Chapter 5: Who's Being Helped Here?!
On the bus ride to the Unforeseen Situation Joint, or USJ for short, Ochako felt her phone vibrate. Turning it on, she found a cryptic text from Tomura that read, Don't get excited.
She considered asking why, but she didn't want anyone to see the text, so she turned her phone off. Once they arrived, All Might wasn't there as he was supposed to, but a pro hero dressed up as an astronaut greeted them. Ochako thought, No way, it's really him, No. 13! He looks as cool as on TV! It's amazing how he uses his Black Hole Quirk, especially with his level of control! Wonder what he could teach us today…
Before they could start rescue practice, Shouta pointed out the presence of an ominously familiar black mist forming several meters towards the center of the dome. A man in a black jumpsuit, Tomura, with disembodied hands grasping onto his upper body and head was the first to emerge, and several dozen villains quickly followed. Among them were the Anti-Symbol of Peace, Noumu, and the man behind the sudden appearance of villains, Kurogiri. So this is what you meant in your text, Ochako thought. Having seen Tomura's fondness with a disembodied hand he called 'Father,' she was certain that the rest of the hands were more than simple props. Probably victims of his Quirk.
Shouta wasted no time in leaping into the fray, knocking out villains left and right while slowly working his way towards the apparent leader, while No. 13 stayed behind to protect the class. Kurogiri used Shouta's separation from the group as an opportunity to discreetly warp directly towards the group. He thought, Shigaraki wants evidence that Uraraka's loyal to us? Let me test her myself! Externally, he told them, "Our primary objective is to kill All Might, but seeing as he is absent, you will have to do."
Two students, a blond boy wearing mostly black with an orange 'x' across his sleeveless shirt and grenade-shaped bracers on his arms and a red-haired boy who wore a black mask that only highlighted the edge of his face, red cogs on his shoulders, and black pants with a waist cape with a red "R" on the front, and dark red boots, charged at Kurogiri, the former unleashing an explosion from his palm that nearly hit Kurogiri's physical body. He muttered, "That was close." These two must be Katsuki Bakugou and Eijiro Kirishima.
He teleported as many of the students as he could to the various zones. He was capable of using Ochako's descriptions as a vague understanding of who they were and their individual Quirks and thus sending them to places they would be weak in, but he restrained himself from doing so. I believe what she says is true, but I shouldn't give them the idea that we have inside information. For example, she told me that the green-haired girl, Tsuyu Asui, has frog powers, which I shouldn't have known otherwise. If I sent her to the fire dome, then the heroes would suspect a double agent in Class 1-A, which we can't have. With luck, his work seemed random enough for detectives to not consider that line of thought, and when he closed his warp gates, he saw that No. 13, Ochako, and five other students remained. Despite his being a few meters away, they shouted their plans for Tenya's escape, with Ochako taking charge of their strategy. They must either be confoundedly cocky or confoundedly stupid to think that I can't hear them.
Meanwhile, Tomura intensely watched Shouta fight from a distance, trying to pick out any sort of telegraphed action that he could take advantage of. His hair only rises up while he's moving. It falls when he's catching his breath. The time when it's down is steadily increasing, so he MUST be tired. Time to strike! He rushed towards Shouta, hoping to disintegrate him. Shouta elbowed him in the stomach, but he was too slow in pulling back. Tomura caught his other elbow and clamped it with an iron grip. Cloth, skin, and muscle crumbled away. Shouta felt as if his arm was an ignited pile of dry hay, beginning from a small ember only to rapidly grow into a ravenous fire. He successfully pulled away, only to back into Noumu. Shouta tried to use his Erasure Quirk to negate the creature's powers, but it quickly pummeled him into submission solely through its innate brute strength.
The students were too scared to approach Kurogiri, letting him face No. 13 alone. The hero came close to revealing his physical body, his weak point, with the use of his Black Hole Quirk, but one of his warp gates turned No. 13's attack against him. The hero's costume and pieces of his back were torn away, and he fell unconscious due to the pain. After a moment of hesitation, Tenya bolted towards the exit. Kurogiri attempted to stop him, but a six-webbed-armed student known as Mezou Shouji dispelled the mist before it could accumulate into a warp gate. Kurogiri lunged at Tenya, but he didn't notice someone grab his metal neck guards. However, he recognized the voice.
"If you're wearing this, then you must have a real body!" Ochako already knew this fact, having met him in person, but she acted like she didn't know. She flung him to the ceiling and shouted, "Now, Iida! Get All Might here as fast as you can!" while keeping an eye on Kurogiri, who was then grabbed by the tape of Hanta Sero and hurled farther away.
