Sorry this took so long, but at least it is a long chapter.

Later that day -and for several days after that- witnesses would report that, right up until all the fighting started and the chaos broke out, nothing at all seemed strange in the bustling shopping center. The weather was perfect, sunny but with a light breeze keeping things cool, and many people were out on the streets. Perhaps the pleasant day was the reason so many people were out and about; mothers were doing their daily shopping, businessmen on their lunch hour, unruly teenagers skipping school, and many others from all walks of life.

None of whom suspected they were supposed to witness something incredible.

The masses of people made it easy for Eri, the small, quiet child she was, to go unnoticed as she slipped around the legs of shoppers and into a small clothing store, her eyes fixed on a cute pair of girl's tiny tennis shoes.

Guilt bubbled in the pit of Eri's stomach for what she had already done and what she was about to do. It wasn't as if she liked stealing. No, it made her feel awful! Stealing was wrong, that was something Eri remembered her mother drilling into her head.

'But, then again, she abandoned me and let me be hurt, so why should I take anything Mama said seriously?' Eri asked herself, more angry and bitter than she'd have liked. 'I'm not being greedy, I'm just... taking what I need, nothing more than that. I'm just taking what I need to survive and to escape.'

Eri's plan was simple; she would steal some new clothes and some food and then she'd sneak onto a bus. She'd go into the mountains and hide; she'd live with the animals like the kids in her storybooks. Overhaul and her grandfather and those mean, awful doctors would never find her again. Maybe, if Eri was lucky, the Shie Hassaikai would forget about her after a few years. Maybe they'd think she was dead or maybe they'd believe the heroes had hidden her away somewhere? Either way, they wouldn't look for her.

Sure, it wasn't a great plan but it was the only one Eri had... even if she did really want to do it.

If she was completely honest with herself, Eri didn't want to leave Deku and the nice people at his school. They'd been the first people to make her feel safe and happy in a long, long time, them and Luffy.

'And that is why I couldn't stay,' she reminded herself. 'I couldn't let them get hurt because of me.'

So Eri ran and, if she had to, she stole stuff from stores. Never any more than she needed to though, Eri had spent the better part of the day searching through the Lost & Found bins of different buildings for stuff. So far she'd found a fluffy knitted cap to cover her horn, a comfy sweatshirt to cover the shirt and shorts Deku's school had given her, a couple of different pieces of clothing that looked like they'd fit, and a backpack to store it in.

But she still needed shoes, real shoes. Eri had the pair of hard-soled slippers that the Nice Nurse Lady had given her and a pair of too-big mixed-matched flip-flops that she'd fished out of a Lost & Found bin; she'd even manage to snag a pack of frilly socks from a different store. So shoes were the only thing left.

Cautiously, Eri eyed the man behind the counter; he was busy helping a woman try on a pair of high heels. No one else in the store was paying attention to her either; the mother in the corner was searching through a pile of folded shirts and the dad in the center of the shop was too busy trying to wrangle his three young kids.

No one was paying attention to her so Eri softly crept forward and picked up the shoes, turning them over in her hands like she was looking at them, then, after another quick glance again, ducked her head and started towards the entrance of the store.

One foot was just over the doorway when she heard an angry shout of, "HEY, KID!"

Honestly, Eri wasn't even sure she was the one being shouted out but she ran anyway. Quick as she could, the little girl darted through the crowds of people so anyone trying to pressure her would be lost in the confusion. She didn't know how far she ran but, eventually, Eri turned a corner into an alleyway and collapsed against the brick wall of an alleyway.

Panting hard, Eri clutched the shoes to her chest and smiled. That smile came crashing down and ice flooded her veins as a chillingly familiar voice came from the entrance of the alleyway.

"Looks like you're not so sweet after all, huh Eri?" Overhaul chuckled as he closed in on her.

"What do you mean she is gone?" Deku snapped, almost surprised by his own anger. But despite his typical demeanor of a shy, polite, and observant young man, he was furious with the adults around him. Eri was his responsibility, he promised to take care of her! "Eri is a little girl! How in the world did she get out of the grounds without being noticed?"

Eraser Head looked ready to scowl him for his importance but a quick, sharp look from Principal Nezu had him biting his tongue. The pro-hero rubbed the back of his head, averting his dry eyes from Deku, "From the security cameras, it looks like she climbed out of an open window in the infirmary and then slipped through the bars of the front gate. Our security measures mostly revolve around keeping people out, not in."

