"Nah," The two heroes turned to Ryoko. "They're probably expecting All Might to break the door down or for Endeavor to burn his way inside. We need to do something that will catch them off guard so that way when All Might does smash the wall in, they're not expecting it."
"Then what do we do?"
Ryoko looks up at All Might. He can see the smirk on her face and the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Hey, go knock on the door and say you're a pizza guy." For a brief moment, Ryoko doubted All Might would do it. Then a police officer walked to the front door and knocked, followed by All Might smashing through the wall.
Ryoko was practically on the ground and in tears from laughing so hard. Endeavor looked down at her. "Stand up, you fool!"
She does as told, pointing at the hole in the wall. "I am taking that to my grave!"
Wiping tears from the corner of her eye, her and her boss watched as Kamui Woods, Gran Torino, and Edgeshot joined All Might inside the villains hideout. Ryoko was smiling, watching through the hole in the wall. Endeavor was complaining.
"Tsukauchi, why does Edgeshot get to rush into the fight while I'm stuck here with you?!"
"And me!" Ryoko says, hand waving as she smiles at her boss.
"Because if someone slips out, we'll need you to capture them immediately."
Ryoko knew her boss didn't like to take orders from others, let alone let someone else rush into the fight and stay on the sidelines. Still, she continued to smile. "Just be patient, you're still gonna get some glory for being a part of this." She laughs, turning to look back at the building. Instead, her line of sight was blocked by a massive creature, stepping out of a swirling black mass. Her eyes go wide, realizing the creature to be the same as the ones they fought in Hosu City. Nomus, creatures designed and created for the League.
She could hear Endeavor shouting something at her and she ducks, avoiding his shot of flames as they hit the creature in front of her. She stands back up, immediately turning around to see numerous other Nomus in the area. All of them appearing out of the same black mass. She doesn't have much time to think as she immediately goes on the offense, aiming to protect the police officers. Endeavor and herself both go about attacking the Nomus with fire, seeing as the officers and their bullets were doing little to no damage.
Endeavor calls for Tsukauchi to evacuate the area as Ryoko's hand reaches out and wills some of Endeavor's flames to her. She steals some from his suit. Having done so for years, she wasn't even sure if he noticed it anymore. She forces it into her whip, turning and flicking her hand at one of the creatures. The whip wraps around it's neck and she yanks her hand back, the creature gagging before collapsing.
She turns around, using her whip to hit another Nomu. It's attention turned from an officer to Ryoko. She flicks the whip again, having it wrap around his arm. She twists her hand, grasping the whip tightly before she wills the flames larger. As she does, she can hear Kamui Woods call for help. No one gives him an answer, Endeavor continuing to attack with his flames while Ryoko kicked at the Nomu she had. The kicks weren't doing much, but it helped to push it back towards Endeavor. He turns and sees the creatures, immediately bringing his hand up to shoot flames at it. Ryoko releases the whip's hold on it before she turns to another Nomu.
She uses the whip to smack the Nomu in its head, it letting out a cry as it does. Ryoko turns, her whip's flames changing and shifting into a katana. She grips it firmly in her hands, the Nomu encircling her. She swings, aiming for one's head, slicing it clean off its shoulders before she turns, bringing the katana down and slashing at another. Feet shifting and turning again, she brings the katana up by her face. She lunges forward, driving it into the body of another Nomu.
Red hair flies as Ryoko turns her head, an explosion occurring in the building. Numerous more Nomus flew out of the building. The redhead could only roll her eyes as she pulled the flaming katana out of the body of the Nomu.
"More of them?" Endeavor calls, continuing to use his flames on them. Ryoko wills her katana to grow, shifting into a double ended sword. She uses her empty hand, causing it to spin, sparks and flames shooting off of it and attacking the Nomu. "I thought we were supposed to have a handle on these?!"
"Jeanist isn't answering me anymore. It's possible they failed at the Nomu factory!" Ryoko's head turns, cursing under her breath before she turns back to the Nomu before it, shoving one end into it's exposed brain.
"This is putting a lot of stress on my power."
"Ditto!" Ryoko calls, kicking the Nomu off of her flame sword.
"Endeavor!" Both heroes turn, seeing All Might standing in the hole in the wall. Ryoko clenches her jaw when she hears him cough, but she continues to turn and slash another creature. "Are you keeping up?"
"Does it look like I'm having any trouble?" The hero spats, gesturing to the Nomu lying on the ground. Ryoko turns, slicing two more Nomu across their throats as she does, before she faces Endeavor, a hand coming up to push a strand of hair out of her face.
