You know I couldn't keep you guys waiting too long! ;)
TW for canon-typical violence.
Chapter Fifteen: Hit List
Red. Red, red, red. Pooling. Pouring. Red. Terrible red.
Gold.
Koharu's heart seized in her chest.
Within a human-sized crater, Eraserhead's goggles lie in a pile of blood. There was no Eraserhead. There was no Shouta.
Where was he? Where was he?
Three villains remained. Twenty feet from the crater— red, red, gold, why— All Might was entangled in the Warp Villain's mist. A large creature with an exposed brain was grappling the Pro-Hero, dug in with heavy claws that stained the fabric of All Might's white dress shirt—
Red.
Koharu's feet propelled her forward, uncaring of the treacherous path before her. Her teeth curled over her teeth, wretched. The ringing in her ears left her deaf.
Koharu was going to kill that Warp bastard.
As Koharu and Bakugou approached from the right, Midoriya came barreling down the path towards them. That obnoxious mist rose before him, that fucking Warp bastard clearly keen on sending Midoriya elsewhere.
Koharu's capture device floated to life, snapping towards Midoriya with a flick of her wrist. It wrapped firmly around his chest, pulling him away as Bakugou charged forward.
"Move!" Bakugou shouted as he crossed in front of Midoriya. "You're in the way, Deku!" He slammed his gauntleted hand against the Warp villain, the force of the blow allowing Bakugou to pin him to the ground. "Take that!"
Koharu's stomach fluttered like she had been the one to take him down. The butterflies were swiftly choked by the boiling rage still churning inside. She couldn't dare to look at Midoriya as she quickly asked, "Is Shouta alive?"
"He's hurt, but he's with Mineta and Tsuyu!"
Relief swept through Koharu, nearly knocking her off her feet. Shouta was alive. The breath she exhaled was shaky, taking with it the last of her trepidation. She shoved her feelings into a neat little box and swallowed it down.
Eraserhead had gone down fighting. His sister would do the same.
"Okay, Midoriya—"
From the left, a rapid ice swept towards the group. It swiftly encased the villain that held All Might, stopping just before reaching the Pro. It was Todoroki that had cast it, having arrived without a scratch on him.
Koharu looked at Midoriya, taking in his shaking condition. He hadn't heard her. "Midoriya, tell me their Quirks," she demanded. It fell to deaf ears, the teen enraptured by Todoroki's arrival and the battle in front of them. Koharu felt her teeth clench painfully. "Izuku Midoriya," she forcefully said. He whirled to face her like she had dropped a bomb at his feet. "Tell me their Quirks."
"I-I don't know," stammered Midoriya as he looked between the escaping All Might and agitated Koharu. "The villain with the hands disintegrates whatever he touches. I saw him touch Aizawa-sensei earlier—"
Red. Red, red, red.
She was going to kill him if it was the last goddamn thing she did.
Kirishima jumped into the fray, swinging towards the blue-haired hand villain. As the villain began to dodge, his skin began to blister. Jagged shards began to jut from his arms, displacing one of the severed hands gripping onto the villain's limbs.
Meanwhile, Kirishima's skin was silky smooth for only a moment before Koharu released the Switch. She yanked him backwards with a well-placed capture tape, Kirishima gasping loudly as he was dragged backwards towards her.
"I didn't even get to show off!" Kirishima complained, a pout in his voice despite the circumstances.
Koharu didn't take her eyes off of the blue-haired man. Behind the palm grasping his face, she felt that he was doing the same to her. Slowly, he bent down. He picked up the dropped hand. He returned it to place.
"You look like that guy," he observed, surprisingly soft-spoken. His voice was low and raspy.
A sneer pulled at her lips. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her side. "You look like you weren't hugged enough as a child."
"Ahh…" he tilted his head to the side to scratch at the side of his neck. "That's not very heroic of you to say."
"How unfortunate."
Several of Bakugou's explosions sounded from next to them. Koharu side-eyed Bakugou as he crouched over the Warp villain, smoke curling up from his hands and a crazed look in his eyes.
"His behaviour isn't very hero-like…" muttered Kirishima.
"Kids these days are amazing," declared the blue-haired villain, his hands held together in front of him. "You make the League of Villains look bad." He turned towards the frozen villain still held within the Warp gate. "Nomu."
The villain— Nomu— began to rise. Koharu stared in shock as he stood, careless of his frozen arm and leg as they fell to the ground in pieces.
"He's still moving despite his body being broken?" Midorioya observed, his own eyes wide. His expression became tinged with nausea as Nomu's limbs began to regenerate, punching out the rest of the ice of his body with the force of his muscle growth.
"Everyone, get back!" All Might threw an arm out towards them, halting steps none of them were about to take. He was still clutching his side as he stood. "His Quirk wasn't shock absorption?"