"Maybe we should do something about that..." Principal Nezu mused, stroking his chin.

"Maybe you should," Deku agreed, still annoyed, "but that won't help the fact that Eri is missing now!"

All Might put his hand on Deku's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I know you are upset, young Midoriya, but rest assured that we are doing everything possible to find little Eri. Chances are she just got overwhelmed and bolted; the poor girl has been through so much, she may just be hiding nearby."

"Nah, I would have sensed her if she was nearby."

"Oh, really? How interesting," Principal Nezu commented.

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"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Deku, Eraser Head, Principal Nezu, and All Might screamed in unison as they realized that they'd been unknowingly joined by two figures.

Deku blinked and calmed down when he recognized one of the individuals.

"Luffy-san!" he smiled, happy to see the lanky, scared figure of the old teen. "I'm glad you're alright!"

Then the confusion returned as his eyes slid to the other person. Unlike the warm, welcoming smile Luffy wore, this individual's face was blank and he watched them with a calculated look like he was seizing them all up. "Uh, who is this? ...And why is he carrying around a bunch of swords?"

"Oh, hey Broccoli-Guy!" Luffy-san chirped warmly. "This is one of my Nakama, Zoro. Don't let his mean face scare you, he is a big idiot on the inside!"

Whack!

"You're one to talk, moron," the swordsman grumbled, bopping his friend over the head with a punch.

"I'm sorry," the lanky teen pouted, looking despondent. But then his eyes went to Principal Nezo and a bright smile split over his face as Luffy scrambled over to the head of U.A. High School. "Wooooowwww, you're cool! How'd you get that scar? What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat? Do you po-"

"Alright, enough with the chit-chat," Eraser Head snapped, having snapped out of his surprised state. "How'd you two get in here?"

Silently, both Luffy and the other guy, Zoro, pointed to the open window, both wearing expressions like that thought that was obvious and that Eraser Head was an idiot.

Deku's homeroom teacher was clearly unimpressed.

"I mean, how did you two get on the grounds?" he demanded angrily, completely ignoring All Might's attempts to pacify him. "We have security measures in place to keep people out!"

"Oh, is that what those were?" Zoro asked, speaking for the first time. "Yeah, you're going to need to replace those 'security measures' of yours."

A very amused Principal Nezo piped up, "Mr. Midoriya, I assume this young man in the straw hat is the same one who assisted you and little Eri?"

"Yes, this is him," Deku replied.

At the same time, Luffy spoke up. "Oh, right! That is why we're here! Where is Horn-girl? I want to see here, make sure she is safe."

Silence, heavy and uncomfortable.

"Eri is gone," Deku admitted quietly, all the cheer from meeting Luffy again draining from his body. "She ran away from the school and we don't know where she is."

The rapid change in Luffy's demeanor was... fascinating to witness. The smile fell from his face, turning into a thoughtful frown, and his brows drew together tightly. The muscles in his lanky body going tight, the older teen set his jaw and nodded, "That's what I was worried about."

Then he turned to his friend. "Let's go, we've got to find her before the weirdo in the mask and his friends do."

The green-haired man gave a curt nod and both started towards the window again before Eraser Head stopped them.

"Where do you think you two are going?"

Luffy glanced back over his shoulder, "To get Eri, duh."

"You can't just-"

"I want to go too!" Deku cut in, to the surprise of everyone. Still, he continued, "I need to go find her! Eri is my responsibility! I promised her that she'd be safe!"

All Might squeezed his shoulder once more, eyes full of warm sympathy, "I understand where you are coming from, Young Midoriya, and I admire your resolve but if little Eri is in danger then this is a fight for the adults. You and your friends have been proven yourself capable of holding your own in dire situations but I don't want to see you get hurt."

A pang of guilt hit Deku hard and his shoulders slumped, "But Luffy-san has already beat Overhaul once, he can do it again."

"Which is certainly quite impressive," Principal Nezu agreed with a nod, "and I'm sure this young man can provide us with vital information-"

"-but it doesn't change the fact that none of you are government licensed heroes," Eraser Head finished before nodding toward Luffy and Zoro. "Especially not these two."

