clap - clap - clap -

The noises came to us through a sea of fear.

"As expected of the Number four hero, Best Jeanist," said the villain. "I was trying to blast everyone away. But in an instant, you controlled everyone's clothes and pulled them out of the way! Your judgment, technique…you've got nerves of steel! But the strength that you possess is the result of considerable training and practical experience. Yours - I don't need yours…"

And we heard the sound - which we saw over the wall's broken side - was the sound of the villain blasting a hole in Best Jeanist's stomach.

"Your quirk doesn't suit Tomura's personality," he concluded.

What in the world was that? Dammit…My body won't move…

splash -

"Ugh, what the crap is this?!"

Bakugou!

He'd been warped in from nowhere, it seemed, and he was coughing in front of the villain - Bakugou, standing only a few feet away from us.

"Apologies, Bakugou," said the Villain.

"Eh?"

More noises - splashing -

And the League of Villains in total were warped in as well - all of them, though the Warp Gate Villain and my fire-powered nemesis seemed unconscious.

"You've failed again, Tomura," said the Villain, but this wasn't reprimanding…"But you cannot get discouraged. All you need do is try again. I brought your comrades back for you, and this boy too, because you deemed him an important piece. Try as many times as you'd like. That's why I'm here. Everything is for your sake."

It doesn't matter that I'm scared. Bakugou's only a few feet away from me - all I have to do is move, and - and if I'm fast enough, I can get him back. I WILL get him back, no matter -

And as I tried to move, Iida grabbed my arms. Midoriya had tried to move too, and Ida had grabbed us at the same time.

He wasn't going to let go. As long as he held us, we weren't going anywhere.

"Ah, there you are!"

I jumped outta my skin; the Villain - had he noticed us?

No - he was talking to -

All Might came flying in from up above, and his fists slammed into the Villain's - the force of it shaking the very ground beneath our feet.

"I'll have you return my student, All for One!"

"Are you going to kill me a second time, All Might?" he taunted.

The force of their battle was tossing up rocks, swirling through the air with power and explosions. The wind was blasting over us, even behind the stone wall. We couldn't hear their conversation any more.

"He even stopped All Might!" gasped Midoriya.

The villain had blasted All Might with the force of his power through multiple buildings. As we watched in horror, he activated - somehow, even though he was unconscious - he started up the Warp Gate Villain's quirk. A portal was opened, and even as AllMight came back and slammed towards him again -

The League had turned to Bakugou, and were getting ready to grab him again and drag him away through that portal.

"All Mght!" cried Midoriya.

All those words, everything everyone said…

"If you know you're breaking the rules, your actions are the same as villains"

"I know how it feels too, but we can't let our emotions get the best of us…"

"That's why It's against the law for uncertified people to use their quirks to cause injury…"

"Why did it have to be you two?"

But how can we help? How can we stop this?

"Iida, everyone!" cried Midoriya.

"Don't even think about it, Midoriya," said Iida.

"No!" said Midoriya. "There's a way! Away for us to avoid combat, to rescue Kacchan, and get out of here too!"

"Spit it out already," I snapped. No time for babbling now.

"The thing is," he said slowly, looking down at his hand - and looking really sad for some reason. "This plan, if it's me doing it, it will probably fail. It's got to be you, Kirishima. You're the key to making this successful."

And he told us his plan.

"Iida…" said Yaoyorozu.

"It may be a gamble," said Iida slowly. "But considering the circumstances, the risk to us is relatively low…above all, if we succed, then it will be worth it. Let's do it."

"First, we propel ourselves forward using my full Cowl and Iida's recipro. Then, we'll break through the wall with Kirishim'as hardening. The second we break through, Todoroki creates an ice ramp for us. Make it as high as possible, so that we can fly off on it. The villains still haven't noticed us. Up until now, we've always had to react to their moves, but this time around, we can make the first move! We'll cross the battlefield at a height where they can't reach us. Kacchan has been staying on guard with these opponents. He's been creating distance from them while fighting. The time to act is the moment he's more than two steps away from the villains. The villain's boss is keeping All Might's hands tied, but that also means his are too. Then it's up to you Kirishima. It can't be me, or Todoroki, or Iida, or even Yaoyorozu. Ever since we started school, up till now, you've built a solid relationship with Kacchan, as equals. If his friend calls to him, he'll listen!"

