Well hello everyone. How are you? Tired of waiting? Want the next chapter? Well, I am too. So here ya go.
Before I go on though, I continue to be amazed at the support I'm getting here. We broke 25k views, 700 Follows, 150 Reviews, and 500 favorites. That is insane to me, and I can't help but feel amazed at the love and support I'm getting here. I really need to write each of you a thank you note… I'll get there
Anyways, as always, reviews after the chapter… and QUE MUSIC!
Chapter Six: Symbol of What They Fear…
Tomura Shigaraki had expected a fight. He had planned on it. He had hoped for it. When he had walked through the portal to see the shivering UA students and the stiff figures of Eraserhead and Thirteen, he'd felt a chill of excitement. However, two things overshadowed that. One was that All Might wasn't here like the stupid Symbol of Peace should be. The second was the Nomu master had given him. Master had said it would listen to him and do whatever he said. But… it wasn't listening anymore. Not since that punk in Green armor started walking down the stairs. When the kid had screamed, though… even he had felt it. The POWER he felt in his voice was uncanny. It was so like what All Might's voice did, but darker… stronger… if he had to put words to it, it felt like rage itself had manifested in the NPC's voice.
"Oh… so this is a secret boss, then. Nomu, take care of it."
The Nomu didn't move. In fact, it only trembled and stared at the approaching figure. Shigaraki felt his own anger rising by the second. But before he could say anything more, he heard a roar that wasn't the Nomu next to him echo across the facility.
"Kar En Tuk! Kar En Tuk! Rip And Tear! Until it is DONE!"
"Kurogiri… go take care of those brats… I have to take care of the glitch." Shigaraki's voice grated against the very air itself as his irritation built to new levels, watching all the mobs he'd gotten for this fight just freeze up. Kurogiri nodded, disappearing in an instant, and All-for-Ones' successor turned to the approaching problem. Stupid fear codes, they shouldn't have come if a simple teen could scare the pants off of them…
Then the Carnage started.
…
The Doom Slayer had to repeat one thing in his head as the villains in the very front gathered their wits about them.
'I can't kill them. I'm a hero now, killing them would only cause problems.' He swore he heard multiple voices pushing those thoughts forward to remind him of that detail. Begging him to be better than what he had in the pits of hell. And he listened. He did need to be better… but at the same time…
'There is no rule about breaking their bodies to the point of near-death.'
One villain finally shook the fear that had laced his bones the moment the armored figure had spoken. He called out to the rest of his comrades as he pointed his barreled fingers at the approaching teen. "S-shooting squad. Take your aim and stop him!"
"W-who is that guy. Our intel didn't mention anyone like him." A woman with floating grey hair asked as she moved next to the finger gunner.
"Quit being a pussy. It's just a kid. What's the worst he could do?" A larger, almost Frankenstein-like man asked, pointing his own hands at the Hell Resident. The Doom Slayer smirked under his helmet. They were about as intimidating as armless imps. That is to say… they were just Argent fuel.
The moment they fired their quirks at him, he dashed forward, using his own pool of Argent Energy to get close. Most of the bullets bounced off his armor and he dodged the metal-like hair that shot towards him. The finger gun villain had only a moment to register the intimidating metal-covered warrior in front of him before-
BOOM
All the villains stared in shock as the man's leg had been shot off by the shotgun residing in the armored man's hands. He screamed as the pain registered, only able to get out a single second of pained screeching before being knocked unconscious quickly by a punch to the face from the metalloid. Taking advantage of the villain's shock, The Slayer grabbed the woman's shoulder, his doom blades piercing through her. Using the leverage the blade provided him, he swung her into the air before bringing her screaming body down onto his knee, breaking her back and knocking her unconscious from the sheer amount of pain her body felt. The Frankenstein-looking monster roared out in anger and tried to punch the Slayer. The villains watched in horror as the hulking figure's fist was simply caught and crushed by the smaller hand of the person he'd been intending to kill.
"Learn your place." The Great Slayer said, scoffing at the vain attempt before shooting the man's arm off with several quick shots from his shotgun due to the full auto mod. As blood splattered across the ground and the man's shouts of pain filled the air, the Doom Slayer jumped up and punched him into the ground. As he stood over the now three barely breathing villains, he looked up.
"Anyone else?"
The Doom Slayer heard shuffling behind him and turned to see who it was. Before he got a clear look of whoever thought it was a brilliant idea to attack him, a grey scarf shot out from the stairs and pulled the four-armed villain into Aizawa's waiting foot. Aizawa was glaring at his student harshly as he moved next to him.
"You really should leave, Midoriya. Keep this up and there will be consequences."
"This is my fight more than you realize, Sensei. I am not going anywhere till that thing," And he pointed to the motionless, modified Hell Knight, "Is dead." Aizawa glared at the teen, before settling into a combat stance.
"Against my better judgment, I'll let this continue. But we will discuss this at length, as well as your continued stay at UA after this is over."
"Fair enough." The shotgun was placed behind him and slipped into the dimensional pocket Hayden had developed to carry his arsenal everywhere he went, switched quickly for his Heavy Cannon. "Let us get to work then."