Deku opened his mouth to keep arguing but Luffy snorted.

"Heroes?" he scoffed. "We're not heroes."

"And we definitely don't need the government's permission to do anything," his swordsman friend sneered.

And with the lapse of stunned silence created by their words, Luffy spun on his heel, grabbed ahold of the window frame, and stretched backward like a human slingshot with Zoro bracketed in between his arm, a look of resigned dread on his face. Luffy tilted his head backward, far too much for an ordinary human, and grinned at Deku.

"Do what you've got to," he said simply.

And then, "GOMU GOMU NO... ROCKET!"

Almost instinctively, Deku lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Luffy's neck, eyes shut as tight as possible. His stomach dropped as he was flung forward, air rushing through his hair and the floor vanished from beneath his feet.

'I'm coming Eri! Please be okay!'

The gloved hand on the back of Eri's neck was big enough to wrap completely around her throat, somehow burning and ice cold all at once.

"Now, be a good girl and don't make a fuss. Do that and no one has to get hurt," Overhaul hissed, low and sickly sweet. "Do that and we can pretend this little bout of disobedience never happened. No punishment, no nothing; everything can go back to the way it was before. Doesn't that sound nice?"

The bruising grip on the back of her neck tightened even more and Eri whimpered in pain. She knew it was a lie; Overhaul liked hurting her too much for it to be anything else. But even if it wasn't, even if he was telling the truth, it would still mean going back to the life of a human test subject.

"I-"

"EEERRRIII! WE'RE HERE TO GET YOU!"

The little girl gasped, her eyes going wide as, over the rooftops, came the loud voice and figure of Monkey D. Luffy.

The crowded streets froze and eyes turned upwards as civilians tracked the descending form until... BAM! It crashed down onto the pavement, a sizable crater forming in the street, and the Future King of the Pirates stood tall to look Overhaul dead in the eye.

His two friends, however, were face down in the dirt with the wind knocked completely out of them. But that was neither here nor there.

"Luffy," Eri gasped, a warm bud of hope blooming in her chest. Then her eyes caught the bushy green mop of hair of one of the other figures and a smile grew on her face. "Deku, you came too!"

"Of course," Luffy grinned. "I also come for my friends when they need me."

Eri giggled...only for that to be cut off when Overhaul squeezed down again, cutting off her air and causing her to choke.

"Well... the boy in the straw hat, it's good to see you again," Overhaul drawled. "But I'm afraid I'll be taking my young charge home now. I'll have to deal with you later."

Luffy's face went cold and serious as Deku and Zoro got up, their bodies tense and ready for a fight.

"And you think I'm just going to let you do that?" he asked flatly.

"Of course," the villain rasped, "with all of these civilians in danger-" he raised an arm to gesture to the people who stood around them gawking "-what else can a hero like you do?"

The pirate captain's uncharacteristic frown deepened. "You're right about one thing, all of the people need to GET OUT OF HERE!"

A ripple of energy emulated from the young man through the crowds of on-lookers, sending shivers up their spines and causing them to turn tail to run, effectively clearing the area.

By his side, Zoro gave a low chuckle, "That is one use for Conqueror's Haki, I suppose. I'll leave this one to you, for now, Captain."

Luffy gave a low hum and kept his eyes trained on his enemy. "That is one problem out of the way; now it's your turn."

He looked to Eri and asked, "Hey, Eri, do you want to go with this guy?"

Tears filled the little girl's eyes and her face turned red but, after a moment, Eri took in a deep breath and shouted, "NO! No, I hate him! I want to stay with Deku! I want to be safe! I want to be happy! Please, don't let him take me!"

With a wild grin, the Future Pirate King nodded. "That's all I needed to hear!"

Quick as a whip, he charged forward, and, faster than the eye could see, he stretched an arm out and grabbed Eri by the front of her shirt. With a hard tug, Luffy was easily able to pull the girl away from her capture and toss her over his shoulder towards Deku, yell out a quick, "Keep her safe, Broccoli-guy!"

Then, using his momentum, Luffy coated his leg in khaki -remembering the guy's weird mystery power- and landed a vicious kick to the masked man's side, sending him sprawling.

"I hope that wasn't it," Zoro grumbled. "My blades are getting dull; I was hoping this guy would at least put up a little bit of a struggle."