"I'm at eleven, I'll have both of you boys know,"
"Worry about your own responsibilities, you fool!" Ryoko wanted to make a joke about how if Endeavor calls you fool, then you know he cares, but now didn't seem the best time.
Endeavor turns, shooting his flames into the sky to attack two flying Nomu. "If you're going to go after them, now's the time."
Ryoko stabs one more Nomu with her blades, letting it fall to the ground as she turns to look up at All Might. "Go on ahead!" She calls, her sword shifting into a small Phoenix who flew up and landed on her shoulder. "We've got it here." She smiles, bringing a hand up to give him a thumbs up. As she did, the Phoenix raised a wing in solidarity. He gives her a small smile before he turns and takes off. Ryoko turns, watching him leave before she turns back to the situation at hand.
She moves her shoulder, the Phoenix using the movement to take flight. It flew above one of the Nomus before it dived downwards, engulfing the entire creature in flames. She pivots, bringing her hand up before she pretends she's throwing something. As she does, the flames surrounding the Nomu retract, shifting back into a Phoenix to fly past Ryoko. It aims for another Nomu, engulfing this one as well. Ryoko smirks as she reaches her hand out, taking more of Endeavor's flames and converting it into a whip again.
Endeavor simply looks over his shoulder to look at Ryoko. She's grinning, twirling the whip as a Nomu burns behind her. She brings the weapon up, it zooming past Endeavor's head as it wraps around another Nomu's arm. She yanks and causes the Nomu to tumble towards Endeavor, who quickly burns this one's head. The motions continue, Ryoko using her whip to aid Endeavor in burning Nomus, all while the flaming Phoenix flies from creature to creature and burns them.
She yanks yet another Nomu towards Endeavor. As she does, she hears a large explosion behind her. Her head whips around, staring into the distance of where the sound came from. Ryoko's heart began to race, her breathing becoming quicker as her eyes started to go wide. She takes a deep breath, twisting her body and beginning to run. As she does, she releases the whip, it disappearing into the sky as embers, the Phoenix following suit as Ryoko released her control.
She can hear her boss calling her name but it sounded like he was cities away. All she could truly hear was her heart beat pounding in her ears. Ryoko ran, masses upon masses of people running in the opposite direction of her. It made sense - who would run towards an explosion? It only made Ryoko's task more difficult. Trying to squeeze past terrified people, she was being squished. But then she remembered.
"Move! Pro Hero! Move!" As she shouted, the sea of people began to part. It didn't clear her way, but it made everything easier. She knew she was getting close, the people disappearing. Rocks and rubble appeared on her left, her eyes being pulled towards it. Ryoko turns and began to climb up the mountain of rubble. Using her hands, she's pulling herself up and up and finally, she reaches the top. And she freezes.
Kamino Ward was flatten. There was a massive crater below where Ryoko stood. Her chest shuttered as she released a breath. There stood her boyfriend. Skinny and beaten and bloodied and hollow. His hero outfit was torn and bloodied, hanging off of his body. There was a man in a black suit, wires and metal encasing his head, though it appeared it had been smashed in. She could hear footsteps behind her. None of that mattered. All that mattered was the man down there, bruised and bloodied.
All Might turned, a massive wave of fire directly aimed at All For One. Due to his numerous quirks, with a simple wave of his arm, the flames disappear. That didn't matter, for when All For One dispersed the flames, another large burst came through. He waved his arm again, the flames shifting away from him again. As the flames disappeared, All Might could see the flash of red and black as Ryoko aimed to punch All For One. He easily dodged, causing Ryoko to turn and aim a kick.
The flames that the villain dispersed were called back to Ryo almost as soon as he did so. By the time she regained both of her footing after the kick, the flames were wrapped around her body again. The flames shift to a whip and with one flick of her wrist, the whip is snapped and it's wrapped around All For One's neck. The villain reaches up towards his neck, gripping at the flaming whip. As he does, Ryoko wills the rest of the flames to him. It shifts to a Phoenix, one of the largest she had ever created. It flew into the sky, a large screech being released as it spread its wings. It covered the night sky, so large in size that the news helicopter almost couldn't capture all of it in the shot. Then, the large mass of fire that the creature made up, descended on All For One, burning as hot as Ryoko could make it.
It was taking everything out of her. She had already used her quirk against the Nomus and could feel just how overheated she truly was. But she couldn't stop, she had to push through. She couldn't think about how wet her hair was becoming with her sweat, or that her hands ached under the fire, or that the damn news helicopter was watching her every move.
