He breathes in the same breath of condensation that he had let out, that vapor vanishing among flickering wafts of steam generated by the warmth of his body. Crystallization with a diamond glow stretches across in a vast expanse ahead of him, a dazzling sparkling community of dancing lights born to reflect sunlight glimmering on each jagged end of a curvaceously spired frozen landscape. The spiked terrain of ice had been a large body of water, the remanence of his form having been soaked completely evaporated now. The combination of cold and heat that the boy regulates keeps him focused on the sudden use of those quirks and not the other occupants of his surroundings.
"Todoroki! Over here!", so the hero student has to blink back his initial surprise at the sudden realization that he's not alone upon hearing his name being called. His heterochromic eyes shift from the ship that he's on to the ice sheeted surface below. Within the flood zone of the facility, it seems almost uncanny to be aboard what may as well be the Titanic in a self imposed iceberg setting. The greenette at the bottom waving her arms to be seen is easier to spot in that sense.
With a single wave of his arm, he expels another flash frozen creation of sloped ice. This structure is slicker than the sharp twists at the bottom so that he slides down it like a ramp. Once he reaches the end, he performs a graceful leap and lands beside his classmate. Upon closer inspection, the girl appears to be uncomfortable. The greenette is shaking uncontrollably. Todoroki raises a brow as he inquires, "Are you injured?"
She shakes her head, "No", but wraps her arms around her shivering frame to say, "I'm just not good in the cold.. I should be fine once we reach the shore though" Her eyelids droop so low that drowsy doesn't even begin to describe her disposition. Todoroki frowns when he realizes the effect of the ice aspect of the power bestowed to him can only be counteracted by the hot part of his body.
"I'll keep you warm", he switches sides so that the greenette can be next to the part of him she needs to stay awake. The heat radiating from his body immediately relieves her vulnerable condition, her slouched demeanor shifting to stand upright. "Let's go", Todoroki leads the way to the shore and leaves villains frozen below the footsteps he leaves in his wake.
Meanwhile, the footfalls of Uraraka slap puddles, every uptake of water splashing her ankles. The rest of her is just as drenched, caught in the simulated monsoon of the downpour zone. Trying to keep up behind the brunette with legs that have a much shorter reach is a classmate that made the odd uniform choice to wear a diaper. Ahead of them both is the bird headed boy whose shadow somehow goes even a step further than that. The mass of darkness swats villains aside to clear their path.
"Where the heck is everybody else?!", diaper boy wails like the baby he appears to be as a villain gets tossed over him. When Uraraka glances over her shoulder, she sees that the lines of water trimming her classmate's mask are from tears and not the rain.
"I'm sure they just got separated into other disaster sites like us", she tries to sound assuring but there's a grim undertone that doesn't allow either of them to forget their surroundings, "We need to reach the atrium. I'm sure that's where everybody will go to meet up."
Another villain rolls across the ground, making the hero students hop to avoid getting tripped up. "I hope you're right", the boy's lip quivers with the urge to whine and complain some more but keeps it at that.
"Yeah.. me too..", Uraraka's whisper is just as silent and heavy as the raindrops that descend upon her. Only the raven faced boy hears her, his hum at an equally low decibel.
A cacophony of spinning steel cycling through thick layers of flesh erupts within the facility's plaza. Savage swings from the revving chainsaws mounted to Izuku's arms release a resin into the air before the blood is calcified. The bladed teeth on his left bar extension skate off the Nomu's chest and leave another laceration. Slowly, the thick hide mends itself with more muscle tissue. A secondary swipe leaves a gouge across the Nomu's torso to replace the first Izuku created, this one coming from his right chainsaw arm.
The brain he had torn into earlier has also repaired itself. Though Izuku remembers how long that took and the state of disarray the creature had been left in. One eye pops out with a splurt of blood when he chops down on its head. The Nomu screeches, lashing out with a swipe of its heavy hand. Izuku is caught across the chest, the beast's bare knuckles battering him hard. The force makes the boy hiss in pain as he's sent bouncing and rolling along the concrete floor.
