The general tone shift happened immediately.
Aizawa glanced over to Harushi, who seemed to barely contain himself. "Calm down, Harushi... who is that man in red?" As much of a surprise as it was that this villain knew one of his students, it came as even more of a surprise at the reaction his student showed.
"M. Bison. Leader of Shadaloo." Ryoya responded through gritted teeth.
Aizawa sore under his breath. That was M. Bison? He knew of the man's existence based on a few things he's heard from underground heroes, but he's never seen a picture of him due to Shadaloo's international dealings. If he, an SS-ranked villain, was currently in Japan, that could only mean disaster loomed on the horizon. His presence alone made things instantly go from bad to horrible.
"Ah, nice to see you remember me, boy." Bison taunted while crossing his arms. "Though I suppose I tend to be a bit unforgettable." For all of his intimidation, Bison carried an air of gentlemanly grace that made his words all the more harrowing.
"Villains!? No way!"
"What villains would be dumb enough to sneak into a school for heroics?" If you had told Kirishima this could happen a mere hour ago, he would've laughed at you.
"Sensei," Momo called out to Thirteen in growing panic. "Don't we have intruder sensors?"
"Of course we do!" Thirteen immediately answered.
Todoroki maintained his calm composure. "Are they only here or also at the main building?" He pondered aloud. "Either way, if the sensors aren't working, it has to be one of their quirks at play here." He stepped ever so closely to the railing, glancing over and making eye contact with Bison. He suppressed a shudder at the cold, pupil-less ghastly white eyes. "This place is far from campus," He continues on, but his voice taking on a sharp edge. "And they picked a time where there'd be fewer people here. So maybe, they're not as dumb as they seem. They must have an objective, because this is a very well-coordinated sneak attack."
"Thirteen!" Aizawa shouted, "Begin evacuation! And try to call the school! One of these villains must be jamming the sensors. There's a good chance one of their electric-types is causing the blackout. Kaminari! Try using your quirk to signal for help!"
Kaminari fumbled a few times with his headset, "G - Got it!"
"Izuku." Ryoya had yet to take his eyes off of Bison. "You're basically a walking EMP, right?"
Ryoya needn't say more since an idea immediately popped up in Izuku's head. "You're right!" Before putting his plan into action, he noticed Aizawa-sensei preparing to leap over the railing and into Central Plaza. "Sensei! You can't fight them all alone! Your quirk isn't useful in head-on battles like this... you just can't nullify that many quirks at once!" Izuku explained his concern even as Aizawa seemingly ignored him. "Your fighting style is more suited for capture, not big battles like this."
Aizawa only now chose to regard him. "Midoriya, no good hero is a one trick pony. Thirteen, take care of them!" And with that, Aizawa leapt down the stairs, capture scarf fully brandished, the desire to protect coursing through his veins and fueling his every move.
"Ranged squad!" One of the villains yelled. "Let's move!"
"Our intel said it was just supposed to be Thirteen and All Might. So who the hell is this?"
"No fuckin' clue. But he's coming at us all alone."
"He's a dead man then!" The first villain shouted with a sneer before raising his hands and pointing his fingers at the hero in black. "What the fuck? Why can't I - ?" His sentence ended early when Aizawa wrapped his scarf around their bodies with an otherworldly grace before displaying his strength by picking up all three at the same time with a mighty tug, causing them to slam head first into each other.
"You dumbasses! He can cancel out quirks just by looking at ya. That's Eraserhead!"
'Fucking media.' Aizawa thought bitterly, before a massive villain with four arms and rough looking skin charged at him. He easily avoided the man before narrowing his eyes on him under his goggles.
"He cancels out quirks?" He laughed at the notion. "Let's see if that shit works on hetero-morphic types!"
"No," Aizawa said coldly as he once again easily dodged the man's wild swing before punching him hand in the masked face, feeling no small amount of satisfaction at the crunch he felt on impact. "It doesn't. Only against operative and transformative types." As the man flew back, Aizawa tossed out his scarf and coiled it around the man's ankle. Years of experience warned him of the impending strike to his flank, and he moved to avoid it while simultaneously yanking the scarf and pulling the four armed man just a fish on a rod. "Statistically speaking, guys like you tend to shine in close quarters."
The larger villain sailed over his head and crashed into four more. Aizawa stood up in one smooth motion. "Which is exactly why I've got counter measures for that."
Then a slow clap happened. "Bravo, Eraserhead." Bison seemed to genuinely compliment. "Using those tinted goggles to hide your eyes so no one can see who's quirk your erasing. Even a whole mob of these pissants aren't slowing you down."
Aizawa felt really uneasy being the center of Bison's attention, though he did his best to not let that show.
"Ugh, I hate heroes. Especially ones that live up to the hype." The cyan haired man complained while scratching his cheek. "Ordinary villains don't stand a chance."
Bison scoffed. "You recruit nothing but weak, everyday thugs and you expected more, Shigaraki?" the general sounded dumbstruck that someone could be so foolish.
