Honestly, I couldn't wait to post this tomorrow! I'm just too excited!
"Hope is fragile. We try to go about our days with rose-colored glasses and all it takes is one action to disrupt everything you've tried to accomplish. When you are trapped in the dark, who would help you in your time of need? Perhaps, it's finally time lift the veil."
Chapter 12: Spark of Hope
12 Years Ago…
For the first time since receiving One for All, Toshinori was winded.
He searched high and low among the rubble and debris.
He needed to find her.
He needed to find her and make sure that she is alive.
Alive to see her husband again.
Alive to see her daughters again.
Alive to see Ruby again.
He made a promise.
A promise that he cannot afford to break.
For the sake of a father and two little girls.
Where are you, Summer?
Toshinori ran through the ruined buildings, hoping to find any sign of Summer.
The clouds above pulled apart, allowing the light of the moon to shine through. And Toshinori was grateful for that, because the silver beam helps illuminate anything light in color. From the bright blue eyes of the man called the Symbol of Peace to the pale white hue of a cloak, the latter which Toshinori was able to spot among the wreckage of buildings.
"Summer?" He looks closer to see more of the limp figure and sees the hairs on their head. Black that fades to red downwards. "Summer!" Toshinori runs over to her. He gets onto his knees and pulls her gently onto his lap. She wasn't responding, her skin a worrying pale and hair loose from her half bun. Toshinori checks her pulse. "It's faint, but it's still there! If I hurry, she could make it!" He was about to move when Summer stirs awake.
"T-To…shi…? …Is that…" she muttered weakly. "Are you—?"
"Here," they said at the same time. A pause before they both chuckled softly.
"You're awake. Don't move. I'm going to get you some help!" He goes to move again, but Summer stops him. "Huh?"
Summer looked up at him, her silver eyes shimmered with sadness. "…It's…too late."
Her words made Toshinori's heart skip a beat. "Too late?" He tried to smile, to shake off that all too familiar feeling. The same he felt when Nana told him to get away..."N-No…No, Summer. It's not too late. Don't worry. Once I get you to someone who could help, you'll be okay." Summer shook her head as best she could.
"No…I'm sorry, Toshi, but this is the end of the line for me," she said sadly. "I…have done my part…in this operation…"
Toshinori blinked. "Operation?" He remembers that Summer was part of a secret mission, but the woman never got into the details of said mission as it was classified information. "What operation? What have you been doing over the last few weeks?" He gave another smile. "The girls have been missing you, you know."
Tears threatened to well up at the mention of her daughters. "Yang and Ruby…my regret is that I won't be able to hug them again."
Toshinori fought back his own tears. "Of-of course, you will. Don't talk like that. You're going to be okay!" His efforts were fruitless as the tears spilled over, running down his cheeks and seeping through the cracks of his failing, fake smile.
"Are you crying, Toshi?" asked Summer. She giggled gently and cups Toshinori's face with one hand. Summer barely felt the cool tears now running along her fingers and hand. "A grown man and yet still a crybaby." Summer rubbed her thumb against his cheekbone and Toshinori puts his hand over Summer's. "Toshi…may I have…a request?"
"…Yeah?" Toshinori sniffed, his voice cracking.
"…Smile for me. Please? I want to see your smile, one last time. And not your All Might smile…I want to see your smile."
Toshinori wasn't sure if he could. Summer…she's dying, and she wants him to smile. How? Tearfully, Toshinori conjured up happy memories that he had shared with Summer so he could smile for her. He remembered the night they met, and their bond only grew from there. Occasionally, they'd work together on a mission, despite their differing schedules. Soon, they started hanging out outside of work. Thanks to their civilian identities not being so well known, they were able to spend time without a fuss.
Summer was so out going compared to Toshinori, who initially wanted to keep to himself. His path as a hero, as the Symbol of Peace, was meant to be a lonely one. But she persisted on being with him, to support him. Just as she promised that fateful night. He could almost laugh when he remembered a time when Qrow joked about them dating. When he said that, Summer and Toshinori had to take a step back to look at where they are in a relationship. After some thinking, they concluded that there is love, but it wasn't romantic. The very thought of them being in such a relationship didn't seem right. The love they shared was mutual. Unconditional.
They were family.
Family enough to tease each other. Family enough to go on outings. To see each other at their respective workplace. To be present at his 'little sister's' wedding, even being her 'man of honor.' To be there for the birth of a child…
Those wonderful memories where enough to make Toshinori smile for real, but the tears continued to flow. Summer smiled back.
"There it is…that wonderful smile of yours…" she said softly, despite her vision fading. "Thank you, Toshi…thank you for being there…for encouraging me…for allowing me in your life…for walking me down the aisle… for being the brother I never had…I'm so happy…that I got to meet you…" Toshinori barely noticed a silver glow through his tears. A light gray sheen of the moonlight glistening through the tragic saline. "Please, remember…no matter where I am…I am always there…to watch over you, Tai, Qrow, the girls…everyone…So as long the stars continue to shine…I will always be your shadow…"
The light in Summer's eyes fade away as her hand slackened.
"…Alway…"
Toshinori held the now limp hand. "Summer?" Summer's dead eyes stare up at him, her smile was still present. Toshinori take her face in his hand, taking notice of the fading warmth. He could no longer keep it down as he took in a shuddering breath and let out a struggling sob. He pulled Summer's body close as he cried his heart out for the loss of his 'sister,' his cries echoing off the fallen debris surrounding him and what remains of Summer Rose, but no one was around to hear All Might mourn.