As an answer, Overhaul pulled himself to his feet; it took him a moment, needing to pause and hack up some blood from the force of the kick. But he got up, all the same, glaring at the stretchy teenager all the way.

Then he laughed.

"You are strong, there is no denying that," he admitted, "but are you strong enough to fight many while still protecting the girl. After all, there are only three of you."

"What are you talking about?" Deku demanded, clutching Eri close to his body and folding himself around her protectively. "What is going on?"

"Hey, Luffy, do you feel that?" Zoro asked, thumbing at the hilt of Shusui. Observation Haki was not his specialty, that was the damned Love Cook's job, but the buzzing at the base of his skull still told him that something was coming.

Luffy nodded, "Yeah, something is coming."

Deku blink at both of them, "What? What do you-"

Then the cold, sickening feeling of dread filled his stomach, leaving a sour taste in his mouth as dark portals of black energy began opening all around the small group. Swallowing hard, Deku pulled Eri even tighter towards him as watch dozens of villains emerge from the shadowy portal. Trying to keep a cool head, as all good heroes do, Deku tried to take stock of who'd they be up against.

His eyes narrowed in on one particular, unpleasantly familiar figure -Tomura Shigaraki.

"This is bad," he said grimly, clenching his fists. "There are a lot of dangerous villains here, especially-" he nodded towards Shigaraki, "-that one there. Whatever you do, don't let him touch you."

"I've seen him before too, he was scheming with Beaky over there and some weird bird thing," Zoro grunted. "Still, he doesn't seem all that tough. None of them do."

Luffy gave a low hum and sharp nod, "Maybe, but fighting all of them would be ANNOYING!"

There was another ripple of that raw, teeth-raising energy but this time it was stronger, much stronger, and harsher. Scarier. Deku shivered in the face of it; even if he could the force of the power wasn't directed at him, it still felt as if some sort of ghost had reached its icy hand inside his chest and squeezed his heart.

But what he felt was nothing in comparison to the villains closing in on their little group experienced. Deku didn't know what was happening but the look of complete and utter shock that passed over most of their faces was almost indescribable.

Then they fainted, nearly all of them.

Dozens of powerful, dangerous villains passed right out; their prone forms dropping to the ground like rocks and leaving the quasi battlefield nearly completely empty.

"Damn it, Luffy!" Zoro barked, clearly annoyed. "You knocked too many of them out. Who am I supposed to fight now?"

"You'd have been bored by them anyway; they weren't worth your time," Luffy replied. Then he nodded towards Shigaraki, "You might be able to have some fun with Hand-guy though."

Zoro let out an amused huff but wordlessly tied his bandana in place and shed the upper part of his coat, revealing his toned, muscular chest. Deku's eyes went wide with shock and Eri gasped when they both saw the massive scar that ran from his left shoulder to his right hip.

'How... how could anyone survive a wound like that?' he wondered, his mind also going to the large, X-shaped scar on Luffy's chest. 'Who are these people?'

"Hey, Broccoli-guy," Luffy barked, drawing Deku's attention back to him.

"Yeah?" he asked, only slightly peeved that the older teen couldn't seem to remember his name.

"Zoro and I are going to handle these guys so you focus on getting Eri out of here, okay?" Luffy asked though this was clearly not a question.

"But-"

"Look," Luffy cut him off roughly, "I get it, you want to fight, but you said it yourself -Eri is your responsibility. So be responsible for her."

.

.

.

"...Alright," Deku agreed. The other teen was right; being a hero was all about helping others and, sometimes, that meant not fighting. He took Eri tightly by the hand and, looking her deep in the eyes, instructed with absolute seriousness, "Get ready to run."

The girl nodded, fearful but determined. Deku gave her his best reassuring smile even as he took to the battlefield. There was a thick, palpable tension in the air as villains stared down the heroes... or, hero-in-train and two pirates, as the case may be. Sooner or later, one of them would make a move and then chaos would erupt.

"Everyone ready?" Zoro grunted, one hand rested on his sword with his eye narrowed on his target.

"Mmmhmmm."

"Yes."

"Then we go on- one... two... THREE!"

And with that, they slip up, all going in different directions. Luffy charged once more towards Overhaul while Zoro took off towards Shigiraki. Deku, on the other hand, drew Eri close to him as they both ran off in the (approximate) direction of U.A. Academy.