Tenya responded, "Got it!" before forcing the doors of USJ open and escaping. Ochako, still maintaining eye contact with Kurogiri, gave a visible nod.
At that moment, Kurogiri understood Ochako's actions. She believes in our ability to kill All Might?! Before he warped to Tomura, he examined some of the students he warped. Ochako's descriptions of her classmates were correct. Well, perhaps this will compel Shigaraki to start trusting her. He warped back to Tomura. "Tomura Shiragaki," he stated.
The young man responded, "Kurogiri, how's No. 13? Is he dead?"
"No, he's only incapacitated. I was able to warp away all but six students, and one escaped due to a girl who made me float away."
Upon hearing what seemed to be an act of treason, Tomura grit his teeth and furiously scratched at his throat, and he muttered, "Really… The first chance I get, she's dust. I'd do the same to you, but you're our 'escape button' so to say. We're leaving. Game over." He started to walk away towards the central plaza., looking around while doing so.
"The girl wanted to get All Might here as soon as possible, and he should already be on his way."
Tomura stopped in his tracks. "Really? Well, that changes things." He spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, and turning his head to the right, he saw two boys and one girl, one boy having purple hair with balls on the top and the other two having green hair. That green-haired boy, is that the kid Uraraka's been going on about? He's supposed to be All Might's successor? A wicked smile developed underneath 'Father' as Tomura announced, "Well, let's greet him with the sight of several dead students."
Without any other warning, Tomura pounced at the three students, aiming for the one on his left. I'll take you out before your 'boss fight.' That's to say, before you become a nuisance to me, Deku!
No matter how hard he tried, Izuku's body wouldn't listen to him. He was denied even the reflex of closing his eyes as the hand that would spell certain death for him closed in. C'mon, body. Work! When Kacchan was trapped by the slime villain, I sprung into action without thinking, but now, I can't do anything to save myself. All Might, I failed you…
By the time he felt all five of Tomura's fingers grasp his head, Izuku already accepted death. Much to everyone's surprise, there was no sign of damage on Izuku's head.
Tomura, without letting go or looking back, muttered, "Y'know Eraserhead, you're pretty cool." Despite being several times stronger, Noumu had relented enough for Shouta to raise his head and use his Erasure Quirk on Tomura. Sensing its master's displeasure, it planted Shouta's face into the ground, stopping his Quirk.
Finding the will to take action, Izuku balled his right hand into a fist. I have to act now! If I don't, Mr. Aizawa would've saved me for nothing! As he swung at the villain, Izuku screamed, "Get away from me!"
Tomura pulled away, leaping back. As Izuku screamed, Tomura faintly whispered, "Noumu."
Although his opponent dodged, Izuku's fist made contact… with the stomach of Noumu. It seemed to completely shrug off his punch, and Noumu trapped his arm in its giant grasp. The courage Izuku mustered dissipated as easily as loose dust, which he would have undoubtedly become without any intervention. Tomura taunted him, saying "Such force. If you had the chance to grow, maybe you could follow in All Might's footsteps and become the next Symbol of Peace when he steps down." He slowly extended his hand towards Izuku's head, enjoying the sight of Izuku's shrinking pupils and trembling head. "Such a shame that you're being offed so soon."
The doors behind Ochako burst open, causing Tomura to stop what he was doing and look. The dust concealed all but a silhouette of the man responsible, giving away his muscular physique, his immense size, and his signature V-shaped locks of hair. That must be him, Ochako thought. To the joy of the other students, All Might entered the building. A furious expression was plastered on his face in place of his signature smile that symbolized safety. Instead of sensing a calming presence, Ochako felt dreadful doubt, intimidated even. C-can Noumu really beat him?
All Might spoke, "Aizawa, No. 13, you did well in protecting the students to the pest of your ability. Allow me to step in. Villains! Have fear…" In rage, he tore his tie off his neck. "For I am here!"
As All Might rushed towards the center, he knocked out the minor villains in his path with ease. He rescued the students and Shouta before the villains could recover, knocking 'Father' off of Tomura, who stumbled off reaching for the hand. As he held it, he thought, All Might's fast, faster than I could react, but he's still not nearly as fast as I thought. He truely is getting weaker. Perfect! He'll be no match against Noumu.
All Might then attempted to defeat Tomura with a cross chop, otherwise known as his signature Carolina Smash. However, Noumu came in and absorbed the blow before beginning to fight him. The No. 1 superhero and the bioengineered monstrosity were evenly matched, intercepting each other's fists with their own, until All Might suplexed Noumu into the ground. However, Kurogiri created a warp gate on the ground between where Noumu landed and directly underneath All Might, giving it the opportunity to attack All Might's old wound and quickly reversing the tides of the battle.