The crescent moon above, with how the stars seem to cluster together, appears to be shattering.
"When Summer died, it was like I lost Nana all over again. And it hurt just as much. Even after all these years, that pain has yet to go away. Then again, the pain of losing Nana have yet to ceased, even after decades.
I often wondered what I should have done that could have prevented her death. If I have done 'this' or 'that,' then she would still be here. A family wouldn't've had to mourn, Tai wouldn't have sunk further into his depression, and Yang and Ruby wouldn't have to grow up without a mother.
So much power, yet I still failed to save someone.
And that someone was family to me. Just like Nana.
I didn't want to feel that agony again…I didn't want to watch someone I care for die right in front of me and I can't do anything about it!
Not again…
Never again…"
Present Day…
USJ: Entrance
Ever since Tenya had managed to escape and Kurogiri disappeared, the students are left to collect themselves. Mina had since collapsed to her knees next to Thirteen, overwhelmed, and Ochako stood around, unsure of what to do next. She glances over at Mina and Satou with Thirteen. Mina was tearing up and Satou looked worn down. Likely the adrenaline is starting to fade.
Ochako feels a hand on her shoulder and sees Ren. After a nod, they head over. Thirteen stirs as they approached.
"Nngh…was he…able to escape…your…class rep…?" she managed to ask.
Ochako nodded. "Yeah. Ida was able to get out and that fog guy went away. I think he went to the plaza."
"That's…good…" Thirteen goes quiet.
While it sounded vague, Ochako figured she meant Tenya escaping was good. It was good, but…what if he's too late? What if Tenya doesn't make it in time and somebody dies? What if...what if...
Ochako struggles to fight back her tears. "No…no, don't cry, Ochako. Now's not a good time to cry…" She recalls when she told Ruby that it was okay to cry when you're upset. She chuckled despite her tears. "Something tells me that if Ruby heard me say that she would've probably told me the same thing I said to her."
"So…what now?" Sero asked Shoji. "Do we wait or fight?" Shoji doesn't answer from where he was standing, at the edge of the stairs. "Shoji?" Sero walks over to the larger classmate. He sees that Shouji looked…horrified. It was an unnerving sight, seeing how the face-covered young man seems to don't emote much. Curious, with a dash of dread, to learn what has gotten Shoji aghast, Sero looks at the direction and his eyes went wide. "Crap…Mr. Aizawa…Achillea…"
While Ochako can't see what they are looking at, she knows that things are still dire. "What should we do? Ida is on his way to the school, but every second give the villains another chance to attack. Any one of us could die at any moment. What should we do? …What should we do?"
The doors burst open, and dust picked up. Everyone stared at the now opened entrance way, quiet and frozen in place. Echoing footsteps are heard. Was it another villain? From within the plume, Ochako could see a large silhouette with what appeared to be two antennae.
"I knew something wasn't right when I was unable to contact Thirteen, Aizawa, nor Young Nikos!" a booming voice said. Ochako smiles through her tears in relief as All Might came into view. "Now, I know why…villains have somehow infiltrated a UA facility!" He clenched his teeth. "I should have listened to my gut feeling." He looks at his students all relieved to see him. "These children were probably so scared…" He looks at Thirteen. "…and my colleagues had to endure so much…"
"Don't worry. It will be okay…" All Might rips off his tie. "…because I am here!" He looks down at the plaza and sees a prone Aizawa on the ground with Roman over him. In half a second, he strikes down the villains surrounding Aizawa and pushed back Roman who was quick to land on his feet, holding on his bowler hat.
All Might gently picks up the beaten and bloody Aizawa. "His eyes and face…" He looks at Aizawa's injures. There is a gash under Aizawa's right eye and blood appears to be seeping from his eyes, although, All Might couldn't tell because blood was everywhere. "How much have you endured before I arrived…?" All Might frowned. "Aizawa, please forgive me for not being here…" He moves fast again to get Pyrrha, Izuku, and the others away from Nomu and Shigaraki.
Mineta blinked, suddenly now far from the villains. "When did…?"
"Are you kids unharmed?" All Might asked, keeping his eyes on the bad guys.
"A little shaken, but otherwise fine," Tsuyu answered.
Izuku takes notice of All Might's expression, that he wasn't smiling. In nearly every news article, video feed, or scene, All Might was always smiling. It was his way to ease the panic of the masses. To show that, 'hey, look! The Symbol of Peace is still smiling! Everything is okay!'"
But he wasn't smiling now. His pearl white teeth gnashed together in a heated snarl, the angry curl of his upper lip showing some gum. All Might was more than mad at these villains.
He was livid.
Pyrrha attempts to move but grunts in pain. At that moment, All Might's anger seems to simmer down a notch as he faced his sidekick. "Are you hurt, Young Nikos?"
Pyrrha was silent for a moment before answering. "I would be lying if I say I wasn't. It's kind of…obvious." All Might finally sees the damage on her arm.
"You must have been so scared for your life…" Yes. Pyrrha Nikos – hero Achillea, the Invincible Girl, the youngest hero who hailed from the land of ancient heroes – is a fantastic hero. There was no doubt. But, to All Might – and even Aizawa – Pyrrha was still a child. She would've just started her third year at UA if she hadn't got taken out early by the HPSC. As amazing she is, she…
Feeling his rage building again, All Might turned back to the villains. "Kids, take Aizawa and Young Nikos to safety. I'll take care of these villains."
