Chapter 5
The Key Wielder

"Villains?! No way!"

"What villains be dumb enough to sneak into a school for heroes?!"

The keyblade wielder frowned. The number of villains kept on growing in numbers. It was like an endless parade of villains. Finally, a creature stepped out from the portal. A large humanoid monster—its brain exposed for the world to see. Sure, she has seen unnatural creatures from the Darkness and sometimes they were beyond scary, but something about that humanoid monster was making her feel uneasy. She never knew something could be compared to the Darkside.

"Teacher, what about the trespasser sensors?"

Thirteen glanced over her shoulder. "We have them, of course, but…"

"Did they only appear here, or around the whole school… Either way, if the sensors are not responding that means they have someone with a quirk that can block them." Todoroki took a few steps forward, his eyes looking over the villains crowding the plaza.

"What?" Kaminari turned his head sharply towards the boy' direction. "No way! So, we can't contact the school with our phones too?!" he yelled in panic.

Jirou took out her phone from her pocket. "Seems like it…" she gripped her phone tighter when she saw there were no bars.

"This place is far from the main campus and they picked a time when a class is supposed to be here. They're not as dumb as they seem." The bi-color haired boy continued. A thin layer of frost began to show on the boy's right hand. "This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind…" He finished.

Mineta noticed the coldness radiating from the bi-color haired boy. "A—Are you kidding?! We can't fight them! We're only students!" he shouted in panic.

"Calm down, will ya?" Hikari grabbed the boy by his cape to stop him from running around in panic. She didn't blame him. Compared to her, everyone wasn't experienced enough to handle these sorts of things. She has faced a lot and facing these villains mean nothing to her. She was used to Heartless popping left and right to ambush her—not to mention all those villains that tried to get their hands on her keyblade. Her classmates have never faced anything like this, she guessed.

Hagakure held Hikari's hand. "What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice quiet and despite being invincible, the keyblade wielder noticed that she was pretty shaken.

"It's alright—Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen are here. They'll know what to do." Hikari reassured, giving the girl's gloved hand a reassuring squeeze.

"But—But they can't handle all of those villains!" Mineta cried, pointing his finger in the direction of the plaza.

"Shut up, you fucking baby!" Bakugou yelled at him—instantly shutting up the short boy. The ash-blond turned to look at the villains, a wide grin spreading across his face as his hands began to crackle. "I'm going to be the top hero and I'll start with beating the shit out of these villains!" he made a move to step forward.

Hikari reached her hand out. "Wait, Bakugou—" despite going off on the wrong foot, she hates to see if anything were to happen to him and her new classmates. No matter how strong and powerful Bakugou's quirk is, she doubts that he was experienced enough to handle it all.

"Didn't I tell you not to move? All of you stand back." Aizawa stretched his arm out, blocking Bakugou from taking another step further. He could hear the ask-blond click his tongue, but he obliged his order. Despite his students' panic, never once did he avert his attention from the villains—afraid that if he did, the villains would make a move to attack the students. "Kaminari. Try using your quirk to signal for help." He ordered.

Although afraid, Kaminari followed his teacher's orders. "Y—Yes, sir!" he quickly pressed his hand on his earpiece, trying to contact the school.

Aizawa gave a nod. "Thirteen, begin evacuation and try calling the school too. Just like what Todoroki said, one of these villains with a radio-wave-type power must be jamming the sensors." He ordered.

"Yes." The woman in the space suit nodded her head. She began ushering the students closest to her out towards the exit. "Let's go."

Midoriya gulped. "But Mr. Aizawa, you can't fight them all alone!" he was scared. Anyone in their case would be too, but he can't just leave his teacher alone to fight by himself against all of those villains. He was easily outnumbered. If his teacher allows it—even though he himself is scared—he would gladly help out with the power All Might gave him. "Against that many… you can't nullify all their quirks! Eraserhead's fighting style involves erasure and a quick binding capture. A head on battle isn't…"

"You can't become a hero with just one trick."

The green-haired boy froze.

Aizawa prepared himself to jump. "I'll leave it to you, Thirteen."

"Of course."