As pain consumed All Might's senses, he nearly passed out, which would've left him in the fatal hands of his enemies. Luck was on the side of peace and justice, however, as Shouto Todoroki froze the right side of Noumu's body, causing it to crumble off, Katsuki Bakugou pinned down Kurogiri under his explosive gauntlets, and Eijiro Kirishima nearly succeeded in attacking Tomura, who took a step back.
Noumu let its right side crumble off from the sheer cold and quickly regenerated, and it knocked back All Might with another punch when it aimed at Katsuki so Kurogiri would be released. Tomura attempted to attack the students while All Might was still reeling from the blow, but the hero leapt back into the fray, colliding with Noumu once more, and the two initiated their last brawl.
Despite being several meters from the fight, Ochako could still feel the wind pressure from the collision of Noumu's and All Might's fists. As the two engaged in rapid-fire fisticuffs, the hero slowly pushed Noumu back, and in a matter of seconds, it was flung back. All Might continued his assault, sending Noumu skyward only to slam it into the ground. Giving all his might and more, he roared, "PLUS ULLLTRAAAAAAAA!" and smote Noumu, the creature made to counter and kill him, and sent it through the half-meter-thick fiberglass dome of USJ and into the stratosphere.
As the students around Ochako cheered, she silently stood still, mortified by the outcome. She thought, Sensei fought him in his prime?! I-I can't even imagine going up against someone like him!
Ashido Mina noticed her silence and asked her, "Shocked by All Might's power, huh? Well, who could blame you? After all, that fight was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"
Ochako replied, slightly surprised, "Y-yeah. I didn't expect him to have so much strength." You're wrong, Mina. I'm not just shocked, I'm outright terrified. No wonder his presence lowered the crime rate in Japan. Is All Might weakened at all?
Tomura seethed with anger. "That. Was. My. Noumu!" He's hasn't lost any power at all! Did Sensei lie to me? He and Kurogiri rushed towards All Might, only for Izuku to lunge at them, winding up a punch. "Kurogiri," he whispered. He stuck his right hand into a warp gate, leaving it at the prime position to grasp Izuku's face. He may have defeated Noumu, but he's definitely exhausted. Now, all he can do is watch as his successor dies trying to save him! I can't wait to see that gaudy grin wiped off his face! Instead of Izuku's head, Tomura's hand caught a bullet in its side, sinking into the muscle. More bullets were shot into his legs, causing him to collapse. At the entrance to USJ stood Tenya and a line of teachers, with Snipe, who wore a cowboy getup and a gas mask, holding the smoking gun. "Crap. The pro heroes are here. Kurogiri, we have to leave. All Might, I will kill you one day!"
Kurogiri responded, "Agreed. I'll take us back to the ba-!"
He was interrupted by the immense pull of No. 13's Black Holes. However, the hero was too far to stop him completely. Right before they escaped into the warp gate, Tomura glared at Izuku and whispered, "That goes double for you, kid." Thus, the two villains managed to escape with their lives, leaving all their thugs and mooks to be captured by the heroes.
The TV monitor in the bar was on, and on the other side of the screen, Sensei was waiting patiently for Tomura and Kurogiri. Once they returned, Tomura spoke. "Sensei… we failed to kill All Might. We lost Noumu. If only I had gotten my hands on him!"
Sensei replied, "Don't be so hard on yourself. It's your first time doing one of these mass-scale operations. You're bound to make mistakes. However, if you want to improve, learn from your mistakes so they don't become a problem again."
Kurogiri then explained his side of the battle. "I took the liberty of examining the students I warped before I teleported back to Shigaraki, and to my surprise, they fit Ochako's description almost perfectly."
Tomura asked, "Wait, so she was telling the truth all along?"
"Yes. In fact, she had the idea of getting All Might there immediately, giving us time to fight him before the rest of the pro heroes could arrive. Despite our attack on her classmates, she truly believed that we could've killed All Might." He got a text. "Hold on. Let me read this." The message was sent from Ochako, and Kurogiri read, "It's only been a month since school started, and you're already trying to kill my classmates? At least give me a better warning next time. I'll be there in a while. The police will want to question me."
"It appears that Ochako is loyal after all," Sensei declared.
Tomura replied, "Well, we'll have to wait until she gets here. If she tries anything fishy, she's dead."
…
A few hours later, Ochako was warped into the bar. She saw Tomura, who was wearing 'Father' on his face, bandaged up in the places where he was shot. "Snipe got you good, huh."