'All Might and the other pro-heroes should be heading in this direction,' Deku reasoned. 'Even if they weren't following right behind us, then all the civilians should have made enough calls to the police that at least a few heroes will be here soon.'

So he just had to keep Eri out of the hands of the villains until they could get here.

"Run as fast as you can but watch your footing, Eri!" he encouraged, adjusting his grip on the little girl after she nearly fell; the too-large, mismatched flip-flops sliding out from under her feet. Eri winced as her poor little toes scraped against the rough pavement but she kept running all the same.

Still running, Deku had them turn the corner around a building and led them down a narrow alleyway. Over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears and the pounding of Deku's own heart, he could hear Eri's heavy panting.

"Just a little bit more, Eri," he urged. "The real heroes will be here soon. Once they get here, we won't need to worry. Once they get here, we'll be safe! I promise that-Ahhh!"

A sharp sting on his cheek had Deku stumbling to the side -almost toppling over onto Eri- and his hand immediately going to his face. He touched something wet and warm, pulling his hand back the young hero-in-training hissed when he saw the blood that coated his fingertips. The long, thin slice on his cheek stung as it bled salty sweat mixing with into the wound.

"Wha-"

"That was just a warning," a female voice giggled. "I could have gotten you in the throat or in the eye with the blade if I wanted to."

At the end of the alleyway stood the pretty, petite form of Himiko Toga, her seifuku and oversized beige cardigan providing such sharp contrast with the twisted, sinister-looking blood-sucking machine on her back. The villainess twirled another thin knife between her fingers and hummed a cheery tune as Deku looked on.

"So why didn't you?" Deku asked, adrenaline rushing through his body. Though he might not have planned it, he was ready for a fight.

"Hmmmmm, I guess I just want to give you a chance to hand over the girl willingly," Himiko shrugged. "I suppose I was curious to see what you'd do."

Putting an arm out to shield the quivering Eri, Deku snarled, "I hope you didn't get your hopes you because I'll never let any of you ever touch Eri again! I'll never let anyone hurt her again so, if you want her, you'll have to go through me!"

Glancing down, he lightly nudged the little girl back and instructed, "Eri, go hide. Stay close as possible though."

Eri hesitated... but eventually gave a quick little nod before scampering away and out of sight. Deku turned back to his enemy and tensed, really to summon his power when needed. Even after everything he'd been through these past months, this may end up being one of his greatest tests as a hero.

"Awww, how sweet! You don't disappoint, little hero," Himiko giggled again. "Still, it's going to be kind of a shame to spill all of the delicious blood of a cutie like you. Hope we can have fun in the meantime though."

Then she lunged forward, swiping at Deku with her knife. The young hero-in-training jumped backward, just barely able to avoid getting his throat sliced open. Summoning a fraction of the power of One For All, Deku kicked out at the villains, creating a hard gush of air that blew down the alleyway.

'No, I missed her!'

Himiko nimbly dodged his attack, flipping backward and twisting in mid-air to throw another knife at Deku causing him to drop to the ground as it flew over his head. Dirt blew up into his mouth and he panted hard even as he rolled back to his feet to charge at Himiko with a punch.

"Na-na na-na boo-boo, you can't catch me," the villainess chanted, dancing around Deku's punch as she taunted him. It was only sunlight glinting off her knife that gave the young hero-in-training enough warning to dodge it, though it still got close enough to slash open his shirt.

'Okay, Deku, you got to think! What do you know about her?' he told himself. 'Let's see, Himiko Toga... Her quirk is Transform, it grants her the ability to transform into a physical lookalike of another individual, as well as copy their voice. But she can only transform into people whose blood she has ingested and the more blood she drinks, the longer she has access to that person's form. That is a useful quirk for deception and infiltration, but she needs to get close enough to actually draw blood, so if I can avoid getting hit that I can negate her power.

But-' Deku jump to the side to avoid another thrown knife. '-I have the same problem. She moves too fast for me to land a hit and, with her knives, she can still hit me. Not to mention, being in such an enclosed area, Himiko has the maneuverability advantage. But if I can somehow knock her down, get her off her feet, I may be able to finally get a hit in. I could bring one of the walls of these buildings down, but I don't want to risk anyone inside possibly getting hurt. So how can-'

Twisting to avoid an attack, something back on the main street caught Deku's eyes, and an idea formed in his head.