Hikari watched the man leap off from the edge, his scarf flying around him wildly. She went closer to the stairs with Midoriya, looking down to the plaza with amazement when Aizawa already defeated a couple of those thugs. The villains—from what she observed—seemed to underestimate Aizawa's abilities. They all stride with confidence when they first walk inside the plaza, but now they all seem to be shaken by Aizawa's unexpected powers.

"Mr. Aizawa is actually good at fighting by himself against a lot of people…" Midoriya mumbled under his breath.

"As expected of a pro hero." The keyblade wielder grinned.

"This is no time for analysis!" The two of them turned their attention to Iida. All of their classmates had begun to run except the both of them who were still watching their teacher's fight. "Hurry up and evacuate!"

"Y—Yes!" Midoriya turned around to leave. "Let's go, Leonhart."

"Wait." Hikari took a few steps back and raised her arms and a faint silhouette of a flower and a goat were seen. In a burst of warm light, two Spirits appeared before their eyes. "Wheeflower, Yoggy, help Mr. Aizawa in any way you can." She instructed and both Spirits gave chirps and a snort, nodding their heads.

Midoriya stared at the two animals. "Amazing…" he had seen Hikari use her quirk in class when she created that cat-dog creature, but he has never seen it up close. She told him that she could also 'borrow' her Spirits powers and use them as her own. Her quirk was still a mystery to him—it was something new and the description she gave was still not enough to fully explain the workings of her quirk. "Ah—!" he took a step back when Yoogy Ram's horn emitted fire.

The keyblade wielder quickly sends both her Spirits to the plaza. "I know Mr. Aizawa is capable of handling things on his own, but I can't help but worry." She explained to him as the two of them watched the Spirits run down the flight of stairs—reaching Aizawa's side in no time. "They'll act as support and help him in any way they can." She patted his shoulder and began to run towards the others.

"Your quirk… Do you have one that can help us contact the school?" Midoriya asked.

"No… I don't…" Hikari sighed and she could see the slight worry in Midoriya's eyes. She looked over her shoulder to where the battle was occurring between her teacher and the swarm of villains. Her gaze averted to her classmates, running ahead of her.

"Greetings." Both Midoriya and Hikari turned their heads in the direction of the disembodied voice. A large black smoke appeared right in front of the group, blocking their only way of escape. Instinctively, Hikari stood in front of the fear-stricken boy, shielding him with her own body. "We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of heroes, UA High School. In order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath." the black mist spoke.

"H—Huh?" Midoriya gasped, his eyes widened when he heard that the League of Villains were after All Might.

The villain's eyes looked over the group of students, watching them all cower in fear at his words. "We were under the impression that All Might Would be here today but… It seems his schedule was revised." The black mist began to waver, spreading widely across to prevent any escape route. "No matter… my role still remains unchanged."

"Wait, you two!" Thirteen called out to both Kirishima and Bakugou, who acted without her permission.

There was an explosion and a cloud of smoke covered the area.

Hikari coughed, fanning her hand in front of her face.

"We'll end you first!"

"Betcha didn't see that coming!"

The keyblade wielder heard both Bakugou and Kirishima's taunts from inside the smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared, she could see everything and her eyes narrowed at the black mist as it began to form once more. She was sure both Kirishima and Bakugou landed a direct hit—she heard a loud clang against metal.

"That was close… Students though you may be, you are still far away from being heroes." The black mist began to expand in size, covering them all.

"My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"

The last Hikari heard was the voice of the class rep's frantic call.

The next thing Hikari knew was the sudden rise of temperature around her. She stood up, observing her surroundings. The mist villain had teleported her to a city covered in flames, but the city itself was weird. There was fire all around her and yet not a single sound as well. The missing sound of sirens and lack of a single form of life made her think this wasn't a real one. One of the simulation zones, the Conflagration Zone, to be precise.

"Ack!" A yelp was heard from behind her. The brunette turned around and saw one of her classmates, the one with the tail, falling out of the black portal. "Ouch…" he groaned in pain, rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" Hikari asked as she went over to help him. She hasn't remembered all of her classmates' names yet, though she does remember each of their faces. "Umm Shouji, right?" She offered a hand to help.