His eyes blink, the darkness shifting every time that he closes them. What he does see through blurry vision swirls and shakes like he's still tumbling across the ground. Izuku shifts to stagger himself upright, each breath exaggerated as he tries to regain his equilibrium. The cord that usually dangles from his chest is stuck in place by the blood that's been caked there. His legs wobble and he nearly falls backward. But then, he's braced by an arm as thick as the Nomu's.
"A- All Might?", Izuku looks up at his idol and nearly loses consciousness. He's not sure whether he's about to faint from excitement or exhaustion. But when Izuku sees his homeroom teacher's battered body in the hero's other arm, he fights to remain awake.
"Young Midoriya, can you take Aizawa away from here and evacuate with the other students?", All Might's words barely register to Izuku despite the hero's booming voice. When Izuku realizes that Aizawa is being handed over to him, only then does he process the order disguised as a request. He's about to protest with his arms extended but then sees the absence of chainsaws.
"They can retract.. ?", he mumbles his revelation more-so to himself as Aizawa is transferred over into his open arms. When Izuku hears his own voice and not the modified filter that comes from a motorized mouth, he puts two and two together and figures he must have reverted back to his regular form. It now makes sense to him why All Might was able to recognize him. And why he's now feeling the pain from his battle with the Nomu.
"What's a hero versus villain battle without a little collateral damage, All Might?", the villain covered in hands spreads his own like some sort of gentlemanly gesture before using one to snap his fingers, "Nomu."
In a flash of light, followed by the crack of what sounds like thunder, the Nomu and All Might are clashing with one another. Only after Izuku is knocked to the ground with his homeroom teacher does he realize the air force was caused by a sonic boom. The hero is locked in a wrestling match with the bioengineered monster. All Might presses with all his weight, giving it his all in an effort to tackle the larger black skinned villain, grunting as the massive figure barely steps back.
All Might's fist lands dead center with a solid smack against the Nomu's chest. But again, the beast doesn't budge. Only the darkened flesh of its torso dents inwards from the impact, seemingly like a leather or rubber coating of skin. All Might drives another fist into the same spot, doubling up on the damage. But still, the monster's abs don't cave in like they should. All Might barely has the time to raise an eyebrow before a clawed hand reaches for his face.
Izuku tries pulling Aizawa away when another shockwave ripples through the air. The amount of times that he's knocked down is more than countable on two hands. The boy resorts to practically dragging his teacher's body. But even that becomes a challenge when the ground shifts with cracks. The floor starts to give and sink in when the wrestling goliaths slam one another into it. Kurogiri and Shigaraki have a difficult time standing straight from all the uptakes of wind as well.
The Nomu absorbs the shock of every strike from its combatant. Every blow bounces off its regenerative flesh. And each of those punches thrown gradually grow weaker as All Might burns through his energy. The Nomu roars, charging forwards to meet All Might in another clash. The two become locked together, fighting for dominance. All Might's hands grip tight to the creature's knuckles as it presses into him. The larger beast leans further forwards to apply more crushing force to the symbol of peace.
All Might groans through grating teeth as he begins to feel the stress of being overwhelmed. His muscles tense and quiver under the intense strain. Inch by inch, the creature pushes to its advantage. There's a wince from the hero as he staggers just a step. But then he's sliding back, gasping for air while steam slowly drifts off his form. All Might pushes back with his own show of strength, finally overpowering the monster and throwing it off of himself.
Witnessing the number one hero take a knee, Shigaraki begins to cackle with elated glee. "So the rumors are true! You've gotten weaker!", he then starts to clap at the performance his Nomu is giving him by pushing All Might's limit, "We created the anti symbol of peace just for you, afterall."
When Izuku gasps, there's a gust of condensation in the air. The temperature drops. A spread of ice rises. Half of the Nomu's body is completely encased by the attack from Todoroki, he and the greenette he's with standing by the equally frozen bay of water behind him. "You came here to kill All Might? Trash like you could never", he shifts his heterochromic gaze from the villains to Izuku and his teacher. His eyes widen when he sees the state that they're in.
"Midoriya! Sensei!", the frog girl bounds to them with two hops. She takes Aizawa from Izuku while looking them both over, concern written all over her usually expressionless face.