With one of his many quirks, the flames disappeared and they disappeared for good. The action caused Ryoko to jerk back, her hands unclenching as if she had just touched a hot pan out of the oven. She managed to catch herself, regaining her footing before she fell into the ditch that All For One had created around All Might.
She stands up, her eyes never once leaving the villain before her.
"What a hero," The man taunts. "Jumping into save the man you love."
"Not a hero." The statement was short, the words having a finite bite to them as her chest rose and fell, taking in as much air as she could.
"Oh? Then what are you?"
Midoriya watched the screen in the city. He was expecting Ryoko to smirk or laugh and give a cunning retort. Instead, she kept her steely gaze fixated on the villain, her face emotionless. He could see the sweat dripping off of her as she tried to catch her breath.
"A mother fucking rockstar."
The villain laughs. Ryoko sheds her leather jacket, tossing it to the ground. The people on the street began to murmur about Ryoko and cheer her on, flames beginning to wrap around her arms as she clenches her fist. She charges at him, aiming to punch or throw flames at him. Each time she did, he retaliated, the flames evaporating. Ryoko shoots flames his way, All For One sending the flames back at her, catching her off guard.
Now she knew she was exhausted. She couldn't even handle her own flames being thrown back at her. Catching her balance again, she stares at the villain, causing the flames around her arms to grow bigger and burn hotter. With her right arm, she tosses a string at him, wrapping around his left arm. She repeats the action with her left arm, ensnaring his right arm. She's pulling against him but he's pulling back. Ryoko ends up being dragged towards him, her heels digging into the ground to keep herself away from him.
"What an impressive quirk."
"Isn't it?!" She shouts back, teeth gritting. She stops pulling, eyes going wide as his right arm grows three times in size. It extends, pointed at Ryoko. She doesn't have time to retaliate. Even if she did have the time, she wasn't sure it would be enough. All she can manage is to call her flames back to her, forcing them to wrap around herself as the blow hits her.
She flies, up and over, spinning through the air before she hits the pile of rubble behind All Might. She hits the mound before she hits the ground, everything going black.
It was quiet, when they pulled Ryoko from the rubble. The only one who knew Ryoko was coming out of the mess was the hero who found her. She pushed herself, making herself stand up. As she did, her senses started to return to her slowly. Her vision was becoming less blurry, thought she still couldn't quite see everything right. She could hear, though it sounded like she was hearing everything with earmuffs on. The hero was saying something to her about not moving so quickly, other heroes were moving through the rubble to help others, news reporters were telling the story.
She rubs at her head. It was pounding, almost as if something wanted out. Ryoko tries to push away the hero that was trying to help her, but instead she ended up gripping their arm for balance.
Then she heard him. "Ryoko!" His voice cracked. The name was shouted loudly and with desperation. She could hear the anguish in his voice, perfectly.
Her head turns and she can see Toshinori, perfectly. He's already running at her.
"Toshi," She says, releasing her grip on the hero's arm. Her own arms open up for him as she takes a step forward. She would have taken more steps, but her body wouldn't let her. He made it to her quicker than she could in the moment. As soon as his arms wrapped around her and her arms wrapped around his body, the two collapsed. They were on their knees, clutching onto one another. Ryoko could feel the tears on her shoulder. It caused her to tuck her head into his neck, gripping his torn hero suit tighter. It helped to hide her own tears.
The two remained that way until Naomasa and Endeavor made them go to the hospital.
"Tsukauchi and I will investigate Shigaraki and the League without you for now. You stay at UA. You still have many responsibilities there." Gran Torino speaks, a bandage over his eye. Naomasa sat beside him while Toshinori sat in the hospital bed. "Even if you cannot be the Symbol of Peace that you once were, don't forget that All Might is still alive."
Two knocks sounded in the room, the three men turning their attention to the door. Ryoko stood in the doorway, leaning against it as she gave a small smile. Toshinori could see the bandage wrapped around her head as the hand she used to knock with fell to her side. Ryoko stood up straight.
Gran Torino and Naomasa stood. "We'll leave you two alone." The elder spook before he left, Naomasa behind him. Before the officer left, Ryoko brought her hand up, holding her fist out to him. He paused, looking at the fist before looking up at Ryoko's face. She merely raises an eyebrow. Naomasa smiled back, bringing his own fist up to fist bump hers. They exit, closing the door behind them, leaving the couple alone in the hospital room.
Ryoko didn't move until she was certain the door was shut. Then, she let her feet carry her to her boyfriend's hospital bed. Toshinori had turned his head, looking out the window. She turns, sitting down and letting out a sigh. She's facing the door, simply staring at it.