"W-Wait, All Might!" Izuku spoke up. "These guys were here for you and that guy with the hands said something about the brain guy being made to fight and kill someone of your strength! You shouldn't fight alone!"
"Not to worry, Young Midoriya!" All Might assured. To further deter the young man's worry, he gives Izuku a peace sign and shined a smile. "I got this!" Izuku was unsure but nodded before picking up Aizawa with Tsuyu's help.
"If you want, Achillea, you can use me as a crutch~," Mineta suggested flirtatiously.
Jaune rips the white cloth around his waist. "Here. You can use this as a makeshift splint," the blonde said to Pyrrhha.
"Thank you. I appreciate the help."
"Come on!"
As soon as they were far enough, All Might attacks Nomu with a Carolina Smash. It barely fazed the Nomu. Still, All Might kept fighting.
He has to if it means everyone else gets out alive.
"Yeah, All Might! Show them what you got! Punch 'em in the balls and kick 'em in the head!" Mineta cheered.
"I'm not sure if any of that is considered heroic," Tsuyu commented.
Meanwhile, Izuku continues to worry for All Might due to knowing the truth about his waning power. "He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be fighting right now. He's probably running on fumes, like he did during that Sludge Villain Incident. He'll get hurt…he could probably die!" And the very thought of All Might, Toshinori, dying scares Izuku. Sure, it happens to everyone eventually, but…this is too soon. Too soon for Izuku to handle. He didn't know his grip on Aizawa was tightening until he heard the man groan in pain in his unconscious state. "Should I do something? If All Might were to die now, everyone could lose hope." He thinks about Ruby and her sorrow over losing Summer. "And Rose will lose another loved one…"
There was a loud crash. They look to see that All Might attempted a German suplex on Nomu. Only for Kurogiri to use his Warp Gate so Nomu doesn't hit the ground and grabbed All Might through it.
Izuku could see All Might's left side bleeding from Nomu's grip and remembers All Might's scar.
"His wound…it reopened!" After the revelation, Izuku sees Nomu trying to pull All Might through the Warp Gate. "Are they going to try to teleport with him? Hold on. It doesn't look like it. That Nomu thing looks like its gonna pull him through the other Warp Gate. So, what are they going to do?" Then, a horrifying question came to mind.
What would happen if a Warp Gate closed before someone could get all the way through?
And Izuku gets the mental image of All Might snapping in half.
"Tsu…"
"Ribbit?"
"Do you think you carry Mr. Aizawa without my help?" Izuku asked.
"Um, yeah, I can. Why?" Tsuyu replied as she takes Izuku's spot. She nearly fell when Aizawa's weight pressured on her as Izuku makes a dash to help All Might. "Midoriya!"
"Midoriya, where are you going?" Pyrrha wondered, Jaune holding her back.
"Are you crazy?!" exclaimed Mineta.
Izuku ignored them as he ran. "This can't be how it all ends. It just can't!" All Might sees Izuku coming.
"Young Midoriya? What do you think you are doing?"
Much to their horror, Kurogiri appears between Izuku and All Might, getting ready to suck Izuku into his Warp Gate.
"Oh, no!"
Then, Ruby appears in a burst of rose petals.
"Rose!?" Izuku exclaimed
Ruby beamed at him. "Midoriya!"
Then, Bakugo arrives to blast Kurogiri. "Out of the way, you two!"
"Kaachan!"
Nora and Weiss leaps in from the air. "We made it!" Nora declared.
Todoroki creates a trail of ice that creeps on Nomu's body, just stopping short before reaching All Might. "Looks like we arrived on time."
All Might free himself from Nomu's slacken grip and jumps away. He winces from his injury. Aoyama walks up beside him. "Are you alright, monsieur?"
"Ah! Yes. Thank you."
Seeing the sudden appearance of the students – as well as witnessing them singlehandedly taking down both Kurogiri and Nomu – Roman starts feeling the need to get away. He tries to make an escape only to be stopped by Weiss, pointing the tip of her rapier towards his nose.
"What the—"
"And where do you think you are going?" Weiss questioned.
"Oh, for f—"
"Don't move, bad guys!" Kirishima demanded, hardening his arms.
Roman gave an odd look. "…These kids just keep getting weirder."
All Might looks around, seeing Bakugo pinning down Kurogiri, Todoroki keeping Nomu in place with his ice, Weiss making sure that Roman doesn't escape, Nora and Kirishima in battle positions, and Ruby with Izuku.
"These kids…"
"Everyone…" Izuku muttered, teary-eyed. He looks at Ruby. "And Rose…" Ruby smiles at him. Izuku rubs away his tears to smile at her too.
Tomura stood silently.
USJ: Entrance
From on top of the stairs, Ren watched the event silently. Even from this distance, he could see Nora standing beside Kirishima as vibrant as ever. Good. At least she's okay. He turns around to his other classmates.
Tsuyu, Mineta, and Jaune have just arrived with the injured Aizawa and Pyrrha. Jaune was easing Pyrrha down to sit and Shoji has Aizawa propped on his back.
"Think you got him?" Tsuyu asked Shoji.
"Yeah. I've done this sort of thing before," Shoji replied.
"Really? Like what?"
"I helped out a neighbor who broke their leg."
Jaune checks on Pyrrha's arm and Ochako cringed at the sight.
"That looks really painful," Ochako said sympathetically.
"It's not as bad as it looks…" Pyrrha said despite her pain.
"As expected from Achillea, the Invincible Girl! Wounds like this are just mere paper cuts for heroes like her!" Mineta bragged.