"I didn't say that was all he had," giddily chimed the hand villain. "This is his super-regeneration! Nomu has been modified to take you at one-hundred percent. He's a super-efficient human sandbag."
Yeah, real fucking super, thought Koharu.
"First, we need to get our gate back. Go, Nomu."
A sudden force of wind blew Koharu off of her feet. She yelped as she was tossed backwards, landing hard on her back before another body crushed on top of her. Smoke billowed from where the group had been standing.
The smoke cleared to reveal Nomu crouched over the Warp villain, Bakugou nowhere to be seen— because he was currently crushing Koharu with the weight of his ass.
"K-Kacchan!" Hollered a panicked Midoriya, clearly unaware of the boy's presence. Koharu shoved him roughly away from her with a grunt, catching the attention of the other boys. "Kacchan?! You dodged? That's amazing!"
"No, shut up, scum!"
Seeing her on the ground, Kirishima offered Koharu a hand which she gladly accepted. Her back screamed as she straightened it. "Then how..?"
"Then that was…"
Their eyes followed heavy skid-marks along the ground, leading to the firmly planted feet of All Might. He stood with his arms raised in the clearing smoke. The wall had been thoroughly damaged, but All Might stood victorious over the cement.
"All Might!"
Despite his strength, decimating a wall with his back had clearly hurt. He was breathing deeply as he held his sturdy pose. "Do you not know how to hold back?"
The hand villain crept to join his fellows. "It was to rescue my companions. I had no choice. I mean, earlier, that plain looking one…"
Midoriya?
"He was about to punch me with everything he had, you know. Violence for the sake of others makes it admirable. Isn't that right, Hero?" Lanky arms lifted like preachers, disturbingly offset by the severed hands that clung to them. "You know what, All Might? I'm angry. I'm angry at this world that categorizes the same violent acts as heroic or villainous, deciding what's good and what's bad. 'Symbol of Peace'? Ha! You're just a device to repress violence. Violence only breeds violence. The world will know this once we kill you!"
All Might let out a mighty scoff. "That's preposterous. The eyes of white-collar criminals like you burn silently. You just want to enjoy this yourself, don't you, you liar?"
When silence was his answer, they all knew that he had been right.
Todoroki stepped forward. "It's three against six."
Midiroya raised his fists and eagerly followed along. "Kacchan already exposed the fog's weakness!"
"These guys are crazy, but if we backup All Might, we can push them back!" Jagged spikes began to protrude from Kirishima's skin.
Do we all have to say something?
"No!" Firmly decreed All Might as he stepped away from the rubble and towards their group. He stood in front of them protectively, an arm raised to ward them off. "Run away."
Todoroki let out a considerate hum. His arm was already poised to send another attack towards the villains. "You would've been in trouble if I hadn't done anything earlier, right?"
"That was a different story, Young Todokori. Thank you." All Might quickly replied. His hand slid into a determined fist. "But it's fine! Just watch as a pro gives it everything he's got."
"Eraserhead can do it!"
Hadn't she said that?
Watching the solid back of All Might, Koharu didn't know what to believe anymore. Things had seemed easier before, when the villains were abstract and the heroes always won.
Eraserhead's goggles lie in a crater.
There was no Eraserhead to protect her.
At her side, Kirishima readed his Quirk. "It looks like we're doing this after all!"
All Might and Nomu burst towards each other. Koharu was ready this time as the shockwave hit them, but they were all thrown backwards by the force of the wind regardless. She felt a hand steady at her back.
Koharu glanced behind her, surprised to see that it was Todoroki keeping her in place. He had used his ice to anchor himself to the ground. He met her eyes with a quick nod before his attention returned to the main event. The wind continued to blow as All Might and Nomu began exchanging fists. Koharu crouched low to the ground as she fought to stay upright, Todoroki behind her to keep her from blowing away.
"A head-on fistfight?" said Midoriya over the harsh wind.
Beside her, Kirishima lost his battle and fell backwards, being dragged a couple feet away by the winds. "W— Wow!"
They moved faster than Koharu could track. Their arms were a blur of motion, endlessly hitting each other again and again and again. They surged forward through debris. They were careless of the obstacles in their path, solely focused on damaging each other.
All Might landed a firm hit on Numo, sending the villain flying backwards into the woods. All Might chased without hesitation. Trees were uprooted without a thought. The ground shattered with their footfalls.
If this was the world of heroes, Koharu had never felt so small.
Her hands were shaking so violently that she had to squeeze them together against her knees. "Go… All Might…" Her words were taken by the wind.
Nomu was thrown into the ground with such force that the ground shook below them, huge chunks of debris rising into the air with his fall. And there was All Might upon him, relentless.
"PLUS ULTRA!"