…
To say the other students weren't scared of their classmate's brash actions would be a lie. They were horrified. It started with them fearing the greenette would die right in front of them. After the first shell hit the ground, though? It turned from fear for the Class Rep to fear OF him. And simply put, he was terrifying.
Uraraka watched the onslaught begin silently, all the blood in her body leaving her head. She was sick. This was sick. Deku was a good person, he was a hero. What was he thinking, why was he… was he killing those villains?
The brunette didn't have time to ponder those thoughts as she felt someone pulling her arm. She looked up and could see Iida talking to her, but his words weren't registering. She was in shock. She slowly turned to look at the taller student and realized he was pulling her towards the door. Mechanically, she began to run with him to the exit of the USJ, constantly checking over her shoulder to look at Deku. Would he be alright?
Uraraka ran into some of her classmates rather suddenly and only as she shook her head and looked up did the world around her finally come into focus. She saw a large, mist-covered person standing in front of her and her whole class. As she finally came back to reality, she caught the tail end of what the villain before them was saying.
"-To meet you. We are the League of Villains." The mist seemed to bow slightly before them. "I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello." The figure narrowed his glowing, yellow eyes and the mist swirled lightly as he looked past them. "Though one must wonder what kind of justice such an institution is teaching its students to dispense with the greeting my comrades have received."
Everyone watched the villain quietly. He seemed much bigger than them, and his quirk was intimidating, to say the least. They all stood, tense and in a position to fight at any moment as the villain gave them all a once over.
"We had planned on meeting the great Symbol of Peace with our visit today. I believe he was supposed to be here, and yet there is no sign of his presence at all. It seems there was a change of plans that were not foreseen. Well, in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter." The figure's body began to spread outward and the students grouped up closer to one another. Uraraka just watched all this occur almost blankly. While she could clearly see and hear everything happening before her, it was almost as if it weren't registering that it was real. It felt like she was watching the most involved movie ever. "I still have a role to play."
Uraraka watched as the misty man prepared to act, but Bakugo and Kirishima acted first. The two rushed forward and attacked him, an explosion covering the area in smoke rather quickly. As they waited for the smoke to clear, the two teens stood confidently, ready to continue the fight. As they stood at the ready, Kirishima grinned and said "Did you think we were just gonna stand around and let you tear this place to shreds?"
As they all watched silently, Uraraka couldn't shake the feeling of fear that settled in her chest. There was no way it was that easy. It couldn't be. That's when she heard a voice from behind them.
"You live up to your school's reputation, that is certain. But you should be more cautious when you attack one such as I." The villain's voice seemed gloating. "It often can have DISASTROUS RESULTS!" The mist shot outwards and covered the majority of the students. Uraraka felt the floor beneath her give way and suddenly, the mist disappeared… and she was falling towards water.
"Eep!" She spun herself in midair and touched her chest to make herself weightless. She stopped just above the water's surface. She floated just five or so feet away from the water and she looked around to gather her bearings. She could clearly see a ship not too far away, with a large mountain and waterfall behind it. Around the large lake, she saw the stone pathways leading to the different disaster areas, as well as the central plaza and stairs. The bigger problem was, where was she going to go and how was she going to get there.
"C'mere, little girl!" Uraraka screamed as a fish-like figure shot out of the water towards her. She didn't have anything to really turn her in midair and tried desperately to move enough to either dodge him or hit him, but he was directly behind her. Before he could make contact with her, however, a tongue shot out from the water, hitting him right across the face. He fell to the side of the brunette, a dazed look in his eyes before the tongue shot back out and grabbed her, pulling her with whoever it was towards the ship in the middle of the water. While Uraraka was still panicking, her rational mind told her this had to be Tsu. Or at least she really hoped it was.
When they reached the boat, the tongue moved her above the actual boat and Uraraka released her quirk, letting her drop softly onto the floor. Moments later, a very disoriented Mineta and a flushtrated Tsu jumped aboard the boat. Though, Mineta was more slammed onto the ship than put there.
"Well this has quickly turned out to be a terrible day of class," Tsu said, looking out across the water, where they could see multiple villains beginning to surround the ship. Off in the distance, they could hear the sounds of fighting and gunfire. While it was too far to really tell who was winning, it was pretty clear the gunfire was Deku. Uraraka really hoped he was okay. He'd done something really scary and dangerous when he went to fight those villains and not listen to Aizawa sensei. She really hoped it would all be okay.
"Yeah… today's not going very well, is it?" Uraraka tried to smile but found herself unable to summon the ability to even fake it. Her nerves were keeping her from doing so. "So what do we do?"
"I don't know… I really don't want to be here very long *ribbit*." Tsu looked out over the waters as she said this, looking worriedly at all the villains who were staring right at the boat. "I don't think staying here is going to be safe for very long *ribbit*."
"What are you two so worried about?" Mineta asked. "It's not like these guys can take on All Might. And I'm sure he'll find out what's going on here and come kick these guys' butts! It's not like these guys can kill All Might."
Something about what Mineta said got Uraraka's mind turning. As she reflected on what she had heard the mist villain say, something stuck out to her. "Wait… didn't the mist guy say something about them expecting All Might to be here?"