The man identified as Shigaraki gave Bison a dirty glare between the fingers of the hand blocking his face. "Shut up, NPC. If Sensei hadn't called you for a favor, I would've had the Nomu take you out."
The Nomu blankly stared off into the distance and Bison just looked at it in disgust. This boy clearly had no idea who he was speaking to, did he? No matter, he'll know soon enough.
"Wow...! Even outnumbered, he can still hold his own." Izuku couldn't help but to marvel at Aizawa's skill.
"Now's no time for analysis!" Iida shouted. "Hurry up and evacuate!"
"R - Right!" Izuku stuttered before turning to go, only now noticing that Ryoya hadn't moved at all, instead keeping his arms crossed and glaring death at Bison.
"Evacuate, you say? I won't allow that." Suddenly, a black fog appeared between the students and the exit, speaking out with the gentleness a butler would have when serving his employer. The sudden arrival even caught Izuku off guard.
'I didn't sense him move at all!'
"Greetings," The fog said politely. "We are the League of Villains. Please, forgive our audacity, but we've come here to UA High-School, this bastion of heroism to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace." The fog started to take a more vaguely humanoid outline before continuing on with his unnervingly polite speech. "We were under the impression that All Might would be here today, but was the schedule revised, perhaps?" The misty man wave his arm? "Well, no matter. My role remains unchanged." The black mist started to seep in all directions. Then three people sprung into action.
Rumi threw a kick, Kirishima lunged forward with a stab of his hardened arm and Bakugo lead with his big right and an explosion. "Like hell, you ink stain!" Rumi's expression seemed like her normal feral grin, but her body language didn't convey the same confidence.
"Not if we don't stop you first." Bakugo sneered.
"Yeah! Betcha didn't see that coming!" Kirishima added while keeping his hardened arm raised defensively.
"That was close." The deep baritone said when Bakugo's smoke cleared. "Students you may be, I expected nothing less from UA's best."
"No! Get back, the three of you!" Thirteen shouted, but it was all for naught as the mist started to expand outwards at an accelerated rate.
Ryoya moved into action, raising a fist and preparing to punch down for a Power Wave, until a large hand wrapped tightly around his wrist. "What the - ?" His eyes widened when he saw that it was none other than Bison. 'He teleported!'
"Kurogiri," Bison said casually. Everyone's eyes snapped to him and his signature smile widened at the fear in their eyes. "Would you be so kind as to send this one in particular to the one where all the Shadaloo members are? I have something planned for him."
"Most certainly, Bison." Kurogiri nodded.
Before the mist could engulf the class, Ryoya attempted to counter attack Bison with an elbow from his free hand, but the older man seemed to expect that and blocked it with ease. "Now, now boy. You might want to save your energy for what's coming next." Quick as a viper, Bison kneed Ryoya in the stomach and tossed him towards his class like he was an old gum wrapper. Rumi jumped up and did her best to catch him, but the speed in which Bison had tossed him sent them both tumbling into the void.
"Begone, students. Writhe in torment until your last breath." And with that, Kurogiri successfully divided the class.
Izuku's eyes widened as the feeling of vertigo overwhelmed him, and before he noticed, he splashed face down into a deep pool of water. 'The flood zone?' He though to himself as he rolled over, searching for his lost equilibrium. 'That mist guy, Kurogiri, must've teleported us using his quirk. They said they're here to kill All Might. Do they know his weakness? What's going on here?' Once fully straightening himself upright, his eyes snapped open once more as a man with a scary shark-like quirk and a blue military uniform swam towards him.
"There you are!" The man-shark said in a gargled voice. Izuku's eyes went from wide to narrow, trying to formulate any plan that didn't involve him being eaten alive. "It's nothin' personal kid." The man-shark said while opening his maw wide enough the Izuku was sure he could swallow his head whole. He jettisoned forward, and almost on reflex, Izuku prepared to flare Denjin Renki, but he didn't need to.
Like a torpedo, Tsuyu slammed her two webbed feet into the man's cheek before wrapping her tongue around Izuku's waist and darting off, Toga tightly secured on the girl's back. When they broke the surface and saw the fake ship used for rescue training, Tsuyu immediately used her tongue to safety drop off her classmates before climbing aboard herself.
"Thanks Asui-san." Izuku said while gently tapping Himiko on the back while she coughed up some water.
"Call me Tsu," The girl responded without missing a beat. "But we seem to be in a bit of a pickle, kero."
"You're a life saver, Tsu." Himiko unzipped her suit just a bit to let some of the water out. "Aww, now my undies are drenched! I just bought these!" The girl complained while Izuku's face no so subtly went red at the wording. He turned around to give her some privacy.
"Poor choice of words there, Himiko-chan."
"I know what I said."
Then a silence followed before Izuku coughed awkwardly.
"Well, if you're done flashing Midoriya-chan, I'd like to get out of here in one piece." Tsu said in a tone she's use when berating her younger sister. Himiko pouted and zipped back up her catsuit.
"You're not fun."
