, barely alive after being sent through the shelter wall...
4…
He could feel it… The same feeling he had in the USJ…
3…
All of his senses screamed to him...but it was useless now…
2…
Up in the sky, a single man with a dark purple aura was directly above him…
1…
Izuku then looked at Bakugou… Betrayal was all he felt...
He shielded himself from above with scales on his arms…
The villain shone in a purple light as a fist suddenly pressed against Izuku's arms…
For the first time…
The scales shattered like glass…
It didn't even take a second strike to smash Izuku into the ground, and the earth rippled and rose like a wave due to the force of the punch…
He felt all the air inside him vanish, and blood gushed from his mouth…
All the students were blown away from the punch…
Izuku put his hand up above him and ignited his flames, but the villain grabbed his shoulder...and ripped his entire arm off…
There wasn't even any time to scream from the pain, because the swordsman grasped his other arm and spun him around, planting his body into the dirt and slamming his head deep into the ground. His knee then crashed against Izuku's spine as he felt it snap…
The boy could barely feel anything after that, and his body was lifted up by the neck by the unknown monster…
He stared into the eyes of the villain, and his heart stopped...
"This is Lancelot… We have acquired the target…"
Everyone struggled to their feet after the blast, and they were in a cloud of dust…
They were all conscious though, and everyone that previously passed out from the villain's strength were back to their senses…
Bakugou felt empty as he watched the man effortlessly drag Izuku away…
That was the same man that easily took down Endeavor in the battle of Musutafu 15 years ago…
Yaoyorozu could only watch as Izuku took one last look at her with his bleeding eye…
The villain's grey coat blew in the wind, and he didn't even show a single emotion as he stared at his master's greatest obsession. "So you're Green Scale… I'm honoured to finally meet you…"
No one could do a thing as the two of them went further away…
Lancelot pressed a button on his earpiece. "Kurogiri, the task has been completed… Take me back to my master…"
He then held Izuku by the back of his neck and didn't even give him an inch of space to run…
Bakugou was staring directly at Midoriya as a purple portal opened behind him…
The battered boy looked back at Bakugou, and the only thing any of them could see was rage and hatred…
"I was wrong about you, Katsuki… Seems like you really are one of us…"
"Y-You...fucking traitor…"