Jaune, however, was serious. "Regardless of how amazing a hero she is, wounds like this are serious! She's going to have to have surgery!" Pyrrha stared at him silently, somehow touched by his worry. "I'm not sure what kind of Quirk that guy has, but it looks it could dissolve things. If a wound of this size is left alone, it could be at risk of necrosis."
"What's that?" Satou asked.
"It's the permanent death of cells," Jaune answered, inspecting the wound. "Additionally, if that is left unchecked, it can kill you in the matter of hours because of the infected blood getting into your system."
Sero's face twisted in revulsion. "I did not need to know that."
Pyrrha stared at Jaune in amazement. "You…sure know a lot about injuries, Arc."
Jaune gave a chuckle. "When you have a sister who went to medical school, you learn things over dinner with the family. That and how to treat wounds, which is a perk when you live on a farm. You'd be surprised with how helpful sewing is."
"That's actually very useful first aid knowledge. I'm impressed," Pyrrha said genuinely.
Jaune gave a lopsided smile. "I guess."
Mina walks up to them. "Hey, guys. Thirteen said that we need to get to a safer place to hide from other villains."
"Yeah? But, where?" asked Sero.
"We could just leave the building," Tsuyu suggested, pointing at the now blown out entrance.
"That might be the best solution," Pyrrha said. "Help will be arriving soon."
"What about the others?" Ochako asked.
"There's…nothing more we can do," Pyrrha said begrudgingly. "If we interfere, we may be more of a detriment than help at this point. We're going to have to have faith in All Might."
Ochako was uncertain, clearly worried for the remainder of her classmates. "…Okay."
Pyrrha worries for the students too, but also for All Might. She is among the faculty to know of his weakened state and dreads for when his time really runs out.
USJ: Central Plaza
"Unharmed and successfully captured three of my best men. Kids these days are something else," Tomura observed, strangely calm. "They make the League of Villains look weak. This is getting ridiculous. Nomu." At the command, Nomu pulls itself out of the Warp Gate, his iced limbs breaking off in the process.
Weiss, Ruby, and Aoyama recoils at the sight. Even Roman. And just when they thought it couldn't get any unsightlier, Nomu regrows the missing limbs, tendon, bones, blood vessels, and muscles reforming. Both Aoyama and Weiss turned green at the sight, the former close to vomiting.
"That's…interesting," Roman voiced.
"I thought you said that its Quirk is Shock Absorption," All Might said.
"I did. I, however, never said it was his only Quirk. He also has super-regenerative properties," Tomura revealed, relishing the moment that the heroes were taken aback by this unforeseen outcome. "Nomu was created to fight you at your 100%, after all. Now, if you don't mind, I would like our method of escape back." He sets his sights on Bakugo. "Fetch him, Nomu."
Ruby sees that Nomu is going after Bakugo and moves to save him. Sure, the guy's a jerk, but even he doesn't deserve this.
The force of Nomu's attack pushes back the other students. Weiss steadied herself by stabbing her sword in the ground. She grabs the closest person next her – Izuku – so he doesn't get blown further away. Izuku gasps when he couldn't see Bakugo where he was.
"Kaachan!"
"Bakugo!" Weiss exclaimed, seeing that Bakugo is with them.
"Whoa, you dodged that?" Kirishima asked.
Bakugo didn't answer for a second, trying to process what had happened. "…No. I didn't."
Izuku notices that they were missing one more person.
"Where's Rose?" Izuku asked. He looks around but sees no sign of her. Horror started to pool in his gut. Where is she?
"Midoriya!" Weiss exclaimed, looking at a plume of dust that wasn't there before.
Izuku looks where Weiss was referring to before he gasps at what he sees.
Ruby didn't know what happened at first. One moment, she was about to reach Bakugo to get him away from Nomu's attack. Now, she was suddenly in a strong, yet mindful, hold. She hears coughing. She looks to see that she was in All Might's arms. He had shielded her from Nomu's attack while pushing Bakugo away to safety.
"All…Might?"
All Might peers down at her. "Are you alright, Ruby?" For a moment, Ruby saw bright blue in the shadows of his eyes. For some reason, Toshinori's visage replaced All Might's.
"Y-Yeah…"
'Toshinori' smiled through the blood between his teeth before frowning at Tomura again, reverting back to the larger-than-life hero. "Children and you didn't think to hold back?"
"You do realize that these kids aren't angels? The plain-looking one tried to attack me earlier. The scar faced boy's ice severely wounded Nomu and the Schnee girl had a comrade at sword point. None of these kids, none of you heroes are real heroes," Tomura accused. "Just government approved dogs. You justify your actions as heroic because the people you fight are labeled as villains. Because people with higher power likes to enforce what they think is good and evil. What do you say to that, Symbol of Peace?"
"I'd say that you are justifying your actions because you enjoy destruction yourself," All Might responded. Tomura doesn't comment on that, though something tells Ruby that All Might spoke the truth and Tomura knew it. All Might motions her to move with him. "Let's get you back to your friends, Ruby."
"Okay." As she followed All Might, something occurred to her. "I thought the first time was an accident, when he called me by my first name. But he did it again. For as long as I knew him, he's never called me by my first name. It was always Young Rose…right?" She felt it wasn't. "Now that I think about it, when those guys said they were here to kill All Might, I was afraid, but…that fear I felt was different. It felt like that moment when I learned about what happened to Yang."