"Brats..", Shigaraki growls with animosity as he stares them all down. His glare only breaks away when the ice trapping his pet science project shatters. The cause of the smash comes from the living shadow protruding from the raven headed hero student of Class 1-A. "They just keep coming", Uraraka and the shortest of their peers arrive as well.
Although, "How..", the bird headed boy gasps through his beak in shock when he sees his attack on the Nomu didn't disable it as planned. Instead, the monster begins to regrow the lost portion of its body. Pink fleshy fibers stitch themselves together in a grotesque tentacle-like twist until the hyper regenerative process is complete.
"Doesn't matter! Nomu will kill them all!", Shigaraki grins behind his facial covering while the others blanch in horror. The beast responds once it's finished recovering by charging towards the children.
But All Might intercepts it before it can make contact. "No restraint whatsoever? Truly, you're the pinnacle of evil!", he grits out his frustration through grunts of effort as the monster uses its full strength to oppose him. "Very well then! I won't hold back either!", the hero pushes past the pressure and inflicts his own on his enemy with all that he has left in him.
A series of blows to the monster's abdomen are followed by an uppercut and a jab to its head. Every punch is barely perceptible, only conceived as existing by the quick blurs of every grating strike and the Nomu's recoil from them. There's a power behind every attack much greater than before that drives the beast back. Wind channels as it's pounded at like a punching bag, each shockwave gathering more and more pressure.
"PLUS ULTRA!", All Might goes beyond his limit while shouting the hero school's motto and delivers his final most fatal blow to the Nomu. All of the air force gathered releases in that crucial punch and blows the monster away with a tornado's power. The Nomu gets blasted through the ceiling and breaks a cloud as it launches into the atmosphere.
At that same time, the ground that had been weakened with every blast of pressure as well also loses its hold. Every crack expands and the surface crumbles into a mixture of rubble and debris. Izuku slides down a cement slab that sinks inwards with the rest of the collapsing floor. "Midoriya!", the greenette girl that had taken Aizawa from him tries lassoing him with her elongated tongue but he falls too far out of reach.
An updraft of dust and smoke creates a cloud of thick brown and gray. Izuku chokes on what he inhales, trying to wave it away with one hand while covering his mouth with the other. He finds himself at the bottom of a sinkhole once the dust settles and clears. Sewer pipes protrude from uprooted dirt and gravel, spilling murky liquid. Across the way, he spots the villain that had been covered in hands trying to reattach some that fell off during his own fall down.
When the villain turns his hate filled gaze towards Izuku and also notices that he isn't alone, each of them hurry to gain their footing. Izuku grasps the cord attached to his sternum and frees it from the patch of dried up blood that's glued it to his chest. A sputtering startup almost makes him pull on it again, but the sudden flare of searing pain in his forehead stops him. His vision splotches red and his face is slick with wet liquid that isn't his sweat.
Izuku chokes out an agonized gasp and wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand. When his palm knicks the brim of a razor tipped chainsaw blade, he realizes that his transformation was only partially done. The sharpened bar protruding from his skull sticks only halfway out and the usually motorized muzzle that accompanies it provides no metallic facial shell. Not to mention there's a lack of chainsaws running on his arms. Izuku rationalizes that he's lost too much blood to be able to fully transform since his chainsaws run on blood instead of gasoline.
Still, there's a villain in front of him. Izuku raises his arms and makes fists. He holds a stance that's neither defensive or offensive since he lacks the combat training needed to tell the difference. And still, the villain makes no move for him. Rather, Shigaraki tilts his head to the side and he gauges Izuku. He raises his finger, pointing as he tries to place his touch. "Say.. Your power looks familiar, boy..", the appearance reminds Shigaraki of a similar sight.
Izuku falters from moving forward, backpedaling instead. Slowly, one of his fists unravel and he places his hand over the string attached to his heart. The cord feels like a livewire, pulsating with a sort of charge that gives him what may as well be an electric shock. It aches. "I had a pet named Pochita..", Izuku notes the way that the villain's eyes narrow at that bit of information, "I can't ever hug or hold him again.." The villain's stare lingers, something in the red of the gaze burning brighter than his hatred. Izuku curls his fingers over what used to be Pochita's tail, clinging to it with a reclosed fist. "But he's right here inside of me."