Mineta and Tsu paused for a second before Tsu nodded. "Yeah, he did. He acted as if they had planned on All Might being here."
"So… does… does that mean they have a way to kill All Might?" Panic began to worm its way even deeper into Uraraka's chest. It reared its ugly head as her heart began to sink, feeling as if it weighed as much as the I-beams her parents used in construction. She continued.
"There's… there's no way t-they'd… come here… and risk All Might… unless they were prepared, right? T-they wouldn't want to fight a l-losing fight. S-so why are they? W-what about that monster that came with them? W-whatisit,whyisithere? Didtheymakeit,canitkillAllMight? Whatdowedo?Whatdowedo?Whatdowe-"
Uraraka's oncoming panic attack stopped as she felt someone hug her. She blinked a couple of times and felt her coming back to reality. Tsu was hugging her.
"Breath, Uraraka. We'll be okay. Whether the villains have a plan or not, we need to get out of here." The frog girl said slowly. "So breath, and just focus on what we can do. Escaping here alive."
Uraraka took a couple of deep breaths before nodding. As she looked to the main area, she could still see Deku fighting the massive horde of villains with Aizawa-sensei. Despite his brutality, she wished so desperately to have his ability to act, his courage, his intelligence. A small mantra began to echo in her head. 'What would Deku do?'
As Tsu tried to keep watch, keep Mineta from grabbing either of them and stop his own panic, Uraraka's mind began to think. How can SHE fix this? What can SHE do? Rather than sit there waiting to be saved, what are her options? How can she be a hero like Deku?
As she looked at the gathering villains, all of them waiting for the three students to hit the water, a plan, a real plan, began to form. Between the boat, Tsu's tongue, Mineta's… balls, and her Gravity Nullification, they could get out of here, and hopefully, keep the villains from chasing them.
"Tsu, Mineta." The two other teens looked at the brunette in surprise. Her voice was no longer shaking. She looked… confident, even. "I have a plan."
…
Shigaraki couldn't help but scratch his neck as the fight continued. His stupid mobs were getting tossed and torn apart like lame, level one tutorial characters. He hated it. He'd hoped they'd at least cause some problems, slow them down, but no. The stupid kid in armor and that bothersome pro hero were tearing his group of lackeys apart. They were just XP fodder to these two. It irked him. As the last of the villains was knocked unconscious, he let out a long sigh. Next to him, the Nomu tilted its head in questioning, almost as if it were asking to go. Asking if it was its turn to fight.
"Not yet, Nomu. We need to separate these two, as much as I hate to say it. Two high-level bosses can be annoying to kite and cc, so might as well just remove one from the equation." Shigaraki spoke more to himself than the Nomu. Master had told him that while it could understand him and take his commands, it wasn't a person and had barely the intelligence of a dog.
As if on cue, a mass of swirling purple appeared next to him. Shigaraki looked to Kurogiri briefly before looking back at the two approaching 'heroes.' Aizawa seemed intent on taking Shigaraki while the armored kid hadn't taken his eyes off the Nomu. Odd.
"Kurogiri, did you kill that hero Thirteen?"
"Sadly, I did not. She is injured to a life-threatening degree, however, and the rest of the students have been scattered across the USJ. They attempted to escape, but sadly they were one person short of such an attempt working as they forgot to hold me down in any way. So I decided to not chance it and send them to find their friends."
"Good work, Kurogiri. It seems you're more useful than just a ride out of here." Shigiraki grinned underneath the hand on his face. This was turning out rather well. No pros to rescue them. No chance of escape. Now they just had to take out these two and All Might would be devastated for the rest of his life. Or, if he did come to try and save his 'precious students,' the Nomu would be able to kill him. "Now, I need you to take that armored kid away from here. He's a secret boss and I'd rather fight him when we deal with the regular boss for this level."
"Consider it done." Kurogiri nodded before both Shigaraki and Kurogiri surged forward.
…
In any other place, Izuku would've commented to Aizawa how laughable it was that the two villains thought they could take the two of them. However, he knew better than to tempt fate. Along with the fact that his boiling rage kept his throat silent, as it did most times he fought. He stalked forward as the swirling mass of purple mist approached. He had an idea of what this creature could do. And, honestly, he wasn't worried. Portals were the least of the most dangerous powers he'd had to deal with in Hell. It would be the same here. The hand-covered man began to engage Aizawa in CQC, but Izuku tuned them out as the mist began to cover the area, in an attempt obviously to throw him somewhere else. So watching the creature's eyes widen as his armor flared with Argent energy and dispersed the portal's shape and pushed the mist back to the man before him, he grinned.
[The Only Thing They Fear Is You (Remastered v2)]
"You are not the first to try and move me without my permission." Izuku's voice was gritty and far deeper than his regular voice. At least to the outside world. A benefit of his suit was hiding his body's age. And it sure didn't hurt that it bumped the intimidation factor up tenfold. "And you will certainly not be the last."
Izuku's hand grabbed the metal brace around the creature's neck, and Izuku could feel hands grasping at him. It seems there actually was a person underneath all that mist. Whoever they were continued to stare at him in shock, as did the two other combatants.