"Shut up."
On the TV screen, Sensei appeared. He said, "Ochako, I've heard about your part in the USJ attack, and I'm glad to see that you are still on our side. You even managed to communicate your intentions to Kurogiri without letting your classmates know."
Blushing from the praise, Ochako replied, "W-well, I suppose I see you all as family. you're like another dad to me, Kurogiri's a caring uncle, and Tomura's…" intentionally dragging the third name as she bore a wide grin.
"Don't you dare finish that statement, Uraraka."
"Like a little brother with how he acts."
Tomura growled, "Go to hell," prompting Ochako to burst out into laughter.
Kurogiri interrupted them, laid out two plates of curry rice, and said, "Speaking of family, Ochako, Shigaraki, dinner's ready." Kurogiri would eat his food later, as he did not like others staring at his face. In fact, he was very secretive about himself, having not told Tomura his actual name. Sensei was the only one who knew, as Kurogiri had his death faked so he could disappear from society.
Ochako responded, "No thanks, Kurogiri. I already ate back ho-" when her stomach growled, betraying her.
Kurogiri sighed. "Ochako, I know you're not going to like this, but I've visited your apartment a few times while you were at school. I've seen your fridge. You had nothing in there for the past three days! You've been saving money, but you're not feeding yourself? At least eat what I have here for you, please."
"But-"
Sensei interrupted her. "Kurogiri's right. You can't grow stronger if your body lacks the nutrients it needs. You need to eat, especially when the U.A. sport tournament's so soon."
"It is?!"
"Yes," replied Kurogiri. "That's why I'm asking you to come eat here every night so you have energy."
Ochako pondered for a moment. Sure, I told myself that I wouldn't be a burden to anyone, but they're like family to me. How can I deny their help? If I want to stand out at the festival, I need to develop both my Quirk and my physical body! "Sure, we can do that," she said as she sat down and started eating.
"While you're eating, I would like to discuss All Might," Sensei declared. "The truth is, Ochako, that All Might's Quirk is named One for All, and he is the eighth person to receive this Quirk."
"S-so All Might didn't have it to begin with?!"
"No. One for All is a combination of a power-stockpiling Quirk and a Quirk that could only be passed on to others. It was created when I gave my brother the former in the hopes that he would become one of my most valuable pawns. I thought he was Quirkless, so I never expected his innate Quirk, the latter, to merge with the one he received. From that day on, he and his successors, each one stronger than the one before thanks to One for All, pledged themselves to defeating me once and for all. Five years ago, I tried to take that Quirk away from its then most recent owner, All Might. He was unconscious and had a hole ripped through his body, and I attempted to use my Quirk, All for One, to take it back. For several seconds, I held his face, but I failed to retrieve it. It was then that I learned that One for All cannot be taken away, only given away. In that moment of realization, he woke up, and my face was never the same since."
Tomura spoke up, having food in his mouth. "Yeah, but he doesn't seem any weaker."
"He doesn't seem weaker, but he has worked less and less as the months go on. In addition, if he were still at his prime, Noumu would've been decimated the moment it exchanged fists with him. Therefore, I know that he is weakened. In fact, I believe that he had already found himself a successor to One for All."
Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Ochako exclaimed, "You don't mean-"
"Yes. I believe that Izuku Midoriya is his successor, and soon he and Tomura will battle in our places."
Tomura pounded the bar counter in anger, "I would've killed him thrice over if I hadn't been stopped by those damn heroes!"
"Enough, Tomura. Now, let us all get some sleep. Today was an exhausting day for you three."
After the TV monitor shut off, Sensei walked pass giant tubes containing four artificial humans, second best compared to the Anti-Symbol of Peace. In front of him were three seats, one for him to sit in and the other two facing towards the first. Two boys who couldn't be much older than Ochako sat in the chairs, restrained by the same Quirk-inhibiting equipment the police use to arrest Quirk users. One had the ability to extend his fingers to ludicrous lengths, while the other had crimson bat wings. Both were trembling as Sensei sat down in front of them, despite him telling them that he would not kill them and that they would be given immense power in exchange for their unwavering obedience to his orders. Sensei thought, Of course, I'll to turn them into Noumus after this, but I'm not techically lying. After clearing his throat, Sensei gave them one order.
"Now, tell me what you know about Katsuki Bakugou."
A/N: Hello, fellows! I don't have much to say about this story right now, but I'm thinking of uploading the Fire Emblem Heroes story that I have up on AO3 here, as well as another story from the same game that will be simultaneously uploaded to both sites. Sound good?