The blond boy chuckled nervously, "It's actually Ojiro, Ojiro Mashirao." He corrected while taking her helping hand.

"Right! Ojiro. Sorry, sorry." Hikari apologized sheepishly for mixing up the names.

"It's fine." Ojiro brushed it off with a smile. He tilted his head when he saw Hikari take out her phone from one of her pouches. "Isn't all of the signals down?" he asked as he took a few steps closer.

Hikari pressed her phone close to her ear, waiting for an answer from the other line. "We just have to wait and see." she replied. She decided to call UA's administry office, since she believed they were always ready to answer calls. She gave up when it gave her a disconnected tone. "Looks like the whole school's signals are down…" she sighed.

Ojiro looked down in worry. "We just need to find the guy disturbing the signals, but how do we find him?" he wondered, a hand on his chin as his tail moved side to side.

Hikari pressed the phone to her ear again, this time trying a different number. Screw causing questions and suspicious, her classmates' safety comes first.

"Leonhart, I don't think it's going to work—"

"Hello?" a voice answered from the other end.

Ojiro's jaw dropped, staring at the brunette in disbelief. "It works?!"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Tsukauchi!" Hikari greeted the man. Her classmate just gapped at her, staring at her with wide eyes. He urged her to inform whoever was on the other line to call for other pro heroes to help with the situation. "This might sound crazy and all, but UA is under attack by villains! All signals are down and we have no way of contacting the school! If you can, please send help quickly!" she summarized.

Tsukauchi seemed to be baffled by the sudden dump of info. "Hold on, hold on… Villains? In UA?"

Ojiro decided to join to help convince the man. "You have to believe us, sir! We tried to contact the school, but it looks like someone is blocking the signals here." he added. He took a deep breath before explaining the situation again. "We were supposed to have class with Mr. Aizawa, Thirteen and All Might, but the villains suddenly appeared."

"Hey, you brats!" a loud voice startled them.

The two teens turned around and their eyes widened at the number of villains in front of them.

"Mr. Tsukauchi… We need to go…" Hikari lowered the phone.

"Ms. Leonhart? Ms. Leonhart, wait! Don't end the call—-"

One of the villains smirked as she prepared for an attack. "Welcome to hell."

The villains taunted the two teens, jeering and mocking them with all kinds of insults. From a normal perspective, it was obvious who would win the fight. 26 Villains VS 2 Students? Surely the students were outnumbered by a longshot and surely they would lose.

Ojiro inched back further, whispering, "Leonhart, we need to hide." He placed his hand on her shoulder, urging her to follow his lead.

Hikari glanced to look at Ojiro, debating whether to follow him or just take the villains head on. She took a step back and they both ran away from the villains. She doubts Ojiro was the type to leave a friend behind and she learned her lesson with Shinsou. Right now, her top priority was escorting her classmate to a safe location. She could deal with the villains after.

Her eyes looked around, doing a quick analysis of her surroundings. "Ojiro! Turn right there!" she pointed to the intersection of the fake city.

"Do you have a plan?" Ojiro asked, briefly glancing over his shoulder to look at the brunette. He also saw a glimpse of the hoard of villains chasing after them.

The brunette smirked. "Sorta."

A villain cackled when he saw the two kids turning at the corner. "You kids think you can run away from us?!" He thought it was funny to see the wannabe-heroes scraper like cowards. He turned at the corner, blades in hand. "It's no use running—!"

The villain didn't even finish his sentence when something huge rammed into him and another villain—sending them both flying a few feet away.

"What the hell?!" The villains stared at the attacker with wide eyes.

It was a colorful lion with the two kids sitting on its back. The villains were quite taken aback judging from their looks. They were sure the Conflagration Zone was clear of any pro heroes, but then again—it could be one of the kids' quirk.

A loud and powerful roar came from the lion before it charged at them.

Instinctively, they all jumped out of the way.

"What are you idiots doing?! You're letting them get away!" a villain shouted when he saw the lion and the two kids were heading straight towards the exit. They all quickly try to chase after the lion, but they were left behind in the dust.

Ojiro glanced over his shoulder. "We ditched them!" he smiled in triumph. He yelped when he almost fell off the lion due to the speed. A hand quickly steadied his position and pulled him closer to avoid any falling. "Thanks." he sighed in relief.