"In any case," Izuku said slowly, still not fully turning around. "They knew our schedules somehow. The simplest explanation is that they were the cause of the media rush the other day. That hand guy was here too, damn it. We should've done something to stop him when he had the chance." Izuku berated himself. "It's like Todoroki-san said, they were waiting for this chance and they were well prepared." A determined glint shone in Izuku's eye.
"But there's no way they could ever kill All Might right? Mr. Sta - I mean, an old guy I once knew said All Might was unbeatable." Toga hoped no one noticed her slip up to a time long gone and buried. "He'll come here and do what he always does; punch someone in the face while smiling!" Toga smiled while saying this, and her already perpetually blushing cheeks for a bit more red and her fangs and wet buns made her look innocent. Izuku would even go so far in saying she looked a bit cute. But now wasn't the time for that.
"Himiko-chan, they must've figured something out. Why else would they come here just to lose?" Tsuyu reasoned. "That one guy though, Bison I think. He has some issue with Harushi-chan, kero."
Izuku stiffened at that. He didn't know a lot about Shadaloo, only what he could find online since Ryoya wasn't exactly happy to talk about them, but from what he did know, Bison being here is a very bad thing. While he doubted he could take All Might in a one vs one fight, he didn't doubt that a man a cunning as he was wouldn't be prepared. And that goes without mentioning the beaked creature...
"I wouldn't doubt that, that guy promised to kill us too, after all." Toga frowned when Izuku said this.
"Who says we can even hold out until All Might gets here? Even when he does show... who says he won't be killed?" Whether is be the seriousness of the situation, or the deadpanned way Tsuyu spoke, something about her question added fuel to Izuku's internal fire.
"Um guys, I don't mean to ruin the whole 'depressed' mood here, but um, the villains are getting closer?" Himiko said while tugging on Izuku's arm.
"I'll kill that frog!" The man-shark she kicked before shouted.
"Save the blonde one for me!" A man with an octopus said while waving his tentacles around. Himiko smiled a very dangerous smile while her fangs gleamed. Before anyone could realize what happened, a knife flew true and cut off one of the limbs, causing the man to scream in pain as he bled profusely.
"Careful now," Himiko said with a child-like glee. "I'm a biter."
All of the villains shuddered and swam back ever so slightly.
'So they must've figured out a way to beat All Might... probably. Makes no sense to come here otherwise.' Izuku's mind ran a mile a minute. 'I hate to think about it, but if they were just after Ryoya, they wouldn't have brought this much manpower. But why kill him? Well, whatever the case...'
"If there's even a chance they have a way to beat All Might," As Izuku spoke, his ki steadily raised until the black ink visibly floated from his body and faded into the winds. "Then we have to fight to win." Just then, he felt Ryoya's ki flare up from what seemed to be the Conflagration Zone.
"I can't contact Aizawa or Thirteen... hm." Toshinori sat in the break room in his deflated form, he let out a heavy sigh. "...good reasons or not, I put my hero work ahead of my teaching. That's quite foolish of me. What can I even say to them when I show up at the end? Anyway, I should be fine in another ten minutes." Then he felt a beat of inspiration. "What am I talking about? A hero doesn't waste time!" He buffed up. "No, I'm going now!"
"Hold on!" A high pitched voice squeaked. The door slide open and All Might immediately felt fear weigh on his heart.
"Principle...!"
"Yes!" Nezu waved cheerfully. "Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? All you need to know is that I'm the principle!"
All Might stooped down, rocking side to side. "Y - your coat is looking splendid today, sir!"
"My secret is keratin!" The chimera said easily. "No human could ever produce such luster. But enough of that," Nezu suddenly produced a tablet as big as his torse from god knows where and held it up. "Look! The criminals in this city haven't let up, even after you moved to town, but rushing off the moment you hear trouble is very much like you."
All Might internally winced at this. He knew Nezu's lecture tone a mile away.
"You haven't changed at all. Whether that's for better or go worse remains to be seen." Nezu said while shuffling his way towards his couch. "Your injury and the effects of such have limited you as a hero. Not to mention, being busy educating the successor for One For All; who, might I add, is coming along rather well. But you being the very stubborn 'Symbol of Peace' you are, refuse to make either of those public knowledge. You know that's exactly why I recommended you teach here." Though Nezu had a jovial tone, Toshinori had been in the fields long enough to know when someone was baiting him into a trap. Responding to Nezu in any way was akin to a lobster trap on good days, and a full on pit of despair at worse. "So try taking it easy for once."
Nezu continued his lecture, going on about Toshinori's priorities and how he should rightfully focus more on being a teacher for the first years and allowing the local heroes to deal with the common criminals.
"You're absolutely correct." Toshinori huffed. "That's why I was just getting ready to head to the USJ."
"Hmm... honestly, I would rather we have some tea and I could tell you about my theories on education. However..." Nezu poured his tea and took a very long sip. Oh no. That wasn't good. "I have tried to contact Aizawa and Thirteen myself, and received nothing but dead air. That should not be possible. Go now, I have a feeling something might be amiss."