"Are you going to keep hopping around or are we actually going to fight?" he taunted. It was not his usual style, surely, but he needed to get the villainess to follow along with what he had planned.

"Awww, it looks like someone is growing up into a big strong hero," Himiko cooed, the sweet tone mismatched with her vicious smile. "But you're right, let's finish this!"

She charged and Deku... turned and ran.

He sprinted toward the fire hydrant near the mouth of the alleyway. It was not a far distance, maybe thirty or forty feet at the most, but in the heat of battle, it might as well have been a thousand miles away. Deku's shoes thudded against the pavement, matching the thudding in his ears as he ran and his vision tunneled.

'Just a little further,' he urged himself forward, pushing his legs even harder. 'I just need to get-'

"Ahhhhh!"

Deku roared in agony and he fell forward, pain shooting up his body as the back of his left thigh began burning. Turning, he gagged when he saw the blade embedded in his flesh, blood pouring from the wound.

"Ohhhhh," he gasped, growing nauseous as he reached out, his fingertips brushing the handle of the knife.

"Ouch, that looks like it hurts," Himiko teased, stalking forward until she was standing over him. "Sorry, little hero, but it looks like I'll be taking the girl after all. Don't worry though, I'll-"

BOOM!

Channeling his strength to his hands, Deku punched a fist into the palm of his other hand, creating a shockwave that blew Himiko back. It wasn't enough to knock her out but it did stun the villainess long enough for Deku to be able to force himself up onto his feet once more.

Pushing through the pain and the general fact that having a knife embedded in your thigh severely limited movement, Deku stumbled towards the fire hydrant once again. Finally reaching it, he heard a shriek from the alleyway.

"You little bastard!" Himiko shrieked. "That hurt! It's going to take forever for my ears to pop after that!"

She lept at him, absolutely furious, and Deku smiled. Calling on the strength of One for All, he kicked off the top of the fire hydrant, causing a highly pressurized geyser of water to shoot out. Using his strength and his foot, Deku aimed the water stream at the villainess.

Himiko was already in motion and didn't have the chance to reach. The water stream hit her straight in the chest and knocked her backward, causing her to fly back into the wall and crack her head against the brick wall. The villainess went limp and slid to the ground; Deku watched on for a long moment, holding his breath the entire time, and when she didn't move, he let out a relieved sign and sunk to the ground.

"And that is the blood loss starting to set in," he mumbled to himself, trying to blink away the spots in his eyes and shake away the hurt in his hands.

"Deku!"

"Uffff!" Deku smiled, even though there was a sharp flash of pain when Eri tackled him into a hug. "Hey there, Eri, good job staying safe. It's alright now -I won."

The little girl pulled her head back from his chest and looked up at him, tears in her pretty eyes, and sobbed, "But you got hurt! You got hurt because of me! What if you had died? What about the others? What about Luffy and his friend? What if they get hurt too?"

Deku put his finger up to Eri's mouth to silence her worries.

"It's okay. I'm okay," he reassured. "And Luffy-san and Zoro-san are definitely going to be okay."

"But your leg!" she wailed, staring at the blood pooling underneath Deku and the handle of the knife that was still sticking out.

"It looks worse than it is," he lied gently.

Eri didn't look like she believed him but she still sniffled back her tears even as she still kept her eyes glued to the knife. Swallowing hard, Eri asked, "Why don't you pull it out?"

"That would actually make things worse," Deku replied, remembering what he learned from his first aid lessons. "Right now, the knife is like a cork. If I pulled it out, I'd lose a lot more blood."

The little girl frowned for a long moment before reaching out to grab the knife handle with both hands and yanked it hard before Deku could stop her. Deku grabbed at his leg, squeezing a ring around the muscles above the wound as a desperate, make-shift tourniquet. "WHAT ARE YOU-"

The horn on Eri's head grew in size and throbbed. Much like last time Deku had witnessed the little girl's power, there was a tingling sensation in his leg and, when he looked down, the stab wound -in addition to the pain in his hands- was completely gone.