Hikari flashed him a smile. "Hang on tight." she said and held onto Ojiro hand tightly when Aura Lion pounced on the door, forcefully opening the double doors with a loud bang. The lion stayed still as his summoner glanced around, trying to figure out their next move. "Should we head on over to the plaza?" she suggested.

The blond behind her blinked. "Isn't that the place where Mr. Aizawa is at?" he asked before something whizzed past them. The two of them turned to look behind them and found the villains catching up to them. One of them had thrown a shuriken at them, but missed. "We better decide quickly!" he shouted.

Hikari gave a pat on the lion's side. "To the plaza it is! Let's go!"

As soon as she gave the go, the lion ran again with the villains chasing after them.

It didn't take long for them to reach the plaza.

"What… what's going on?" Ojiro's voice seems to waver.

As soon as they were near, Hikari's eyes widened at the sight before them. From the distance, she could see the humanoid monster standing above their injured teacher. There was a pool of blood beneath the poor man. Despite his injuries, he seemed to be raising his head while the monster was trying to hold him down. In another scene, to their left, their classmates were held hostage by the hand-man.

"Ojiro," Hikari called to the boy sitting behind her. She called his name once again, snapping him away from his trail of thoughts. "I'll go ahead first. You go with Aura and get Midoriya and the others to safety." she instructed as she crouched on the lion's back.

Ojiro looked confused, glancing back and forth between the sight in front of him and his classmate. "What are you planning?! You can't fight against that thing!"

Hikari gave him a reassuring look. "I'll be fine. And you'll be fine too." she said with a small smile. "Aura will take care of all of you!" she grabbed the extendable staff from her utility belt and threw it upwards.

"Wait—!"

The brunette teleported to the air, catching the staff as well. As she was in the air, she got a clear view on what was going on in the plaza. She drew her hand back as far as she could and threw the staff in the direction of the humanoid monster.

Shigaraki Tomura hummed as he looked back at the immobilized pro hero. Even though his arms were broken and his head smashed to the floor, the guy still managed to still have the strength to raise his head to activate his quirk. He has to admit, Eraserhead was a really cool pro hero.

"You really are a cool guy, Eraserhead…." Shigaraki grinned and with a wave of his finger, Nomu tightened its grip on Aizawa's head.

But before Nomu could even smash Aizawa's head to the floor again, something kicked it out of the field with full force.

Shigaraki's eyes were as wide as plates when he saw his precious Nomu getting thrown back. It was a girl. A little girl who managed to hit Nomu back with a single kick at that. She kneeled by Aizawa's side, placing her hand over him and did his eyes deceive him? The broken bones, the cuts and bruises were all healed. Even from where he stood, he saw everything.

"That brat." Shigaraki remembered. There was a similar flower creature thing with the same ability. It was tailing Eraserhead and giving him boosts and healing whenever his minions scratch him. He had Nomu take out the pesky animals first before going after the hero. "I need a healer in my party too."

Midoriya snapped his attention to the blue-haired man when he heard him say he needed a healer. Was he thinking of kidnaping his classmate because of her quirk? He couldn't allow that to happen. He pulled Asui further away from the blue-haired man. He has to think of a plan. How could he save his classmates?

Shigaraki turned his attention to his right when he heard loud and heavy footsteps. He clicked his tongue and jumped out of the way as a colorful lion made its way towards him. There was someone riding it, a blond boy with a tail.

"Don't just stand there! Get on!" Ojiro shouted as he reached out his hand to help his friends up onto the lion's back. He helped Asui first and he froze when he saw the hand-man suddenly run towards them–his hand stretched out. "Shit—!" He quickly pulled Midoriya up.

Aura Lion picked Mineta up by his cape and it leaped forward, dodging Shigaraki's hand. It ran towards the stairs, taking the teens to safety and as far away as possible from the villains.

"Gyaaaaa!" Mineta shrieked as the lion dodged attacks from left and right aimed at them.

"Thank you, Ojiro-chan!" Asui croaked, a sigh of relief escaping her lips.

"That was a close call…" Midoriya sighed. "Thank you, Ojiro."