All Might nodded and buffed up.
Bison stared down all of the trembling students. "Oh, don't mind me." He said casually. "Discuss your plans. I don't care." A solid three seconds passed without anyone moving. "No? Just going to stand there like a bunch of pissants?" Bison shrugged as though talking about the weather. "Well, fortunately for you I, M. Bison, have no interest in wasting my time with any of you weaklings. I have my own objectives and I truly don't care for whatever the League does." He uncrossed his arms and everyone flinched. "I already grow bored of this without All Might here. Kurogiri, I shall return to the Central Plaza. May our plans not intersect." The underlying threat wasn't missed by anyone.
"Most certainly." Kurogiri had the grace to tilt his head. And with that, Bison teleported away, but not before raising his hand and cackling manically as everyone jumped back in terror.
Iida recovered first. "Wh - Where is everyone!? Can we confirm their locations!?" He clinched his fist to help ease his trembling.
"They're scattered around, but I can confirm they're all still here." Shoji, having calmed down the most, said while turning his extra extremities to ears.
"Physical attacks are no good," Sero called out. "This guy's quirk is really tough."
"Iida!" Thirteen's entire upper body snapped to him. "Your job is to run back to the school and report what's happening." Iida looked mortified at the implication. "The alarms haven't sounded and the phones aren't working. The alarm uses infrared tech and the fact that it hasn't activated even though Senpai - that Eraserhead is down there nullifying their quirks means that whoever is interfering with the system has hidden themselves as well. That being said, you going back is the best option since you're the fastest!"
"But - but I can't just abandon my class!"
Sato just shook his head and shoved Iida. "She said go! Out the emergency exit!"
"Please use your quirk to save us all." Thirteen said while turning her back to him and staring down Kurogiri.
"Yeah!" Uraraka, even in such a situation, remained bubbly. One For All flared to life around her. "We can provide all the support you need! And we will!"
Iida looked positively stressed out.
Kurogiri loomed ominously over them. "Aside from the fact that you have no hope, what sort of fool discusses strategy within earshot of the enemy?"
"It doesn't matter if you heard or not." Thirteen uncapped her glove's finger tips. "You can't stop us."
Ryoya recovered from Bison's punch a bit slower than he though he would, but when he regained his composure, he noticed that he and Bunny-san were dangerously high up and falling towards a blazing inferno. Reacting quickly, he reached around, grabbed Rumi and pulled her towards his front while bending inwardly slightly so he could take the burnt of the fall.
He hit the ground with a thud and groaned when he felt the wind knocked out of him but was thankful that Bunny-san seemed to be completely okay.
"Idiot..." Rumi growled out, before pushing herself up using his chest. "You okay down there?"
Ryoya propped himself up on his elbows and groaned, "Yeah," he tried to sit up further, but couldn't due to Rumi's rather... interesting position. He hadn't realized before, but she was essentially straddling him, her thighs on both side of his hips and their faces really close together. If they hadn't been in the literal closest place to Hell that UA had to offer, Ryoya might've been an Izuku-level flustered mess. But due to the circumstance, he settled for clearing his throat. He knew he was blushing, but he also knew that now really wasn't the best time for this.
Rumi seemed to realize their position the same time Ryoya did, and her face blushed redder than he thought possible. The way she babbled something along the lines of an apology before getting up was nothing short of endearing.
"We don't speak a word of this to anyone." She huffed, making sure to place herself a respectable distance from Ryoya as he stood up and fixed his costume. "...except High Class." Rumi whispered while hiding a very mischievous smirk.
"What was that last part?"
"Nothing! Anyway where are we?" She changed the subject smoothly while taking in their surroundings. "Conflagration Zone or Endeavor's finally gone off the deep end."
Ryoya snorted then his eyes snapped open. Quick as a blur, Ryoya spun with a ki-enhanced high kick that met the leather of a red boxing glove. The two attacks met with the sound of a gunshot and both fighters were sent sliding back.
"Fuckin' child is quicker than I thought." The man, tall, heavily built and very muscular spat. His dark skin gleamed with sweat in the intense heat and he wears an open blue hooded robe with yellow outlines and ripped sleeves. He doesn't have a shirt on, and sports black boxer shorts and matching black boots with a white trim. He, very annoyingly, isn't alone, flanked by men and women in blue and green military attire.
"Balrog..." Ryoya growls, the unpleasantness of the situation fully dawning on him.
"Who the fuck is that Tyson wannabe?" Rumi asked with a raised brow.
Balrog seems to take issue with that. "Fuck did you just say, lil' girl?" He raises his guard and dashes forward preparing his attack, but his halted by a wave of fire.
"Bunny-san." Ryoya says seriously. "Balrog is one of the heads of Shadaloo. His quirk, Sucker Punch, makes it so any hit you don't see coming deals extra damage." The tan boy explains while watching everyone closely. Balrog doesn't seem to be surprised that Ryoya knows this, but the low and mid-level Shadaloo soldiers are.