"H-how?" The creature, a man it seemed, asked, its voice warbly as if it was present in multiple places at once. Which was most likely not far from the truth, due to its… his quirk.
"You do not need to know," Izuku said right before he squeezed. The man gasped and choked, eyes getting impossibly large, the mist shooting every which way in an attempt to escape. Aizawa and the blue-haired villain dodged hastily to avoid any of the teleporting tendrils, not knowing where those tendrils may send them. Izuku didn't move an inch, focusing only on squeezing the man's consciousness out of him. Not thirty seconds later, he passed out, and the mist receded to barely outline his form, revealing a well-kept tuxedo/suit underneath. Odd choice of dress for a combat zone. Though, in an age full of superheroes and supervillains, compared to real war? It made sense.
"Nomu!" The Hell Knight's head turned to the main villain and Izuku's fist clenched. So this B***** was the one controlling it, huh? Fool. "Kill that brat!"
Aizawa looked panicked and shouted something, but Izuku didn't hear it. No, his emotions had already surged up at seeing the familiar rise of argent energy through the Hell Knights muscles expand as it readied to leap towards him. He could see as well that its mass had been altered. The idiots had made it stronger. No matter. This was his duty as the Doom Slayer. His Job.
Rip. And. Tear. Until it is done.
The monster roared, and the two collided. All of the USJ heard the collision. Above that, however, they heard the roars of two primal beings crying for the other's blood.
…
"A-are you sure this is gonna work?" Mineta swallowed a large amount of saliva as Uraraka explained her plan. Tsu looked slightly worried but overall ready. She'd agreed to the plan. But Mineta had doubts. Like, a lot of them. How on earth was she so sure they could survive this? This was insane! They were going to die, and he'd never get to kiss a girl,goondates,orfeelherbeautiful,large-
*SLAP*
"HEY!" He held his cheek with both hands as he looked at the frog girl in shock and slight arousement. "What was that for?"
"You had a pervy look on your face."
"I did not."
"Focus, guys," Uraraka said slowly, trying hard to maintain her own confidence. Seeing the bubbly but nervous girl become so confident and self-reliant was kinda hot, Mineta wasn't going to lie. But despite how attractive she was, that did nothing to assuage the fears he had about this plan. Saying it was crazy was putting it mildly. But what other option did they have? Let the villains kill them, eat their corpses, and use their remains for fish nutrients? Okay, maybe he should stop thinking of what horrible things the villains could do to them, it was not helping his anxiety.
"Alright," Uraraka said, as she put both hands on the boat. Her breath was shaky, and it was obvious to him and Tsu she was scared she wouldn't be able to do this. Despite himself, he felt his hand reaching out, with how low to the ground and close she was. Tsu's tongue slapped him again before he could do anything.
"R-ready guys?" Uraraka asked. Tsu simply picked Mineta up, which set his mind racing for a few LONG seconds before he came back to the real world and two of his balls from off the top of his head. They both nodded to the brunette. Uraraka took a deep breath before making sure all her fingertips were touching the boat. They watched as pink energy began to spread all across the boat. All the villains gathered around and preparing to fight backed away nervously, sticking close to the boat, but all making sure not to touch it or be within ten feet of it. Everyone watched in awe as the boat was finally covered in the pink light and then it faded. After a few seconds, the entire boat began to rise into the air and the villains began to shout and flounder to react. The boat had risen thirty feet in the air in a matter of seconds.
As the villains all began to prepare their own attacks, Uraraka slowly lifted her shaking hands together. Mineta could only stare in awe as she obviously fought to stay conscious. This… this was far beyond what she should be capable of. And yet, here she was, doing it. All because she wanted to save her friends. It hurt to watch the tears streaming down her cheeks, her blood vessels bulging against her hero suit. At that moment, he felt no pervy thoughts enter his mind. Only pure, unadulterated respect and worry. This… This was the epitome of being a hero. This girl was showing him what it really meant to be a hero. He gripped the two, purple balls in his hands. He was a coward and he hated it. Hated himself so much for it.
Slowly, after water and other projectiles began flying toward the boat, Uraraka's hands came together and she muttered a weak "r-rel-lease." The pink energy flared around the boat before shattering and gravity returned in an instant. And with it went Uraraka's consciousness. As Uraraka passed out, Tsu jumped off the falling object and Mineta acted like a hero for the first time in his life. He shouted, screamed, and threw every ball he could off his head. Even as the boat crashed into the water, its broken self shattering and sending debris everywhere, creating a large whirlpool, he threw everything he could at the villains, hoping to any that weren't knocked unconscious from the falling boat in his own quirk. He had to try. For the girl who was a real hero. For Uraraka.
…
Uraraka felt herself being carried when she returned to consciousness. She looked bleary-eyed at the world around them. She could hear water around them, and she could see green, muted greys, blue, water, purple, and soft, blackish-green hair. As she slowly blinked a couple more times, she realized how sore she truly was. Everything hurt. Everything ached and screamed at her. She'd overdone it, and she was pretty sure the liquid dripping out of her nose was not snot. Tsu was carrying her slowly and quietly near the edge of the shipwreck zone. They were on the shallow part near the central plaza. As her vision cleared and she was more aware of what was going on, she wanted to ask what had happened, but on seeing both Tsu and Mineta's faces still, she looked to where their gaze was directed. There, in the central plaza, was Deku. Fighting the horrible monstrosity that the villains had brought with them. Nearby, Aizawa and the blue-haired villain were also fighting.