She didn't want to push him to talk. He didn't push her when she had a miscarriage, she wouldn't push him when his career had just ended. So she waited. Sitting on the hospital bed, staring at the door, she waited. Until finally, his hand reaches out and grasps hers.
She gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to have to announce my retirement."
Ryoko bites the inside of her cheek before she turns to look at him. She gives a small smile as she nods. "Yeah," The man doesn't have time to say anything as Ryoko tells him, "I can do it for you."
"They'll want to hear it from me."
"Just because they want you doesn't mean they'll get you." Their eyes connect for a moment before Ryoko gives him a pointed look. Though she knows he won't take her up on it, she figured she'd offer him the chance to accept. He never did, only squeezing her hand which she would, in turn, give his hand a squeeze back. She remained mindful of his injuries, squeezing but doing so gently.
It hurt her to see Toshinori this way. The last time she had seen him this defeated was nearly six years ago, when the first fight against All For One landed him in the hospital. She remembered getting the call and feeling completely helpless. She did everything to help him, make him feel more comfortable, but she couldn't heal him faster or give him back the strength and power he once had. It devastated her. Especially since they had technically been separated during the time. She took the hero back the moment she saw him on the front steps of their shared house, and vowed to both herself and the hero that she would never let him go.
He asked her to be by his side when he stepped up to the podium for the world to see. She agreed without hesitation. There she stood behind him, in a simple black button down shirt with black jeans and simple heels. Her hair was slicked back in a ponytail while Toshinori wore his yellow striped suit. The jacket merely rested on his shoulders as his arm was in a sling.
Ryoko was the first person he turned to after he gave his statement, standing up from his bow. She gives him a reassuring smile before she takes his hand, interlacing their fingers together. She turned, leading him off of the podium and out of the room, taking them home. Flashes from cameras went off like fireworks. She knew the pictures and news of his retirement would be in every format the media could produce.
She took to her twitter later that night. She posted one simple tweet before Toshinori and herself turned off all notifications on their phones.
"Please give us time to grieve. Thank you and love you guys."
She didn't want to smother him but she also wanted to help him. Ryoko was only able to do so much with his last fight against All For One, she was not going to idle by and let him do everything by himself. She knew he needed help physically, being without one arm but she also knew he would need her there emotionally and mentally. So, she helped him change. Removing his suit and putting on a simple white shirt, she mindlessly talked to him about another tattoo. Her idea and vision and meaning behind it. For a moment, it was as if the incident at Kamino Ward had never happened. As she cooked dinner and talked with her boyfriend, she tried to put everything to the side. Their lives were turned upside down.
After dinner, Toshinori told Ryoko that he was going down to the beach to talk to Midoriya. Not wanting him to think she was trying to mother him, she simply gave him a smile and said okay. Once he left, she sat on their couch, hands rubbing her forehead and running through her hair. Left alone, she merely sighed, reaching over and grabbing a journal and pen that she kept on the end table. Opening it up to the next blank page, she began to write down everything in her head, already hearing the melody to the words.
Ryoko helped Toshinori get dressed in a button down the next morning, mindful of his arm. She looked up at him, her fingers working on his buttons. The bandage was still around his head, he had to keep it on for a few more days. Meanwhile, the redhead had ripped hers off shortly after they arrived at home. Toshinori had reprimanded her for it but she didn't care and refused to let him change any of his own bandages. She told him to leave it to the professionals, ignoring the pointed looks her boyfriend gave her over her hypocritical statement.
"I'm glad I'm not a teacher," She says, finishing the last of his buttons.
"Why's that?" He asks, blue eyes looking down at his girlfriend.
"You have to go to these student's houses once a year to talk about how they're doing and this time around, Nezu wants you to convince the parents to let their kids stay in a dorm?" She rolled her eyes, beginning to walk away. "Yeah, no thanks."
"Someone has to do it," He says after a small laugh.
Ryoko whipped around, pointing at herself. "Yeah and it's not gonna be me!"
Toshinori laughed and Ryoko smiled at him. He was able to throw himself full force into teaching and the redhead was thankful he had something to take his mind off of everything. She walked him to the door, opening it to see Aizawa and their car for the day. Toshinori kisses his girlfriend's cheek before he descends the stairs to their house and heads to the car.
"Keep an eye on this troublemaker today!" Ryoko calls to Aizawa, smiling when she sees Toshinori bristle slightly at her comment.
"You're one to talk,"
"Please, I'm just gonna write music and dye my hair today."
Her boyfriend whipped around. "Do not get hair dye everywhere."
She rolls her eyes, grasping the doorknob. "You make a mess once," She waves, the boys waving back, before she heads inside.