"…we've got them outnumbered. Let's—"
"No," All Might said, cutting Kirishima off. "Stand back. You kids have been through enough already. It's time that I end this."
"But—" Izuku tried to protest but All Might stopped him.
"Just get to a safe distance. I'll take it from here," All Might said. That doesn't stop Izuku worrying for All Might because of his waning time.
Even Ruby worries, but for a reason unknown to her. "All Might…" She feels off again. "Why…does it feel wrong to call him 'All Might'?"
"Kurogiri, Nomu. Kill All Might," Tomura ordered.
Kurogiri turned his yellow eyes to slits. "Of course."
"Torchwick and I will handle the kids," Tomura said.
Roman sighs. "I've already got my jacket dirty. Time to go for broke, I guess…"
"Whatever. Let's just finish this level and go home." Tomura charges at the students and Roman aims his cane at them.
"Looks like we're gonna fight after all!" Kirishima said as he readied himself, as does Weiss and Nora have their weapons ready and Weiss summoning a small glyph from her hand. Aoyama tries to back away.
Then, All Might dashed forwards, as did Nomu. Their fists clashed, creating a shock wave that pushed everyone struggled against the wave made from the barrage punches between All Might and the brain villain.
"He's fighting that thing head-on?!"
Bakugo tsked.
The students, as well as the villains, tried to move against the turbulence of the battle so that they could aide their respective allies, but to no avail. Even Kurogiri could get in close. The fist fight raged on as the two muscled bound opponents try one up another. Nomu manages to land a hit on All Might's injured side, making the man stagger, but only slightly as the man continued with the fight.
As it went, Ruby watched, her eyes fixated on...All Might?
Suddenly, her memories started to shift around. Memories containing Toshinori were replaced with All Might and memories containing All Might were replaced by Toshinori and then vice versa. Such a shift in imagery went back and forth, back and forth, All Might and Toshinori, All Might and Toshinori...soon, the images of the men started to meld together.
Then, a long forgotten memory surfaces.
She could almost hear her mother's voice...
"Look who's here to see you, Ruby."
There stood All Might, clad in his Silver Age costume, his cape flowing with the breeze. As the man turned, his muscle bound image was changed to the willowy frame of Toshinori Yagi.
"It's All Might!" All Might? That can't be right. He's Toshinori, Uncle Toshi.
The man laughed just like All Might.
Toshinori pointed his thumb at himself. "Please! Call me Toshi!" He was suddenly replaced with All Might. "I am you're uncle after all!"
"Didn't All Might mention shock absorption?" Weiss wondered.
Ruby gasped at the question, finally out of her confused stupor. "There's probably a limit to how much it could take! My sister has a similar Quirk and there's only so much she could handle!"
"…Rose, I think you're right!" Izuku said. "Even though that thing was made to fight All Might, there has to be a limit to how much it could take!"
They continue to watch the epic battle between All Might and Nomu until All Might delivered a Plus Ultra punch that sends Nomu flying through the ceiling, leaving a large hole from the impact and Nomu disappeared into the sky.
"Whoa…that was incredible…" Kirishima marveled.
Nora jumped up and down. "That was awesome! Uh. Aoyama?" The shining blonde shook on weak legs threatening to collapse to his knees.
"I thought we were about to die…"
Weiss looks up the hole. "That was amazing," she said in awe. She looks at Izuku and Ruby and notices their pensive looks.
All Might let out a cough. "You've lost, villains. I believe it's time that you give in."
Tomura stares at the hole in the ceiling. He was quiet and frozen on the spot as his eyes are glued to the accidental sky light, almost as if he was expecting Nomu to fall back down. But, it doesn't happen.
"…no…No. No, no, no, no, no! My Nomu! This isn't supposed to happen! You cheated!" Tomura ranted, throwing a tantrum like a child. Such an attitude gave Weiss a new perspective.
"Is this what I sounded like?" she asked, visibly unnerved.
"Do you want the nice answer or honest answer?" Nora asked.
Tomura continued to fume. "He's not weak. Not weak at all! I better not have been lied to!"
"What's the matter?" All Might challenged. Tomura gasps. "Didn't you say that you were going to kill me and finish this level? Then, what are you waiting for?"
Weiss turns to her classmates. "It looks like he got this handled. Let's go meet up with everyone else."
"Yeah. You're right," Kirishima nodded. Seeing that everything is okay, the group head for the stairs. Except for Izuku. He remained where he stood. Ruby was the first to notice and stopped. Weiss saw this and looked at Ruby curiously.
"Rose?"
Kirishima took notice as well. "Huh? Hey, Rose, Midoriya! Come on! All Might has this handled!"
But, he was bluffing.
Izuku knew that All Might was bluffing. The man has no more energy to exude. Smoke was hiding it well, but Izuku's keen eyes could tell. There was steam coming off the man, meaning that he's about to revert to his true form any minute now.
Still, the man stood tall, triumphant and strong. Though a bluff, All Might could still give of the presence of intimidation to strike fear into the hearts of villainy.
And it worked.
Tomura actually seemed afraid.
Kurogiri, however, wasn't going to let that happen. "Do not fret, Tomura. Look. He is, indeed, weak. He's alone and our comrades are coming to. If we strike now, the Symbol of Peace will be no more."
The mist man's words seem to reach Tomura. "…You're right…Let's strike now while we have the chance!" Tomura moves to attack.
Izuku uses One for All in his legs to leap in.
"Midoriya!" Ruby exclaimed.