The fight between Aizawa and the blue-haired villain was obviously not going well. They could see that the other villain was bruised in multiple places and missing a hand on his arm, while Aizawa's right elbow looked ashen, as did his left shoulder. Both were so focused on their own fight, they didn't notice the three students not thirty feet from them, in plain sight.
Now, the fight between Deku and the monster almost made Uraraka think of those battles between Kaijus and Mechas in that movie Pacific Rim. Their hits were far quicker than that of those movies, but the impacts shook the entire area. Deku ducked and dove between hits, alternating between using his own fists and firing shell after shell into the monster. And no matter how many bullets tore it to pieces, it seemed to regrow its flesh and come back harder and stronger at the armored teen. It was horrifying, disgusting, and yet… oddly familiar. Why?
Uraraka didn't have time to think about that as two things happened at about the same time. First, the unconscious mist man awoke and surged his mist forward to cause the thing Deku was fighting to barely avoid its head being blown off by a point-blank shotgun blast. Second, the doors to the USJ suddenly blew open and Uraraka heard a shout. It sounded like Iida. "I'm getting help! Everyone keep fighting!"
"D*** it, Kurogiri." The villain fighting Aizawa cursed as a small, sad smile spread across their sensei's face. "You had one job."
"I *cough* I'm sorry, Shigaraki." The mist man, Kurogiri(?) said as the mist began to hide his well-dressed body like he had sent them all across the USJ.
"Useless. It seems like this entire attack was pointless." Shigaraki complained as both Deku and Aizawa still stood ready to fight. The creature stood stock-still behind Shigaraki, and Kurogiri moved to stand next to him as well. "Back to the title screen. And I was so looking forward to beating this level today…" Shigaraki began to scratch his neck violently and Uraraka could see scars along his neck where he'd obviously scratched too hard on one occasion or another.
"Let's go home." Mineta, Tsu, and Uraraka all gasped in surprise. All this terror, the effort, and the danger they'd faced, and the villains were just going to leave after Iida went for help. It seemed almost too good to be true. However, Uraraka couldn't help but notice the growl of frustration that came from Deku. Why? Wasn't this a good thing? Didn't the villains leaving mean they would be safe? Why did he sound so angry at the idea? Was it because of the monster?
She didn't have time to contemplate those thoughts as she heard Shigaraki speak again. "But before we go, let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken." The villain turned directly to the three of them. "Let's break his pride."
"NO." "NO!"
Both Izuku and Aizawa stepped forward to try and stop Shigaraki, but the creature and Kurogiri stopped them both respectively. She watched in horror as Kurogiril used a portal to cause one of the creature's fists to slam Aizawa into the ground and Shigaraki's hand approached her fast. She wasn't sure what it did, but if Aizawa's cracked arm and shoulder were a clue, it wasn't good. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She wanted to move, but her body didn't listen. Instead, she could only watch in terror as he life was about to-
Two thunderous booms echoed across the USJ simultaneously. One was an echoing rifle shot, and Shigaraki's hand blew open, now blooded and unusable. The second was the sound of bone impacting metal and Izuku's body went flying, cratering into the stairs.
As Shigaraki screamed in pain, grasping his bloodied hand, Tsu and Mineta retreated quickly. But Uraraka could only stare at the still body of Deku. His suit was dented, despite how invincible it seemed before. How strong was the monster? In Deku's hands was a large assault rifle, smoke still rising from the barrel. Deku had chosen against dodging the attack and fighting the monster to save her. He'd chosen her life over his own. No. Nononononononononononononononononono. Shigaraki glared at the green-metal armor in the crater.
"KILL HIM, NOMU!"
"DEKU!" Uraraka screamed.
…
Izuku looked around the darkness. It was odd to be here. He'd only seen his mindscape once before, but that hadn't been a pleasant experience. Though, considering he'd been knocked unconscious and maybe in the middle of dying to a very strong, overpowered Hell Knight, he couldn't say this scenario was worse than the first time.
"So you are finally here." Izuku turned to see a scrawny-looking man standing before him. "It seems your unquelled rage has finally died enough for us to speak."
"And who are you exactly?" Izuku asked. He was curious, obviously. Why had this man been looking to speak to him for so long?
"I am the first. The first holder of One-for-All. And we have much to discuss."
"While I do have some questions to ask you all, chief among them being since when could I talk to those who had wielded one-for-all, I am probably about to die and would love to try and stop that. If I don't, that Hell Knight will kill everyone in there."
"And that is what we need to discuss. We have roughly an hour here to talk before the Nomu will reach you so let's discuss the reason you came here in the first place. Your fighting that Hell Knight, and your actions overall." The first began to slowly walk towards Izuku, some purpose gleaming in his eyes. "Why do you want to become a hero?"
"What?"
"Why did you want to become a hero? Why do you want to become a hero?"