"Of fuckin' course you'd know that." Balrog spits out with a dirty scowl. "Boss told me about you. You're pretty strong right? You whooped Vega's ass, the annoying prick." Balrog twitches and notes how both teen's reaction is a light flinch. "My job here is just to make sure you do exactly what the General wants, so don't keep me waitin'."
He waves his hand and the Shadaloo soldiers all rush forward, intent clear.
Rumi's face split into two as she grins. "I'll take the fifteen on the left, you take the fifteen on the right!" She says and without waiting, jumps into the fray, kicking with such power that the surrounding fire dances with each action.
Ryoya frowns. 'Balrog's ki is still is insane as ever. But that's so unlike him. He would've charged me without a second thought if their plan was just to kill me.' He thinks to himself as he easily evades two Shadaloo soldiers clad in blue and kicks them in the side of the head with malicious intent. Their bodies ragdoll off to the side, and Ryoya takes the small moment of pause to lunge on his offense. He doesn't use Heat Rush, hoping to save it against Balrog himself and catch him off guard if possible, but he does use a substantial amount of ki behind his strikes. Is it a bit brutal and overkill? Possibly, but he's in a very bad mood and really doesn't like Shadaloo.
They have the numbers advantage, but that is completely fine. If Bunny-san's dominance over the opposing forces mean anything, these people probably aren't the best in hand-to-hand. Quantity over quality, he supposed. He punches a blue soldier hard enough to feel ribs break under his fist and uses the same man as a shield when another soldier tries to hit him with a frankly pathetic Psycho Crusher, an imitation of their bosses infamous move. The man Ryoya holds shouts in pain, and when he acquaintance stops spinning, Ryoya tosses his partner into his arms before roundhouse kicking them both into a burning building. Three more Shadaloo members rush at him, all clad in green to denote their higher rank and Ryoya is forced to focus. Shotokan has never been a fighting style that does particularly well against crowds, but in retrospect, he is thankful towards Bogard for teaching him other things.
The tanned teen ignites his fist and jumps forward. "Burn Knuckle!" He shouts while throwing his punch. It connects to the face of one of the soldiers, knocking his beret clean off and searing it immediately, and in another smooth motion, Ryoya throws himself forward to evade someone trying to take his head off with a Psycho-powered fist. He balances upside down on his hands and, displaying such balance and agility that even Balrog raises a brow, starts to spin. As he gained speed, he pushed off of the floor.
'Raising Tackle!' He doesn't say but the effect is all the same. Like a drill, Ryoya shoots directly into a green clad man's chest, sending them both upwards. The soldier falls off the side and due to Ryoya still carrying upward momentum and being upside down, is grabbed by the collar and tossed using Ryoya's remaining centrifugal force directly at Balrog.
The boxer himself is unamused by this action, and throws a punch at the body and the resulting air pressure is enough to bend the man awkwardly and send him flying off course. Before Ryoya could really comprehend what just happened, Balrog joined the fight, throwing several punches and jets of air, not at him, but at Rumi who seemed to be slowing down due to the large opposition and intense heat.
"Bunny-san!" Ryoya yells. "On your left!"
Rumi's head snaps left and she's too slow to react, getting hit by four strong attacks that forces the girl down. She groans and growls, but stands up a few seconds later sporting bruises on her arms, thigh and cheek.
'Fuck, even though she saw the attack coming and Sucker Punch didn't activate, it still hit her that hard.' Seeing Rumi in pain made something in Ryoya snap as the second he hit the floor, he could feel the Satsui boiling, begging to be set free. He fights to keep it tame, but Rumi's starting to breathe heavily and more Shadaloo soldiers can sense her pain.
Balrog must've sensed the small spike in Ryoya's ki because he then smirks. "Ignore the boy. Focus on the rabbit bitch!"
The second Ryoya falls and his foot hits the ground, he dashes forward and wraps his hand around Rumi's waist and pulls her against him. He raises a fist high. "Power Geyser!" He punches the floor with such force that some of the burning buildings collapse when his geyser erupts and swallows no less than ten people. It is just as strong as the one he used against the Zero-Pointer, and shoots up high enough that it dwarves even three story buildings. There are screams as people are burned, but Ryoya can't stop to address the sinking feeling in his stomach. He needs to get Bunny-san away so they can plan.
He leaps away with her in his arms, pumping her body up with his ki while doing so. She visibly perks up.
"Sorry for not doing that before," Ryoya says. "You jumped off before I could."
Rumi, visibly revitalized, only nods as the same overwhelming pleasant warmth fills her up, protecting her somewhat from the raging inferno.
"We need a plan, Balrog is going to be a bitch and a half to beat otherwise."
"I don't do teams," Rumi says and Ryoya actually glares at her for it. She immediately realizes her mistake and clears her throat while looking away. "But you're right. Fucker's attacks hurt."