Izuku ignored the now broken bones in his legs. "Thanks to Arc, I was able to use One for All with minimal damage. But the effect of his Quirk had long since went away and he's with Tsu and Mineta! But that's okay! As long as I can give one hit at that mist guy's brace, it's fine!"
A Warp Gate appears in front of Izuku. In bullet time, Izuku saw Tomura's handing coming through, and Ruby was beside him using Petal Burst, getting ready to grab him, hopefully before Tomura does.
Then, a bullet strikes Tomura's hand. The man yelped in pain as he retreated his hand and Ruby and Izuku land on the ground.
"They're here!" All Might declared.
Up at the top of the stairs stood the teachers of UA High, all ready to face the criminals. And among the pros was one Tenya Ida.
"I'm sorry for the wait, but I have returned with reinforcement!" the boy announced.
The newly awakened thugs pathetically try to fight back only to be quickly overwhelmed by the power and number of pro heroes. From damaged eardrums from Hizashi's loud 'YEEEAAAH!' – which was extra painful for the villains after the man saw the state Aizawa was in – to Qrow turning into a giant crow which seems much bigger than before. Realizing that they were boned, the villains tried to flee, only to be caught up by Ozpin's barriers.
Tomura growled in anger as he held his bleeding hand. "Damn it! They're here. It is game over. Let's get out of—" He gets shot by Snipe and Kurogiri was threatened to be sucked in by the now conscious Thirteen again. Kurogiri uses his mist to redirect Snipe's bullets from Tomura.
"Hurry! Grab Tomura and get in!" the mist man said to Roman urgently.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it!" Roman said. He picks up Tomura. "You're paying for my dry cleaning." Before the orange-haired man entered Kurogiri's Warp Gate, Roman makes a side glance at Ruby, who got up on her knees, watching them diligently. "…Maybe next time."
Tomura glares at All Might as he and Roman submerge in the black fog. "Enjoy your borrowed time, All Might. I will kill you. Count on it!"
His declaration practically echoed as they and the mist disappeared.
Ruby sighs, feeling that they were no longer in danger. Izuku groans from the pain of his now broken legs.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku struggled to get up onto his elbows. "…I was…no help…no help at all."
"No, Midoriya," Ruby disagreed, placing comforting hands on his shoulders. "You did the best you could."
"…She's right." Izuku raises his head to look at All Might. More smoke has formed around the man as he looked half transformed. "You've managed to buy me a few crucial seconds. Consider this the second time you've saved me, Young Midoriya."
Hearing such amazing words brought more tears in Izuku's eyes. "All Might…"
All Might/Toshinori smiles at him.
Ruby blinked, staring blankly at the blonde man. "…Um…"
All Might and Izuku made a surprised noise.
"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" Izuku panicked. "I forgot! Rose is there too! She's going to know about All Might's secret!"
All Might/Toshinori and Ruby were still, the former afraid that moving would cause him to spontaneously poof back into his true form fully and the latter just eyeing him. The man could almost see the gears in Ruby's head turning as she stared at his, slightly slack jawed.
"Hey!" Ruby looks to see Kirishima coming over. "Midoriya, Rose!"
Izuku screams in his head.
Ruby rises to her feet and moves towards Kirishima's direction with her hands out.
"Wait, Kirishima!" she exclaimed. Kirishima stops and looks at her curiously, almost like a confused puppy, as Ruby quickly thinks up of an excuse. "Um, can you check on Jaune for me? Arc? I haven't seen him since we got warped around the USJ."
Kirishima blinked. "Oh. Yeah, sure. As long as you keep an eye on Midoriya. It looks like he busted his bones again."
"Of course," Ruby nodded.
Kirishima nodded back. "Alright. See you guys out!"
As soon as Kirishima was gone, Ruby returns to Izuku and the now weak formed Toshinori as Cementoss summoned up a wall of earth.
Toshinori flops down to the ground with a sigh. He moves his gaze at his youngest niece. He mustered up a watery smile. "Hey, Ruby." Reaching for an item attached to his belt, he hands out Rozuiro towards Ruby.
"I am here with your goggles. Like I promised."
USJ: Outside
Once all of the remaining villains were reprimanded, the students emerged from the USJ unscathed, much to each other's relief.
"Weiss!"
Weiss turns to see Momo, her dark grey eyes shining with tears. Upon seeing her friend is safe, Weiss did the same. "…Momo." With no second thoughts, the two share a hug. Momo sniffs as tear droplets rolled down her cheeks.
"I was so worried that I wasn't going to see you again and that our last conversation would be an argument!" Momo cried. Guilt comes over Weiss when she heard this.
"…I'm sorry." Upon her apology, Weiss starts to cry too. "I'm so sorry for how I've been acting. It was my fault for being a…a…"
"Bitchy?" Hagakure chimed.
Weiss sniffs. "Yeah. That."
Bakugo, being the tough guy he likes to be, wasn't exactly moved. Kirishima, on the other hand, starts tearing up like the girls.
"Seriously?" Bakugo said.
Weiss wipes away her tears as she and Momo let go. The heiress notices Jiro looking at her. The rockstar girl was staring at her expectedly, which Weiss isn't surprised about.
She took in a deep breath and looked at Jiro in the eye. "I know that an 'I'm sorry' is not going suffice." Weiss then start to look at everyone else, as she started to speak to them as well. "Until I could find something more suitable, I hope that you all could be patient with me."