'Not even a scar,' he noted, rubbing his fingers over the healed skin. Deku smiled, big and warm, and said, "Eri, you're amazing!"

The little girl's only response was to glomp onto him again.

"So what do I call you?" Facey rasped, one eye glaring out at Zoro between the fingers of the hand clamped to his face.

The former bounty hunter's only good eye glared back, disdain and disgust evident. "I don't care what you call me. You're not strong enough for me to waste my breath on."

Facey growled and clenched his fists. "Oh, come on... All heroes love their little names, so what is yours? Master of the Blades? The Green Swordsman?"

"All of you people are too obsessed with that title," Zoro replied, exasperated. "I'm no hero. I'm a swordsman who will be the best there is and I'm a pirate whose captain will be King of the Pirates. Nothing more, nothing less."

"A pirate? So you're a villain then."

"If that is how you see it," Zoro shrugged, pulling a single sword. "But, for now, I'm the man who will take you down. You won't be a challenge, but I guess being handicapped by not wanting to cause too much damage will make the fight a little more interesting."

Facey, having finally decided to shut up, reacted immediately. He jumped backward, sliding a hand along the ground, causing it to decay away and creating a large chasm in the street. Zoro easily jumped away, lunging forward with an exploratory swing. It wasn't one intended to do any real damage but rather to sus out the tempo this fight would go.

Of course, Zoro could have easily ended it all in one swing, but that would just be boring. He wanted to have his fun while Luffy was busy toying with Beaky.

So the swordsman led his opponent in a dance. They went back and forth with alternating between Handsy swiping at Zoro directly and trying to decay objects around the pair to trip him up. It never worked but Zoro was enjoying toying with his enemy, all the same.

Which was something Handsy was definitely aware of.

"Stop play and fight me!" he demanded, lunging towards Zoro's head. The swordsman sidestepped to avoid the attack before slamming the blunt side of his katana into the other man's stomach. Even though Zoro pulled his strength, there was definitely the tell-tale 'CRUNCH' of ribs breaking. Handsy st doubled over in pain, falling to his knees and letting out a hacking fit of coughs.

"Why should I do that?" Zoro mocked, turning to walk away. "You looking for death or something? Don't go putting that on me."

Handsy let out a dry, bitter laugh. "Oh no, I'm not worried about that. People like you can never bring themselves to kill people like me."

Then, like the bastard he was, Handsy lashed a hand out towards Zoro's ankle.

SLASH!

The severed right hand of Tomura Shigaraki flew through the air, a bright red spray of blood coloring the ground, before landing and rolling away.

"Don't think you know me," the future greatest swordsman growled. "A true swordsman only cuts what it means to cut. I kill only what I mean to kill. And you're not worth meeting your end by my blade. Now, shut the hell up and-" he coldly stabbed straight through the other man's thigh as he screamed, "-stop bullying little girls!"

"You must really like getting your butt kicked, huh?" Luffy teased as he nimbly leaped out of the way of a pillar Overhaul shot out at him before destroying it with a single kick. "After all, why else would you try to hurt Eri again after the beatdown I gave you?"

"That girl is the key to carrying out my Father's wishes," Overhaul hissed, lunging at the young rubber man. "The Shie Hassaikai needs her! Every drop of blood in her body is the property us my organization and with will use it to- ACK!"

The masked villain fell back, reeling from the force of the punishing uppercut Luffy's Haki-infused fist drove into the underside of his chin. Stumbling backward into the side of a wall, Overhaul reached up to grab his aching chin and looked at his opponent with a disturbing combination of horror and rage, completely unnerved by the strength of his relatively unassuming looking enemy.

"Don't you ever talk about Eri like that again!" the future King of the Pirates roared, rearing back for another punch.

This one Overhaul managed to dodge, if only just, and threw himself forward. Rolling on the ground, he put his hands on the ground, disassembling and then reassembling it into a moving wave of asphalt that he shot at the teenager.

Luffy tried to jump away but was swallowed up by the wave, which Overhaul then re-shaped and hardened into a column so that just the teenager's head and hands were sticking out.

Having finally pinned down the rubber-man, Overhaul, bruised, sore, and with blood still pooling in his mouth, stumbled forward towards the column. Placing one hand on either side of Luffy's head, he leaned in and hissed, "You want to know why I wear this mask? It is to shield me from germs like you! I wear it because you and your like are infecting the world with your acts of heroism and villainy! You all act like you have some grand purpose but really you are all just sick and-"

Ptooey!