Izuku paused at the question. He'd thought about it briefly here and there, but most honestly. It felt natural to want to become a hero. Fighting to save others had been what he'd known for so long. Stopping those with evil intent and hurting them before they could hurt the innocent was instinctual at this point. Izuku went to open his mouth and voice his thoughts when the first raised his hand.
"I can hear your thoughts, I already know your thought process. I understand. And while it worked in Hell, that WILL NOT work here. Do you even remember, after all these years, why All Might chose you to inherit our power?"
The question shook Izuku to his core? Could he remember why he'd wanted to become a hero? Could he remember what had started him on this path? Before he fell into hell, before he fought every demon in existence before he became so violent and angry at the atrocities he'd seen, what had inspired quirkless, useless him to be a hero? His memories flashed before him as some other force began to push those instances back to the forefront of his mind. Specifically, his first time telling All Might he wanted to be a hero… and All Might telling him he believed in him.
"Every since I was a kid, I've thought saving people was the coolest thing you could do. I want people to see my fearless smile and be safe. And be the kind of hero everyone looks up to."
"I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!"
"Young man… you too can become a hero."
Izuku reached up to his face and felt honest tears began to run down his cheeks. He hadn't cried since Blazkowicz died. He knew. He remembered.
"I… I wanted to save people. I wanted to make people feel safe. It's the one thing that made me want to be a hero again, the feeling that I could finally arrive on time and save people before they died, rather than just be the sword of vengeance."
The first simply smiled. "Good. That's good. That is the Midoriya that we wanted to be the Ninth holder. That is the Midoriya Izuku that All Might chose. So prove us right, and use our quirk for what it is. Stop using your anger as your source of power. Argent Energy is fueled by emotions, yes, but your anger isn't the only emotion that can fuel it. We had to force your anger to cease so you wouldn't become a mindless machine of vengeance as you were before. That's why you couldn't use us." The first took a step forward and placed his fist on Izuku's chest.
"Make us proud, and show your classmates, show the world that there is a new Symbol. A symbol of Safety. A Symbol of Peace. A Sentinel and Guardian, just as you used to be, on Argent D'nur?"
That name sounded so familiar to Izuku, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. He wanted to ask but felt himself returning to reality. And with it, he felt a surge of strength as a new emotion spread across his body. Devotion, determination, and a feeling of Protectiveness. He couldn't lose here. Not when, for the first time, he actually had people standing behind him. He wouldn't fail now. He was the Doom Slayer, the Ninth holder of One-For-All, and above all, a Hero.
…
Uraraka's scream was answered as the creature went to crush Deku's head. Before it could make contact with him, a large explosion shook it off course, before ice covered it entirely. She looked to the side to see their classmates all gathering together. Kirishima and Tokoyami had Kurogiri pinned down while Bakugo had blasted the monster into Todoroki's Ice blast. An invisible force was lifting Aizawa's limp form and carrying it up the stairs. Uraraka felt like she could cry as Shigaraki growled. Her classmates were all here, alive, and standing strong before such a terrifying danger.
"Nice try, handjob, but we're not letting you do that!" Bakugo's grin was somehow inspiring in this moment of despair. Todoroki glared at the still figure of Shigaraki who was surrounded by the rest of her class, all ready to jump at a moment's notice. Even Mineta had two of his hair-balls in his hands, ready to go despite his bleeding scalp.
"You brats are supposed to be fodder. Why are you causing so much trouble, just DIE LIKE THE XP MOBS YOU ARE!" Shigaraki yelled as the ice shattered. Everyone looked in shock as the creature roared and stomped across the ground, intent on crushing Todoroki. Bakugo jumped into action, only to get backhanded. No one would be able to get close enough in time as the creature shattered a surge of ice Todoroki shot out. They all could only watch as it moved to smash him underneath its bone-covered hands.
[Begin You Say Run (Extended Version)]
There was a surge of green lightning near the stairs and suddenly, the incoming fist stopped. They all were in shock as Deku stood there, arms crossed in front of him, blocking the blow. His helmet had been taken off to reveal a bloodied lip, but otherwise normal-looking face. His hair was still cut short, but his eyes… his eyes had a bright glow to them as lightning sparked around him, his normal red energy seeming to attach itself to the lightning.
"I do not think we finished earlier." He grinned as he reared back his own fist and slammed it into Nomu's chest. Its rib cage shattered and it ragdolled across the ground. It stood up quickly as Shigaraki snarled.
"No. Nononononononononono, you STUPID, CHEATING, SECRET BOSS! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE A SECOND STAGE!"
"Like I care!" He shouted back. Izuku looked to Bakugo. "Bakugo, I need you to get everyone out of here. Can you do that?"
"Like hell I will, I'm not leaving you to fight that alone, are you s****** me?" Bakugo asked, almost looking offended.
"Please just do it. I am the only one right now who can fight this thing."
"All the more reason for us to help. You didn't exactly have it handled earlier." Bakugo said, his hands beginning to crackle from the small explosion surrounding them. "Besides, we-"
"Kacchan!" Bakugo stilled at the name, and Uraraka realized there was something behind that name. Something important. "Please."
Bakugo stared at Izuku for a long moment before letting out a displeased snort. "Fine. Knock out misty, Stupid Hair, and let's get moving."