Much to her relief, Jiro gives a soft smile. "It's a start." Weiss gave a tiny smile at that. It went away when she saw Bakugo, looking up at the USJ building. Something about the guy still didn't seat right with Weiss, but she decided to not dwell on it. She looks around, looking for a certain girl with a red hood.
"Where's Rose?" Weiss asked.
"She's at the infirmary, I think," Ochako answered.
"What? What happened? Is she okay?" Weiss asked.
Ochako nodded frantically. "Yeah. She just went there to accompany Deku and All Might."
"Shouldn't they be at an actual hospital instead?" Jiro questioned.
"Perhaps," Ozpin said as he walked up. "But their injuries weren't anything like Thirteen, Eraser Head, or Achillea." The man smiles to himself. "That and Recovery Girl requested it." He turns to the students. "You children had a long day. It's time to return to the school."
UA High School: Infirmary
"Okay. So, let me get this straight," Ruby said. She was seating on a stool in the nurse's office, facing Toshinori and Izuku, both laying in the two beds. Izuku's legs and Toshinori's wound is still in the process of healing. Due to his massive height, Toshinori's feet laid over the foot railing. "You are All Might."
"Yes," Toshinori confirmed, staring at the ceiling. Izuku, lying in the bed beside him, looked uneasy.
"And All Might is you."
"Yes."
"And you had this amazing Quirk that you gave to Midoriya, so he could become a hero?" Ruby continued.
"You are correct," Toshinori replied. Izuku suddenly sits up.
"I'm sorry, Rose!" he exclaimed, making Ruby and Toshinori twitch. "For keeping this secret from you!" Izuku lies back down, sore.
Toshinori sits up. "Ruby, please don't be made at Young Midoriya. I didn't want anyone else to know about this, especially the nature of One for All."
"…Did she know? My mom. Did she know about…all of this?" Ruby asked.
"Before her death, I was already separating my civilian identity from my hero identity, but only the people I am close to knows about me being both. This…" He referred to his emaciated appearance. "…happened after she died. About six years ago."
Ruby's brows raised. "…You're accident…"
Toshinori nodded. "As for One for All…She died not knowing the truth about it." Izuku remembered their conversation back before school started, when Izuku wanted to tell Ruby about One for All, but Toshinori didn't out of fear that she would be in danger. It seemed that he wanted to do the same for Summer. "I can understand if you don't forgive me for keeping you in the dark like this. I just…I didn't want to risk putting you in danger." He scoffed a mirthless laugh. "A lot of good that did."
"…No. No, I…I think I understand. I mean, I don't know what its like to be the number one hero or have such a unique Quirk, but I can imagine that it's very stressful," Ruby said. "So, I should really thank you. For telling me this. At least I now understand why you'd be gone."
"I'm sorry for that, Ruby," Toshinori said, visibly ashamed.
"Hey, I thought we already been through this," Ruby grinned.
Toshinori could help but grin back. He huffed a breathless chuckle as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Heh…Ruby…you are so much like your mother…I definitely don't deserve your forgiveness. I should be on my hands and knees, begging for it."
"You don't have to go that far."
Izuku notices Toshinori's mouth curve down to a frown. "All Might?"
"I…I think that my time limit had shortened," the man said as Izuku sat up. Izuku gasped.
"Time limit?" Ruby asked.
"It's the amount of time I can sustain my muscle form. Before what happened at the USJ, I had three hours a day," Toshinori explained. "But now…I could only hope that I can hold my muscle form for an hour." Ruby looks down at her newly fixed goggles. The lens shined from the light of the afternoon sun.
"I'm sorry," both she and Izuku said. They look at each other. Even Toshinori and Recovery Girl stared in mild surprise.
"Okay, don't go double teaming me. Yeesh, was this how Tai felt when Summer and I did that? I didn't realize how freaky that is," Toshinori said. Ruby and Izuku giggled. Recovery Girl smiled at the sight. She'll save the lengthy scolding for Toshinori later. The door opens and Naomasa Tsukauchi came in.
"Pardon for the intrusion," the officer said, taking off his fedora.
Toshinori coughed up a bit of blood. "Tsukauchi? I didn't know you were chosen for this investigation."
"Ah! All Might, is it alright for him to here?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah. He's another associate who knows about One for All."
"Judging how you casually mentioned your Quirk in front of your niece, I take it that she knows now?" Tsukauchi asked, seeing Ruby.
The blonde gaze at his niece. "That's right," Toshinori smiled. Ruby beamed brightly.
"I see," Tsukauchi grinned. "I'll get out of your hair once I could get as much information on the USJ attack from you three."
"Hold on. Before that, can you tell me that all of the students are okay? And Thirteen, Ai-Eraser Head, and Youn-Achillea?" Toshinori asked.
"The only student injury is this one right here," Tsukauchi points his pen at Izuku, "…and the other three are in stable conditions."
Toshinori gave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
"It was all thanks to you and the other pros. Those kids wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you."
Toshinori shook his head. "On the contrary, those villains made a mistake trying to attack these students. They fought just as hard as we did, and they succeeded. These kids are an amazing bunch. They'll becoming amazing heroes one day."
Izuku and Ruby exchanged smiles.
Xiao Long-Rose House: Yang's Room
Yang's room was pretty much like any other teen's room of her age. Vanity-desk, multiple pictures of friends and family, posters of boybands, one being the Achieve Men, and yellow and orange fairy lights. Similarly, to Ruby's dominantly red colored room, Yang's was various shades of yellow with some oranges and browns and maybe a little bit of purple. Yang is curled up on her double-sized bed, on top of her yellow comforter, thinking and not thinking at the same time. When she isn't, she keeps getting an odd feeling, the same type of feeling she get when something is going on with Ruby - is her big sister sense acting up? Why? Ruby should be fine. Fine without her...She has Mirio and that Midoriya kid after all...