Overhaul stumbled back, skin crawling with disgust as he reached up to wipe away the ball of spit from his forehead.

ccccrrrRACK!

CRUNCH!

Luffy pried himself from the stone column, coating his hand in Armament Haki and grabbing Overhaul by the throat. Teeth gritted in fury, he slammed the older man down one to the street with so much force that a crater formed around his body.

"Listen up," the future Pirate King exclaimed. "I'm not a hero; I don't want to be a hero! I never claim to be a hero! And I don't care about your stupid plans! But Eri is my friend and I'll make you pay for hurting her! And if doing that means I have to be a hero for a little while then FINE!"

And with that, he tossed the masked man up in the air, took a deep breath, and...

"GOMU GOMU NO... GATLING!"

Blow after blow from Haki-infused first landed on Overhaul, effectively juggling him in the air to keep the attack going.

On and on and on and on and on and on it went until Luffy eventually decided the older man had received enough punishment. Watching on dispassionately, he let Overhaul fall to the ground -completely unconscious.

"Well, that wasn't much fun at all," Luffy mumbled, disappointed. "The people in this mystery place are so weak. I was hoping to have some fun. Hey, weirdo-," he nudged Overhaul none-to-lightly with his foot "-don't you have any fight left in you?"

All he got was a long, low pained groan in return.

Luffy sighed, crossing his arms behind his head, and leaned back to look towards the sky. "I wonder if Zoro is done with his weirdo yet? Maybe I can-"

The rubbery teenager trailed off, distracted by the tingling of his Observation Haki.

"He's back."

A dark fog filled the air, several portals opening around the area. Through the one closest to Luffy, a familiar figure emerged.

"Hey, it's you, Scar-guy!" Luffy shouted, pointing at Dabi. "What are you doing here?"

The scarred villain blinked in surprise, startled to see the hungry teenager from a few days ago. "I remember you... Damn, so are you a hero too?"

"Ugggh!" Luffy huffed, rolling his eyes and stomping his foot. "Why does everyone keep asking that? For the last time, I! AM! NOT! A! HERO!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Dabi chuckled, holding up his hands. "Look, kid, even if you aren't a hero I'm still going to need you to stand aside. I've got to pick up all these idiots, can't let them be arrested."

"Oh, are they your friends?" the teenager asked, tilting his head to the side.

Dabi snorted, "Hardly. Quite frankly, I couldn't give a damn about them or their plans... but I've got my own agenda and they're useful for it."

Luffy just blinked, "So are we going to fight?"

The fire-wielder just shrugged, holding up a hand and cloaking it with vibrant blue flames. "I don't know. Do you want to fight?"

"Nah, not really," the rubbery teen shrugged, nudging the still-prone Overhaul again. "I kicked his butt good, he should get the message."

"Good," Dabi said, bending down to grab Overhaul by the scruff of his shirt and starting to haul the unconscious man back towards the portals. He paused, though, when Luffy called out to him again.

"Hey, Scar-guy," the future King of the Pirates called out. "I like your fire, it's really cool!"

Dabi froze, giving the teen a confused look. "Huh?"

"Mmmhmmm, it reminds me of my brothers," Luffy grinned excitedly.

"Brothers..." the villain mused. "How many do you have?"

"Two," Luffy chirped, holding up two fingers in the 'V for Victory' sign. "Two big brothers."

With a soft, bitter chuckle, Dabi just turned and finished walking through the portal. But just before he vanished, he waved over his shoulder to the teenager in one final act of goodbye.

Luffy smiled as he watched the scarred man leave, turning only when he heard three people calling his name.

"Zoro!" he cheered. "And Eri! Oh, Broccoli-guy! You're still here!"

Deku gave a shaky smile, wondering if it was even worth correcting the older teen. "Are you okay? Did the villain..."

"Oh, they're gone. No problem," Luffy shrugged, completely unconcerned.

A million thoughts shot through Deku's mind but the one he eventually spoke, his eyes flickering down to a hint of orange skin, was, "What is that thing on your arm?"

I did my best to keep things interesting but, unfortunately, I am much more knowledgeable about One Piece than I am about MHA.