"Right!" Kirishima and Tokoyami both hit Kurogiri hard before he could recover. Shigaraki moved to attack, only to be cut off by a large surge of ice, which surrounded him. Todoroki kept the ice coming as all the students began to rush up the stairs. He glared at Izuku, who never took his eyes off the rising Nomu.
"You'd better know what you're doing."
Izuku just laughed. "Despite how surprising this may sound, this is not my first rodeo," Izuku said as his body shifted into a combat stance. "I know what I am doing."
And with that, in a burst of electricity, he appeared in front of the Nomu, punching it again. The fight began anew, but this time, despite the cracking and denting in his armor, Izuku felt no need to stop. He felt stronger, faster, tougher than he ever had before. And he could feel the difference One-For-All made within him. He was obviously far stronger than he ever had been before, but his mind was also clearer. It was sharper, thinking faster. His body responded dozens times faster than he was used to, it moved quicker than any demon he'd ever fought, and most importantly… he felt determined. He would not lose here. Period. End. Of. Discussion.
As Shigaraki shouted and began to crack the ice surrounding him, Todoroki's body slowly freezing from the constant effort of keeping him trapped and away from Izuku, Izuku felt a large, confident smile begin to grow on his face. Despite the pain in his body as he could feel the hits finally going through his armor and impacting against bare skin, he didn't stop.
"Listen up, you modified Hell Knight! I am going to teach you something All Might told me a long time ago. Something I'd forgotten for a long time, myself." Izuku's words were followed by a large ax kick, pushing it deep into the ground. As it pulled itself out and tried to strike back, Izuku ducked under the blow, grabbed its arm, and flipped it over his shoulder. The resulting crater covered nearly half of the plaza. "A hero's duty is to save people and help them feel safe!" Another kick back into the ground. "To feel protected." A punch backward, sending it skidding once again. "And to make sure, that when your back is against the wall when all hope is lost, you echo only four words." Izuku ripped off its arms to keep it from fighting back for this brief moment as he pulled back for a large haymaker. Electricity seemed to surround his entire arm, the lightning becoming a mix of green and red, eventually lighting up the entire plaza.
"GO BEYOND! PLUS, ULTRA!"
Everyone watched in awe as Izuku's fist impacted against the Nomu. Electricity flew everywhere before there was an explosion of power. The shockwave from the hit knocked everyone to the ground and shattered any of the remaining ice, as well as all the glass in the entirety of the USJ. Everyone watched as the lightning and pure strength literally tore the Nomu apart, its arms and legs disintegrating before its half-destroyed torso and head rocked into the sky and blew through multiple clouds, eventually disappearing out of sight.
All stared in awe at the display of pure strength and power. That level of power… was that of All Might himself, if not greater. And standing there, victorious, bloodied, and somehow still smiling, was Izuku Midoriya. His armor broken and torn apart, his weapons cracked at his feet, he stood with his fist raised high, smiling for his classmates to see. The Doom Slayer. The Ninth Holder of One-For-All was ready to show the world that He. Was. Here.
So... What'd you think? Ya Like it? I hope ya did. you guys have been amazingly supportive and I'm sorry this took so long to post. In all honesty, the massive response I've received scared me. You guys have been overwhelmingly positive over this story and it worried me that I may not do the best in writing this chapter. Nothing felt good enough. But, I ground it out after getting over my anxiety and got this out, and I hope it meets your expectations. So here's where we see the Izuku side of our Doomzuku come into play. Turning our violent ball of fun into a true hero. Don't worry, Rip and Tear won't disappear completely (Overhaul is still in the world after all), but I want him to start adjusting and return to who All Might saw him to be and become the best mix of the two concepts. I hope you all enjoy it. Anyway, reviews. I'll only be responding to those who have questions or comments that need answering, since... there's a lot of reviews... like a lot. I can't have half of my words be because I answered reviews, that feels like cheating. Anyway, here we go:
chapter 5 . 3h ago Oh, come on man! Just when it was getting go to the good part please draw this out make him use most of his weapons at least once a blood punch some glory kills super shotgun both shots and impaled chain mini gun mobile turret mode, grenades, flame belch, doom blades plasma cannons maybe the unmayker but not the BFG oh yeah and some chainsaw kills! This is one of my favorite doomXmha fics!
Wish Granted! Sorry, it took so long. We'll be using the other weapons in future chapters, for this one, it's just the assault cannon and the shotguns. Hope you enjoyed it regardless.
Guest chapter 5. Mar 21 The new chapter when?
Right Now.
The-Soul-of-the-Void chapter 5. Mar 14 I hope you continue this. also, I hope melissa from the first chapter is the same melissa on I island. If it is and the meet I can imagine them swapping 'how I explained to my parents/mentor that hell used to exist until I/a guy I met killed it. also,he's thousands of years old temporally
I will confirm that it is the same melissa. It is Melissa Shield from the Anime. That's all I'm confirming.
Guest chapter 5. Mar 11
I love how instead of calling nomu, nomu, you have izuku mistake it for an altered hell knight.