When she is - thinking that is - her thoughts often lead to Blake, sometimes even imagining her laying in the double bed with her.
Yang turns to see the box containing her new arm, again reminding her of what she could gain back, but also what she lost.
She rises up, seating slouched and her glazed gaze on the dark hardwood floor, barely noticing her orange/brown rug. It's been two months now, why can't her head clear up from the experience? Why can't she just brush it off. Yang looks down at the stump of an arm.
She wonders if she could ever a hero again…
Then, Yang starts to overhear her father talking outside of her room. She couldn't hear another voice, so she figured he was talking on his phone. At first, Yang didn't care who he was talking to…that is until she picked up Ruby's name along with the word's 'attack' and 'villains.' Yang gets up and exits her room. She sees Tai talking on his phone, pacing around the second floor.
"…okay…you and Ruby stay safe and tell Ruby to call me when you're about to drop her off…be careful out there, Qrow," Tai hangs up and sighs, taking in deep breaths. Yang knows that the man does this to calm himself down.
"Dad? What happened? Is Ruby okay?" Yang asked.
"…Before I say anything else, Ruby is fine. Maybe a little rattled, but otherwise unharmed," Tai said. "There was an attack at the USJ, but Ruby and her classmates got out okay. Well, except for one, but Ruby told me that he's fine as well."
That eased Yang's nerves. "…that's good…Is she on her way home?"
"Not yet. She and some of her friends are staying after school to wait until the injured kid healed. Qrow is with them so he could take them home."
Yang leans on the doorframe of her room. She looks at the box before turning her eyes on Tai.
"Dad?" Tai pauses just as he was about descend the stairs. "Do you think that Ruby still likes beef stroganoff?"
Tai smiled. "Of course, she does. But she doesn't like it when I make it. She likes it when you cook it, though."
"Hm…" Yang looks at the box again.
Unknown Location: Street
/ ...Lucky, all of the students came out of the incident unscathed. / a news reporter said. A report about the USJ incident was being playing at an electronics store, on the display televisions. A few passersby stopped to listen in. After all, it's not everyday when there are villains bold enough - or dumb enough - to attack a UA High School facility. One person dressed in a purple hoodie and carrying a duffle bag watched, her golden eyes watching like a curious cat. Her cat ears - hidden in the hood that covers her long black hair too - twitched and her long feline tail swished left to right.
The person - Blake Belladonna - was walking by when she heard that a UA building was attacked and stopped to listen, deeply hoping that a certain girl with silver eyes is okay. She watched the feed, her interesting piquing when she finally saw Ruby climbing into an ambulance, uninjured and likely accompanying someone. Seeing enough, Blake walks away, her ankle boot heels clicking against the side walk.
"As long as Ruby is okay..."
Now, she can focus on the current matter. Blake halts when she sees a girl with a long ponytail that curled like a chameleon. Blake hides in a nearby alleyway before the girl noticed her.
Keeping her distance from Adam and the White Fang.
UA High School: Front Gate
Night has fallen when Izuku exited the school. He made his way to the gate as he spoke on the phone.
"I'm on my way home right now."
/ Will you be alright walking by yourself? / asked Inko, concerned for his safety.
"You don't have to worry, Mom, because I won't be alone!" Waiting for him from the other side of the main gate was Ruby Rose, Tenya Ida, and Ochako Uraraka. Accompanying them was Qrow Branwen.
"Ready to go, kid?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah!" Izuku nodded.
"Alright. Let's get you kids home." Qrow transforms, morphing into his Twice Giant Crow form. "Hop on and hold on tight."
"Yessir!" Tenya exclaimed.
"I've never ridden on a giant bird before! This is so cool!" Ochako squealed with glee.
Before they head on their way for the night, Ruby and Izuku exchanged glances. Both were happy. Happy to be alive, happy to be safe… Izuku was happy that Ruby knows about OfA and Ruby was thrilled to be a part of the secret circle of sorts.
Once all the kids were on board, Qrow takes flight into the starry night air.
And a flurry of white rose petals flutter by.
They see me rise when all hope seems lost~
Don't be afraid, I exclaim from the rooftops~
Because I am here~
So many battles, I have been tested~
I've never failed, never have been bested~
No evil will draw near~
Because I am here~
('One for All' – Divide Music)
I can't help but chuckle how all this craziness happened in their first week of school! Barely freshman and Class 1-A had to fight for their lives!
There was no way that I could describe the All Might v Nomu in great detail. Like, the scene in the anime and manga was just…perfection.
It's just occurred to me that this Nomu essentially has a similar Quirk to Yang. The only difference is that Yang converts it into strength. I'm not sure if it's the same for Nomu. The thing was already hellishly strong when Aizawa erased its Quirks, Shock Absorption and Super-Regeneration.
Lastly, Ruby is now in on it. The One for All party. Pretty much the only ones in the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen household to even know about both of All Might's secrets is Qrow and now Ruby. Tai doesn't know about OfA and Yang doesn't know about either. As for Zwei…maybe?
For that one scene with Tai and Yang, I could have picked any other dish, but as of me writing this, I'm about to have beef stroganoff for dinner. Thank you, Russia, for this dish! I like food...
And yes, Blake also has a tail!
This arc will officially conclude tomorrow!