Ojiro shook his head. "Don't thank me. This guy is Leonhart's." he said. He turned to look at the brunette who was beside their teacher. "Speaking of Leonhart…"

Hikari made sure to heal every major injury Aizawa has first before moving on to the smaller ones. Though Aizawa's injuries were mostly healed, the man ran out of energy. She carefully pulled him up and placed his arm over her shoulders, supporting the poor man.

"L…eon…hart…" Aizawa grunted. He tried to stand by himself, but stumbled over the lack of energy. "Stand… back…" It was the last thing he said before passing out.

"Don't worry. I'll take it from here." Hikari slid her arms under his knees and carried him up with ease. She adjusted the position to a more comfortable one as she summoned Kooma Panda to assist her. She carefully placed Aizawa into Kooma Panda's arms and instructed it to take her teacher to safety. "I'll leave him to you, buddy." she patted the panda's arm before it bounced away.

"How confident are you, little girl? To face all of us alone?" A villain sneered. "Don't make us laugh!"

The villains Ojiro and Hikari ditched also gathered at the plaza.

Hikari narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, hey," Shigaraki came in between the villains. "I don't want that one dead. I need her alive. She's a healer. We need a healer." he pointed his finger at her.

The brunette extended staff and lowered herself to a fighting stance. When the villains charged at her, she stood her ground and dodged the first punch. She ducked down and jabbed a man using her elbow. She tilted her head to the right and avoided a punch. She grabbed the woman's arm and tossed her over her shoulder, throwing her to another villain.

She swung her metal staff to block a sword and she quickly hooked her leg on the man's leg, tripping him down. She stretched her hand out and a tiny spark appeared. In a blink of an eye, fire burst out from the palm of her hands, startling a few villains.

"She has a fire quirk?! I thought she's a healer?!" The villains were definitely caught off guard by the abilities the wielder has. He blinked when Hikari tossed her staff up and point-warped, making two villains charging at her slam into each other instead. She reappeared behind him, landing a roundhouse kick.

"Something's off–" Shigaraki scratched his neck. He couldn't believe a mere high-school student was able to kick Nomu and also hold her ground against so many villains. Of course, these villains were low-class, but they won in number. She should easily be outnumbered and scared. He finds it odd. The girl's eyes show more experience than most pros have. "She's no ordinary kid." he continued to pick at his neck, his nails grazing the dry skin.

"Shigaraki Tomura."

"Kurogiri." Shigaraki glanced to look at the black mist forming beside him. "Did you take care of Thirteen?" he asked.

"I have incapacitated her. However, there were some students I couldn't warp away. One of them escaped." Kurogiri reported.

"Great. Just great!" Shigaraki began to scratch his neck more roughly. "Kurogiri, I'd turn you to dust if you weren't our ticket out of here." He muttered.

His blood red eyes looked up and landed on the brunette fighting his minions. He stared for a moment and he finally stopped scratching. "Kurogiri… change of plans. If that Symbol of Peace is not coming here, we're taking her with us."

Kurogiri turned to look at his ward, before turning his attention to the girl. If he could comment, he would say she was on par with Eraserhead's combat. Such strength and will. She would indeed be a thorn in the League of Villains' future plans. "Is there something specific about that girl that piqued your interest, Shigaraki Tomura?"

"She's a healer."

"Healing quirks are rare indeed. Very well, Shigaraki Tomura, I shall abide by your request." The black mist seemed to nod his head.

Hikari averted her gaze when she spotted the mist man return to the hand-man's side. From the corner of her eyes she saw the man's mist near her. Was he thinking of teleporting her somewhere else? She frowned at the thought. They might be thinking of separating her from the plaza so they could head straight for the others. Without her, the line of defense would disappear.

She raised her hand and casted Aeroga. The villains looked confused when they suddenly felt wind blowing around them. They were indoors and it was impossible for such a strong gust of wind to suddenly appear. As seconds passed, a whirlwind appeared in the middle of the plaza, dragging the villains inside the vortex.

"Ugh!" Kurogiri backed off when he felt his mist getting pulled along inside the vortex.