"I still don't know what they want. If they just wanted me, Balrog wouldn't have attacked you..." Ryoya thought to himself aloud. 'It's almost like they're trying to hurt everyone around me... Wait are they trying to draw out the Satsui no Hado!?' Ryoya's eyes widened as he came to a realization. 'Balrog isn't trying to beat me, he's trying to make me angry by targeting those I care about. But how do they know who I care about? Does that mean that Shadaloo is targeting Izuku and Mo-chan as well?"
"Fuck me..." Ryoya says in frustration. "We need to get out of here quickly. I have a plan and you might not like it."
Rumi crosses her arms and winces at the pain in her shoulder. "Well, what is it?"
"You ever hear about the Pokemon Cinderace?"
To his surprise, Rumi beams at him with a smile so bright that he almost has to look away.
Izuku may not have been the best at ki sensing, but he did feel a very strong surge of murderous intent flare up for half a second before vanishing. He inwardly swore, knowing exactly who that was and what that meant. He needed get to his friend and fast before something terrible happened.
He sorted through his thoughts as quickly as he could, trying to take in every detail of the situation. They needed a plan fast, and both Tsu-san and Toga-san were looking at him expectantly. "Wait," Izuku said, noticing something. "Those guys down there are clearly suited for aquatic combat..."
"Um, yeah?" Himiko said quizzically with a tilt of her head. "They wouldn't be in the flood... zone... other - " She trailed off, seemingly picking up with Izuku was putting down.
"The ringleaders must've recruited them knowing about the USJ's different environments, kero."
"Exactly! Their intel told them that much at least. But with all their careful planning, one odd point sticks out." Izuku pauses and looks down at the water and then off in the direction he felt Ryoya. "They sent you, Tsu, into the Flood Zone." 'But why did they send Ryoya to the Conflagration Zone? From what he's told me about the day at the mall, they have to know about him having fire abilities."
Tsuyu looks a bit confused. Toga's face lights up.
"They don't know our quirks!" Toga clarifies, looking at Midoriya in admiration and understanding.
"Oh," Tsuyu says. "I get it now. If they had known about me having frog powers, they'd have dumped me in the fiery place." She touches her lower lip and imagines the outcome. It isn't pleasant.
"Bingo. It's exactly because they don't know about your quirks that their strategy is to scatter us and overwhelm us with numbers." Izuku walks to the edge of the boat, looking down at the villains. There's a lot of them, some looking like regular thugs, but with the occasional blue and green uniform dotted about. "They've got us beat when it comes to numbers and experience, so there's only one way for us to win." He reaches into one of his pouches and pulls out a handful of his metal pellets. "Exploit the fact that they don't know our quirks." The fact that none attempted to board the ship only supported Izuku's theory.
Tsu took that as her cue to explain. "I can jump really high, and stick to walls. My tongue can stretch up to twenty meters," Izuku gave her a surprised look at that. Animal quirks were so strong! "Also, I can spit up my stomach to clean it and secrete a poisonous fluid, kero." Then she shrugged a single shoulder. "I say 'poisonous' but it really just stings a little."
"Geez, you're a monster, Tsu-chan!" Himiko said with a slack jaw. "Those thighs aren't just for show!"
"No, kero. They are not."
"What about you, Toga-san? What's your quirk?"
Toga's happy, cheerful disposition immediately shifted into one of discomfort. She even tried to make herself look smaller and her smile became nervous. "Um, I can uh, transform into people." She clearly didn't seem comfortable when talking about her quirk, so Izuku raised his hand.
"Hey," He tapped her gently on the back. "Don't worry about it. If you aren't comfortable talking about it, don't. We'll just have to plan around it." He said with a small, light smile that Himiko returned. "Any way," he held his hand out and over the water. The villains watched him closely. "You know exactly what I can do."
Denjin Renki flared up and immediately caused a panic.
"Wh - whoa wait kid!"
"He has an electric quirk!?"
"You know, All Might once said in a documentary that the moment the enemy thinks they've won represents your best chance." Izuku said smoothly, trying to clear all of his emotions. He felt an unknown ki knock against his mind and for a spilt second, one of his sparks turned white. "Your quirks are definitely strong, and you have the clear advantage in the water... but it's because of your own negligence that you ended up against me." The metal pellets he had in his hand started to glow and the constant low hum of Denjin Renki changed into a louder static. Izuku took a deep breath and channeled his inner Ryoya. His hear shielded his eyes, his voice got a whole octave lower and his lightning danced up and down the side of the boat, teasing the water's surface. "Tell me what you know," He says with an all too innocent smile. "You can swim away if you want, but..." He flicked one of the pellets off and it blurred from sight. The villains eye's widened. "You get the idea. Tell me, what are the League and Shadaloo's plans?"
Himiko would later admit that this was probably the hottest thing she'd ever seen in her life. Tsuya croaked quietly.
"Yep, really nothing like what I thought."
Todoroki took one step forward and turned the Landslide zone into a frozen wasteland. "Divide and conquer?" He exhaled a visible breath. "Forgive me for pointing it out but, it's hard to see you guys as anything more than thugs with quirks you can't handle."