Haha, yep, definitely a mistake, they just look really similar. hahahahaha (sweating nervously)
Nemenlos chapter 5. Feb 23
ok so I'm probably wrong but I'm pretty sure Izuku isn't the original doom guy for 3 reasons, he got the doom armor from his mentor. Said mentor is named Blazkowicz which is doom guy's name and you haven't mentioned his pet rabbit Daisy. so Blazkowicz seems to be the doom guy the Izuku picked up the torch and became the DoomSlayer. One for all seems to be keeping his rage in order as well because when it was turned off by Aizawa he went berserk. I can only wonder when he's going to run into Isabelle though (that's mostly a joke).
I'm... honestly surprised no one else noticed these things. Good job, my guy. Props. Yes, Izuku is not the original Doom Guy, but he is the Doom Slayer. Important distinction. Isabelle may or may not have been someone who crossed at one point (she was a yellow soul), so we'll just wait and see if she makes a (joke) appearance again.
Masterx01
I'm just gonna private message you, that's a lot to go over. Thanks for the criticisms and review and sorry I'm not responding immediately. Be patient with me, I am trying. Though I will add, the League having access to Demons is not for balance sake. It is for plot reasons. VIP Reasons (Very Important Plot).
hadowlord576 chapter 5 . Feb 13
I am just waiting for the villains to regret their life choices and run as their lives depend on it, which it does and I can not wait for the teachers to realize that villains are nothing compared to the Icon of Sin or the Cyber-demon.
Oh yeah, those two are way more dangerous than most of the villains (overhaul excluded. He kinda matches that level of problematic for a melee fighter).
notafreelancer1 chapter 5. Feb 1
Rip and tear! Rip and tear!
Yes, finally! Izuku is going to show them what it means to be the Doom Slayer! I can't wait for their expressions when he takes down that Hell Knight.
On another note, I hope Bakugo gets out of his funk and at least talks to DoomZuku before he does something else he regrets. I read last chapter, and I really appreciated that you were trying to fix Bakugo's character, 'cause that guy's so fucked up in the head. I love it when assholes try their best to atone for the mistakes they made, and Bakugo is no exception.
Overall, excellent work, sir, and I am hyped up for the next chapter. 'Till next time! :D
Thank you good sir. Well, Hell Knight taken down, what'd you think?
Guest chapter 5. Jan 28
Dagnabbit! I got blue balls from the cliff-hanger... I NEED TO NUT-! Ok. Ok. I'll stop.
Izuku is already becoming a figure in the school after the dilemma in the cafeteria. Wonder how 1-B and Shinsou are going to feel about Izuku. Also, Midoriya's use of words tho... "Maykr", "Nine hells"? Someone will start questioning that soon.
Well they better. If they didn't, I'd be a bad writer... that- that was a joke you can laugh now... guys? GUYS?
GodOfCreationUltimateAlienX chapter 5 . Jan 29
Damn why you have to put a cliffhanger like that! Though I love how you're doing this, Doomzuku going off the rails in the eyes of his teachers and fellow students. This is going to become eye-opening to everyone. What will the ramifications be when they see him in his natural environment? I'm curious to see well what will happen when he activated One for All. Great chapter by the way Keep up the awesome work!
Well, we kinda saw all of the above, didn't we?' Hope it was enjoyable. And that it felt natural.
IcyStream chapter 5. Jan 28
I'm curious. In the bus, Midoriya offhandedly commented about not laughing in hundreds of years. Did nobody react to this? I assume everyone thought it was a joke, which seems more believable.
He technically said that in his head, so since no in is a mind-reader, they don't know about that comment. Reader joke only.
Death of Snipers chapter 5. Jan 28
Hmm... is the modified hell knight replacing, or in addition to the noumu?
Additionally, while I understand why Izuku is so eager to deal with the demons, I imagine this will cause some serious problems for him after the fact with beaurocracy. Speaking of, how did he get approval to keep a high gauge shotgun with his costume? That seems more lethal than most hero equipment.
Also, if Izuku hasn't tapped into one for all at all, and has already demonstrated more strength than he can currently access by overhaul, I'm terrified of how insane he'll be when using both one for all and argent energy. Especially given that the "you can only use 5%" old limit was due to his weak body. A flaw he no longer has.
You will just have to wait and see if it's just a Nomu or a Hell Knight or Both. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha.
vadrigaar chapter 5. Jan 28
Great work! The story is fun and engaging so far(nothing much else to say, I like it and I want more of it, 1sub), but one thing bums me a bit. I don't mind censored profanity, you don't want it - you don't use it, but why do you censor words like "ass" or "hell" and, probably down the line, other common-knowledge tame words? For them to be considered as specifically profanity one has to either be an EXTRA-THI...oh, sorry, extra-prude or really bog oneself down on politeness. Apologies if this sounds rude or condescending, but every time I encounter this in your work I get a "wrong" giggle out of it. And I'm unsure of what to think of it.
I appreciate how kind you talked about this and thank you. My choice in censoring is a bit much at times, but more has to do with my beliefs than anything. I am trying to change some of the ways I right this to make it fit better for everyone so this kind of complaint can hopefully just not be an issue. Promise I'm trying, and don't worry, you didn't sound rude or condescending. I appreciate your review, good sir, It's the nicest 'why are you censoring this' I've gotten and actually helps.