'Fira—' Hikari stopped herself from casting Fira. At first she wanted to make an elemental reaction by combining wind and fire, but decided to stop her plan. She was used to dealing with Heartless, she almost forgot she was dealing with humans. They were villains, but still humans nonetheless. She used her staff to trip the man beside her, making him get sucked into the vortex. "That'll teach you not to mess with me!" she casted the vortex away, making it burst and send the villains flying.

Shigaraki frowned. Not just weird animals and healing, but now fire and wind too? "Hey, little girl." He took a few steps forward, addressing the brunette. "You're not a normal kid. Just how many quirks do you have?"

The League of Villains needed a healer, but recruiting this little girl would be a difficult task if she was this strong-willed. It was better to kill her off and steal her quirk instead.

Hikari raised her hand. "Would you like to find out for yourself?" she said with a warning. She stood where she was, keeping her distance with the two villains. "League of Villains, was it? Was it you who told that stink breath to steal my id card?" she asked, referring to the Toxic Haze.

The blue-haired man hummed. "Now I remember who you are." he mused as he raised his hand to scratch his neck lightly. "That guy was an embarrassment—to be defeated by a cocky little brat like you. And here I thought he was supposed to be the best." he gave an exasperated sigh.

"You picked the wrong person to mess with, that's for sure." Hikari took a step forward.

The black mist narrowed his eyes as his mist expanded. "A healer you may be, but you will indeed grow into a bigger thorn in our future, therefore I cannot let you live."

Shigaraki cackled. "But don't worry, little girl. We'll put your quirk into good use."

Hikari positioned herself into a fighting stance, preparing for defense.

"Nomu."

In breakneck speed, the monster appeared beside her. The monster called Nomu raised its arm. As it slammed its fist down, Hikari dodged the attack. She activated Flow Motion and maneuvered her way behind the creature. Her staff hit the monster's torso and it didn't even flinch. It turned around, swinging its arm to knock the brunette away. She quickly raised her staff and blocked the attack. It sent her back flying a few feet.

Hikari skidded to a stop, staring at the dent on the metal staff.

Shigaraki spread his arms wide. "What do you think? Nomu has Shock Absorption. It's strong and unbeatable. The perfect weapon to kill All Might! All Might won't stand a chance and neither will you!" he boasted.

Nomu charged at Hikari at full speed.

The keyblade wielder tossed the broken staff to the side and jumped back, avoiding the monster's hand. She raised her hand as light gathered in her palm. She closed her fingers around the light and her keyblade appeared.

Shigaraki's eyes widened. "What?!" Along with Kurogiri, they were both surprised.

Hikari charged low and swung her keyblade across Nomu's stomach. Nomu let out a screech before it countered the attack. It raised it's fist and aimed for her head. She activated Flow Motion again. She hooked the blade of her keyblade around the monster's stomach and spun around before hurling it towards the direction of Shigaraki and Kurogiri. Both villains dodged the Nomu, their eyes still trailing her moves.

"This brat is making things more complicated!" Shigaraki began to scratch and scratch his neck, frustration evident in his voice.

"How did UA manage to get a keyblade?" Kurogiri wondered, still shocked at the sight of a wielder before their very eyes. It looked like a sword, but he knows a keyblade when he sees one. A key wielder. The very one Master was looking for.

Hikari raised her head. "You know about the keyblade?" she asked, still not lowering her guard down. If it was possible, she kept her guard up even more now. "How?" she continued asking, trying to dig information.

Her only link to more information about Xehanort was through this villain.

"Great… Now I can't kill you. That's so annoying. So, so annoying!" Shigaraki ignored her questions and kept on mumbling under his breath. From the start, he just couldn't seem to make up his mind on what to do with the little girl. She was a healer. They need a healer. She was strong. They don't need a strong-willed hero brat. She was a wielder. They need a wielder. "Kurogiri! Nomu! Get her! Don't let her get away!"

Was it anger? Fear?

At Shigaraki's command, Nomu returned and attacked the wielder continuously. She dodged and countered the attacks. It wasn't just Shigaraki and Kurogiri, but Nomu as well. She felt that they were moving faster now, a hint of urgency in their attacks. It was almost as if play time was over.