"Bastard...! The second was warped here!" A villain complained before his face was frozen solid.
"Is - is he really just a kid?"
Todoroki barely regarded them. 'They want to kill All Might. At first it seemed like they were elite, and it looks like some of them are.' His eyes wander to a soldier in a green uniform breaking away the ice with a weird purple power. 'But taking a closer look, the pawns are just here for us. Nothing but a gang of low-level canon fodder. As far as I could tell, there's only a hand full of really dangerous individuals here,' His thoughts circled back to Bison. 'And only one that it'll better to avoid. He seemed to have something personal against Harushi. Called him Akuma's brat. Who even is Akuma?'
"Oi." Todoroki called out, getting the villains attention. "At this rate, your skin'll rot off from frostbite. But I'm trying to become a hero and heroes don't normally do such things," If nothing else, Todoroki was a master at cold intimidation. "What makes you think you can kill All Might? Tell me the plan."
Kyoka Jiro could say with confidence that this was the worse school day of her entire life. Not only were they being swarmed by villains, Kaminari, the dolt, wasn't being much of a help. Thankfully, Yaoyorozu was something a battle genius.
She never stood still, and remained entirely on the offensive. At first, using her bo staff with a deadly efficiency. She swung hard and accurate, hitting people in spots Jiro wouldn't even think to aim at, let alone actually land on.
The true depth of Momo's skill became evident when Kaminari slipped up and fell and a villain descended on him, heavy boulder primed to strike, and out of no where, Yaoyorozu moved with a fluid grace, mixed with Golden's familiar ruthless aggression and somersaulted forward with one of her legs outstretched, slamming into the villains head as she came down. The villain, a grown man with rocks for hands, buckled immediately. Without hesitation, Yaoyorozu leaned forward, while still in a full, perfect split and created a small metal rod in one smooth motion. She slammed it into a pressure point located on the back of the villain's shoulder and then followed up with a puff of smoke that obscured her from view.
When the smoke cleared, she somehow made it back behind Jiro before the girl had seen her. Even her footsteps were a bit too quick for the purple haired girl to consider possible.
"Huh," Kaminari said shakily, sweating profusely. "This might not be the best time but uh... wanna go out after this?"
Momo just gave him a flat look. Jiro matched her expression.
"So is that a no or...?"
"General Bison said we're not to harm that one." One of the villains clad in blue said with a sigh. "But it seems we underestimated her. Resort to Psycho Power, he said bring her to him alive, he never said she couldn't be injured."
"Worry about that later," Jiro said while brandishing a small sword that Yaoyorozu made her. "We need to get away from this mob." Jiro did a few test stabs when a villain tried to approach her front. "You're a lightning guy right? Just fry em to a crisp, would ya?"
"Weren't you paying attention during the battle trials? We were partners! I can only cover myself in electricity." He raised up a glowing yellow hand as an example. "Sure I can discharge it, but I can't control it. I'm trying to call for help but my transceiver is jammed! Get it? You can't rely on me here! I'm relying on you!"
Jiro stared at him with a crease in her brow. "You sure blab a lot for a guy."
"Didn't you see Midoriya in the battle trial, Kaminari? Use your electricity like that." Momo couldn't believe she had to point that out to him, but she could be too upset since this was a very stressful situation.
Kaminari seemed to consider this, sparking up his hand and running wildly at a villain. When they came into contact, the villain shouted in pain. "Hey! It worked, I'm a human stun gun! I'm strong now guys, don't worry. You can count on me!"
Mid-electrocution, another villain ran up, a quirk similar to the previous with stones on his arms, and attempted to bludgeon the blonde. "Stop messing around, you punk!" The object drew nearer until it suddenly popped like a balloon, leaving the villain's bare hand exposed for Kaminari to grab, shocking him to the core.
"Get serious already, you two!" Yaoyorozu said, her regal tone staking on a razor sharp edge. "It's ready. Sorry for it taking so long, I could've made this much easier if I didn't have to focus so much on a crowd."
'Never once have I been happier to have learned how to break up fights between Midoriya and Ryo-kun.' Momo thought to herself before the back of her costume exploded out, a large white sheet covering both her and Jiro.
"A sheet? Really?" One villain said cockily.
"Is that really the best shield you can create?"
"This is not a normal sheet. This is a 100 mm thick insulation sheet. Now, Kaminari." She said while covering up entirely.
The blonde smiled. "Say less. Ya see villains, I'm not that weak!" Then he discharged his lightning. Seconds later, when the surge of electricity ended, Momo raised the sheet, but not before scanning the area with her ki sense.
"I'm worried about the others..." Her mind immediately went to Ryo-kun. He seemed to be a prime target of such a powerful man and she had no idea why. But she did know she wasn't intending to wait around to find out.
"Um - I - You're having um, a wardrobe malfunction." Jiro barely managed to get out with very red cheeks.