Shigaraki's lips turn over into a sneer, his tongue running over the scar striking through the top and bottom of them. "That means Pochita is dead, doesn't it?", the villain's response sounds more like a statement than a question. The tone suggests that Izuku doesn't answer, at least. Shigaraki continues, "That 'they're in my heart' shit is a pathetic consolation", his hand hovering over his chest. He then bends down and picks up a chunk of rock with that same hand. All five of his fingers touch the small bit of rubble and it begins to decay, "The dead have no life.."
A swirl of the shadows behind Shigaraki suddenly creates the recognizable warpgate of Kurogiri. Izuku has half the thought to stop the villain from backing into it, but thinks better of himself in his current condition. As Shigaraki slowly slinks into the portal, "But don't worry.. You'll see Pochita again one day soon..", he gives a few parting words. Then, the warpgate closes.
A moment passes where Izuku holds his breath, wary of whether or not he's truly been left alone. Then, he gives out. His legs stop holding him upright and his hands fall to his sides. In a slouched disposition, he releases a heavy sigh of relief. The thick atmosphere suddenly feels not as dense. It's more breathable now. The ache in his chest gradually begins to fade.
The sound of a shoe scraping gravel makes him tense up again. He turns to follow the noise but loses his balance and falls over so that he has to prop himself up on one elbow. It's that error he made of showing his weakness currently that makes him worry that he's about to be exploited by another villain. But instead, he finds himself staring up at an equally fatigued individual.
"Huh? You're the guy I bumped into on my first day..", Izuku recognizes the sickly skeletal figure as the gaunt blonde who had helped him find his class when first coming to U.A. He momentarily wonders what the man could possibly be doing there before coming to a conclusion. Izuku's eyes widen in shock before he pushes himself upright and forces his body to get up. "You must've been apart of the reason for the break-in! You're with the villains, aren't you?!", he accuses the strange person while raising his fists again in case he has to fight.
The blonde's sunken eyes widen too, along with a gaping mouth. He raises his own hands but holds them up palm open, waving both rapidly. "No! No! No! You've got it all wrong!", his pointed chin touches his chest when he lowers his head in a further effort to show his submissiveness, "I'm no threat!"
Izuku eyes the man warily, sizing him up. The blonde's appearance seems decrepit. However, looks can be deceiving. "What the hell are you doing here then?", he presses for an alternative reasoning instead of trusting the stranger just yet.
The blonde draws back, his expression a grimace. His squirming in place is suspicious, especially with the way he keeps casting glances over his shoulder. But eventually, the man resides with a sigh, agreeing to explain his presence. "Take a closer look at me, Young Midoriya.. What am I wearing?", the question puzzles Izuku at first but then he recognizes the colorful torn fabric hanging off of the man's frail form.
"All Might.. ?", Izuku can't contain his reaction when he discovers the identity of the seemingly puny person he had first met in the halls of U.A. Whatever expression he has on his face must match the tone of his voice judging by the deflated hero's wince that's shortly followed by a timid nod of confirmation.
"I'll explain everything later, I promise." All Might lowers his thin arms, the limbs noticeably absent of any muscle whatsoever that Izuku wonders if there's any meat to the bones at all. "But I need a favor from you, young man. Please, don't tell anyone about my true form. Please", Izuku's green gaze meets the righteous blue of the hero he had always idolized as a kid and he suddenly sees the vulnerable humanity in them that he never had before.
Izuku is suddenly aware of how hard each of his heartbeats are. The heavy thumps make the string attached to his sternum sway ever so slightly. The chainsaw in his head begins to recede as he nods. He knows what it's like wanting to keep that same type of secret. If All Might isn't ready for the world to know about his true form yet, then Izuku won't let it be exposed by villains like his had been.
"Don't worry", Izuku offers All Might an assuring smile, "Your secret is safe with me."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
And that concludes the USJ portion! Don't worry, Izuku isn't going to accept One For All should All Might offer it to him, he's just gonna know about it. I've got a lot more much bigger fish to fry than that. The Sports Festival is gonna cover A LOT.
Also, next chapter will be the FINAL FLASHBACK CHAPTER.