The black mist spread widely, surrounding her. "Child, I suggest you cooperate and don't make this anymore difficult."

Hikari raised her keyblade, pointing it upwards and a gush of wind appeared. It was the same spell she used to send away the villains flying. "Hah! Nice try. Who in their right mind would do that?" she jumped and the vortex boosted her jump, catapulting her up high into the air.

She knocked Nomu into the air and teleported right above it. She knocked it back down with the keyblade and dived down, slashing groundward. The last attack seemed to immobilize the Nomu as it just stayed still. As soon as she dispelled the vortex, Shigaraki jumped right at her. She took a step back to avoid his hand.

"Traitor. Why are you with UA?" Shigaraki hissed.

Hikari grabbed his wrist, directing his attack past her. "Who said that I was on your side?" she furrowed her brows. A million thoughts ran through her head. "Whatever you're talking about I don't understand!" she honestly doesn't.

"Then let me spell it out to you!" Shigaraki lunged at her again. She moved back and swung her keyblade at him as he narrowly avoided the blade. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, a pinky raised to avoid activating his quirk. "Maybe you've forgotten the promise, but we've been waiting for years for the key wielder to show up."

The brunette didn't move and just stared at the man's piercing red eyes. She could've pull her hand back, but she needed to know what he was talking about.

"Master would be pleased to know you finally showed yourself. If you come quietly, I'll be happy to look over the fact you joined UA and betrayed the League." Shigaraki loosened his grip slightly when he saw that the wielder was listening.

The corner of Hikari's lips twitched up. "Hah? Right after you almost murdered my teacher and threatened my classmates? Yeah right!" She pulled her hand away and twisted around, delivering a kick.

"Tch." Shigaraki clicked his tongue as he skidded to a stop. He rubbed his arm, at the spot where Hikari kicked him. He has raised his arm just in time to block the attack.

"Tell your Master that I'm not interested." Hikari declared. "Whatever he's planning, I'll put an end to it!"

Shigaraki scratched his neck. "It wasn't an invitation, girly. You are coming with us one way or another."

"Leonhart!"

The brunette turned her head towards the boy who called her name.

The blue-haired man grinned at the realization. "Ah… Perhaps the only way to convince you is through your own friends." Heroes were so predictable. They would always put others before themselves and it was the best bait to capture the wielder. "Nomu, kill the boy."

Both Hikari and Nomu raced each other to Midoriya.

"Midoriya!"

Midoriya's eyes widened when the monster appeared right beside him, it's fist drawn back. He brought his arms up to protect himself from the punch. He didn't feel immense pain, rather the hit was quite light. He soon realized that it was Leonhart who pushed him out of the way to safety. He watched in horror as Nomu punched her right in the stomach—sending her flying back.

"Leonhart!" Midoriya turned to look at the direction Hikari had landed. He saw her move, pushing herself up despite the pain.

The sword she dropped earlier disappeared in a bright light.

"Y—You! How could you!" Midoriya glared at the villain shakily. He was afraid, but a hero should never show his fears in front of his enemies. Leonhart did her best to protect him and everyone. He would do the same as well.

Shigaraki exhaled a deep breath as he walked towards where the brunette was, ignoring the green-haired boy. "She's still alive. That's good."

"I… I won't let you get away with this!" Midoriya ran after Shigaraki with his fist drawn back. "Get away from her!"

"Nomu."

Midoriya's fist collided against something hard, but his arm didn't break like it would whenever he used One For All. Did he actually do it? Did he actually manage to control his new quirk? The color from his face drained when the smoke cleared and the monster loomed over his much smaller form.

"Quite a move you just pulled there… And with a smash too. Are you a fan of All Might?" Shigaraki didn't even bat an eyelash. He knew the kid was no match for his Nomu. He proceeds on his way towards the wielder, leaving the kid for Nomu to handle. "Well, whatever."

Hikari raised her hand as it glowed a soft white light, aiming to cast a barrier to protect Midoriya from Nomu's attacks.

BAM

The brunette raised her chin up to the direction where she had heard of the loud noise.

"Fear not."

Footsteps echoed in the silence.

"For I am here."

There, atop of the stairs, stood Earth's mightiest hero.

All Might.