Momo looked at the girl, then down at herself, then paused. The glow of Creation shone for two seconds, and before Jiro knew it, Momo's clothes were fixed. She didn't need to waste any time. She could sense Ryo-kun not too far in the next zone over. She would vow to live up to the high praise he spoke of her.
Eraser wasn't have the greatest of times in the plaza. Things weren't exactly going great, but they weren't getting worse either. They were getting a bit annoying from this cyan haired guy's counting though.
"Twenty-three seconds." He said while dashing towards the teacher. Eraser met him head on, bobbing and weaving through the villains with his capture scarf at the ready.
"So you're the boss here?" Eraser asked while flinging his scarf forward. Annoyingly, the man caught and it started to crumble.
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Bison said, suddenly appearing to Aizawa's right with his arms crossed. The teacher jumped on reflex. "He's more so, what's the term? An underling trying to wear his big boy pants."
Shigaraki took no small level of offense to that. "Bison... if Sensei wasn't so insistent on you joining, I'd -" Bison interrupted him by teleporting directly in front of him with his arms crossed.
"Choose your next words very carefully, boy." The old General warned. "I, M. Bison, do not take to kindly to children who threaten me. I have no interest in the League nor it's endeavors, but your Sensei wasn't insistent on me joining. He practically begged for the help because he knew you were incompetent."
Shigaraki growled and scratched the back of his neck. "That's a lie..."
"I am many things, but a liar is not one of them." With that Bison stepped away from Shigaraki and off to the side. "I am here on my own agenda. I have no interest in helping a boy who only just figured out how to spot an obvious weakness."
Aizawa, never one to pass up an opportunity, closed the gap between him and Shigaraki while distracted and elbowed him in the solar plexus. Or at least, he attempted to, but it seemed this man had quicker reflexes than he thought. "It's hard to tell with you scurrying around but, there are a few moments when your hair falls in front of your eyes." Aizawa said nothing, only gritting his teeth as he felt a searing pain in his elbow. "Every time you finish a given move, your max duration gets shorter and shorter." Shigaraki loomed over the hero with a sadistic look in his eye. "Don't overdo it, Eraserhead."
Aizawa, thinking quickly, swung with his off hand and connected with Shigaraki's cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground. 'My elbow was disintegrating.'
Then a slow clap. "Bravo, Shigaraki." Bison said sarcastically, "It only took you how many men to figure that one out?"
Shigaraki's patience ran thin. "You are a very annoying, talkative NPC! Nomu, show him what happens when -" Cutting him off, Bison held up his palm as though waiting to block and summoned a purple sphere that grew to the size of a beach ball before firing off. "Dodge Nomu!"
But it was too late, the beast only partially managed to move in time, and as such, lost the entirety of it's right arm. The purple orb continued on before it impacted an unfortunate villain, a man with no neck and a face on stomach and killed him on impact.
"Now, now. Didn't I say choose your words carefully?" Bison said with his signature smiling widening. "You stick to your mission, I'll stick to mine. The next shot won't be a warning."
Shigaraki growled and scratched the back of his neck till he felt blood. The nomu took longer than it should've to recover from an attack like that, it's arm regenerating very, slowly. Painfully slow.
"Nomu," Shigaraki commanded through gritted teeth. "Deal with Eraserhead for now."
A/N: Things kick off. I'm not Momo, Rumi and Izuku have nothing to do with Bison's plan. Nothing at all. Tomura should've known better than to mouth off to M. Bison.
Also, I'm lowkey leaning into the Ryo/Momo/Rumi dynamic, but I'll just see how it plays out before I do anything else with that.
Part 1 of the USJ is done.
Born-From-Black-Lightning: Thank you! As for Ryoya being Akuma's kid... well it's certainly looking like that, but maybe there's more there. Ah yes, a lot of people have been worrying about my burn out, and it's appreciated. I understand the concern, the best I can say is that as of now, I'm pretty hyped to keep the story going, and all the reviews and feedback help a ton. I wouldn't say you're worrying about nothing, but we just don't have to worry right now! Have a good week yourself!
Marbled Gold: I also really like the dynamic between the three. Someone on AO3 brought it up to me, the Ryo/Momo/Rumi ship and I didn't really pay it any heed at first, but now, I'm just going to see how they play out. That date is looking like it might be postponed when this is over. Everyone's really interested in the Akuma and Ryoya thing and I'm glad. I was a bit scared people would've care for him much since he's an OC, but its been generally well received. And yes, Bison is here, and he's not playing games.
Ryuujin96: All Might alone is really not enough to deal with both the Nomu and Bison, so we'll just have to see how that goes.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you!
Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro: Yep, Cammy is here and is the person who took Rumi's spot! And as for Rumi learning Ki, well Ryo seems quite comfortable giving it to her, and she seems to adapt to it rather well, so who knows?
solbandgus: Oh yeah, people probably figured Akuma had some relation to Ryoya, and I just confirmed it. But what I didn't confirm is that he's his son... after all, Akuma's quite old. But that's a story for later! And Balrog is also there lol, you're in for a treat.