Nomu crashed through U.S.J.'s dome, the building shaking with force as he shot through the rafters. He was lost to the skyline.
Kirishima slowly stood. He was transfixed by the hole Nomu had created on his way out. "Is this a comic book or something?" He asked, awed. "It's like he nullified the shock absorption. His brute strength is crazy."
"What insane power…" Bakugou agreed, joining Kirishima in admiring the wreckage. "Does this mean he rushed at him so fast that he couldn't regenerate?"
Bakugou's words faded to Koharu's ears as her eyes swept the clearing.
Nomu had been eliminated. Now only two targets remained.
She lifted herself from the ground with wobbly legs, eyes locked onto the body of the villain that dared to touch Shouta with his vile hands.
All Might stood in the remaining smoke from his battle, partially obscuring his form from view. Koharu could see blood on his face. "Now, villains…" started All Might. "I'm sure we'd all like to end this as soon as possible."
The villains remained in place. The blue-haired man raised his hands to scratch furiously at the skin of his neck. Koharu's eyes tracked the motion, watching as his nails carved into his skin.
"You're not coming?" taunted All Might from his place in the clearing smoke. "You said you'd 'clear' this or something, right? Come and get me if you can."
He didn't move.
"Well? What's wrong?"
The scratching at his neck became more agitated as the villain tossed his head back. He and the Warp villain appeared to exchange words, both watching All Might carefully. Koharu took note as a few broken bodies began to rise— Eraserhead's opponents, ready to join the fight again.
Her hair began to float. The blue-haired villain began to run.
A body surged forward.
Midoriya.
She followed.
"Get away from All Might!" cried Midoriya, soaring through the air with an arm reared back. His legs flailed limply behind him, and Koharu knew he had broken them.
A portal opened before him. A hand reached through.
"The villain with the hands disintegrates whatever he touches."
Koharu saw red as she Switched their Quirks. Pain blossomed through her legs, and the sound of a gun-shot pierced through the air. She wondered if she had been hit.
A bullet struck the reaching hand. Koharu released the Switch as Midoriya fell to the ground, charging forward to place herself over him protectively.
"Sorry, everyone!" A voice called from the entrance to U.S.J.. Koharu didn't dare to take her eyes off the swirling mist before her. "Sorry we're late! I gathered all who were immediately available!"
"I, Tenya Iida, class 1-A representative, have now returned!"
There was stunned silence for only a moment before the sounds of battle began anew, gunshots and blasts ringing through the air. The villains that had come to were all eager to rejoin the fray.
"YEEAAAAHHHHH!"
Hizashi. Koharu could have fallen over with her relief. Her body shook terribly as she crouched lowly over Midioriya. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.
Before them, the blue-haired villain began to back away, "Aw man, they're here. It's game over now." He turned around, facing the Warp villain. "Shall we go home and try again—"
His words were cut off as multiple bullets shot through his body. The mist swarmed to protect him, wrapping around the blue-haired man and shielding him from view.
The voice of the mist called out, "Tomura Shigaraki!"
Her enemy had been named. The name seared itself close to her heart.
A strong force began to pull at the mist, sucking it backwards towards the staircase. "This is… Thirteen!"
"You may have beaten me this time," growled Shigaraki from inside the mist, half of his body disappearing through the gate. "But I will kill you, Symbol of Peace… All Might!"
The mist disappeared at once. They were gone.
They were saved.
Koharu bent forward as a sob overtook her, her forehead dropping against Midoriya's shoulders for a moment. Her own shoulders shook with relief.
Midoriya began to push himself up on shaky arms. "I wasn't…" his voice cracked. He must have been in tremendous pain. "I wasn't able to do anything…"
"That's not true," All Might said.
Koharu startled, having forgotten the Pro-Hero was there. However, in the place where All Might had been standing now stood half a man. One of his arms was wilting, and even his hair laid flat. Steam was rising from his joints. Blood pooled at the corner of his mouth and on his side, shirt stained red like All Might's.
What?
chapter end
jessylane318— Welcome back! Are you trying to make me fall in love with you? Because leaving me reviews like yours are how you make me fall in love with you. I'm in total awe that someone would put so much attention, time, and energy for my story. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate your feedback. Thank you so much!
Aqua Salmon — Welcome back! "Absolute angst and cuteness mixed into a single person" is a pretty great summary of Koharu, I love it! Thank you for your review!
Teletraan — You have given me the best compliment I have ever received. I can't shut up about you calling Wannabe Heroes one of your favourite stories including published books. I finished this chapter in a sitting after receiving your review because I was just so fired up! Thank you so much.
oLainao — Welcome back! I'm starting to get the impression that you like Kirishima ;) which is great, because he's officially been added to the Tagged Characters list on the AO3 version of this story. He will definitely be around for the long haul! Thank you for your review!
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