And we saw from a distance Kirishima reach out his hand to Bakugou - who took his cue, and soared above the villains' heads precisely as Midoriya has instructed, grabbed Kirishima's hand, and was whisked away to safety.

I turned back to Yaoyorozu. "Just as planned. Let's get out of here."

And with a nod, I followed her through the alleyway and out into the streets.

"Midoriya, everything ok over there?" I asked him over the phone.

"Yeah! What about you guys? Did you make it out ok?" said Midoriya.

"Yeah, probably. We're running in the opposite direction from those guys. The pros are guiding everyone."

"Thank goodness! sighed Midoriya. "We're in front of the train station! Seems like it's outside of that shockwave from before. Our rescue was a success!"

I could hear Bakugou sniping about that over the phone, but with a nod to Yaoyorozu I shut it off, as we continued to evacuate. The crowd we were running through had been shuffled into a waiting station, and we could see the fight with All Might and the villain continuing on while the evacuation was in play.

"All Might should be able to take care of that villain," said Yaoyorozu, though the All Might we could see on the big screen looked a little worse for wear. I think she was trying to reassure me that we'd done the right thing.

"It's like a bad dream!" said the news announcer. "In a flash, the Kamino Ward has been brought to a half destroyed state! Presently, All Might is battling with the villain thought to be the ring-leader of the group! Unbelievable! A single villain destroying the street, and now he is fighting on more than equal terms with the symbol of peace!"

People around us were panicking

"All Might looks pretty beat up!"

"They got him good!"

"What are the heroes doing? Aren't' villains getting a little out of hand lately?"

"Maybe the heroes are getting played?"

On the screen, we saw the villain level a blast at All Might - who didn't dodge - it seemed someone was trapped behind him, so he had to take it. Rubble kicked up and surrounded him.

And then, as it cleared, we saw.

The entire crowd fell silent and I felt my stomach drop.

We were looking at a shriveled up skeleton of a man - an emaciated, bedraggled person in a loose fitting All Might costume.

What?

I glanced at Yaoyorozu. She looked every bit as dumbfounded as I felt.

"Who is that? He's like a skeleton…" people were muttering.

On TV, the announcer said, "Um, what has happened? Everybody is able to see this, right? All Might seems to be withering away!"

ON TV, it looked like All Might was still standing strong - and then suddenly something changed. He was slumped over, his smile gone, and he was screaming.

"What…" gasped Yaoyorozu.

The people around us were panicking - more and more.

"No, it can't…"

"All Might!"

"You have to win! Who can win against that?"

"Even if he looks different, he's still All Might after all, right?"

"Time and again, he's been able to do something, one w ay or another!"

"You can do it All Might!"

"Don't lose, All might!"

"You can do it!"

Without meaning to, shivering a little, I grabbed onto her hand, and we both cried out alongside the crowd, swept away in their panic:

"You can do it, All Might sensei!"

"You're not bound by his blood. You can become the kind of hero you want to be…" Mom and I watching him together, inspiring us with the hope for the future…

And on Tv, against all odds, All Might seemed to be coming back, buffing up his arm and preparing to fight All for One.

And then I saw my Old Man join him. Along with Edge shot. Screaming something at the symbol of peace. Who the hell knows what.

All of us together were cheering for All Might to win…

But the villain had blasted everyone out of the way - all those pros - and buffed up his arm into something - something so unbelievably gross that I'd never seen the likes of it before.

A twisted, scary abomination of multiple arms and metal rivets…

Aiming it right at Sensei.

And he was aiming that monstrosity right - at - All Might!

We all sat frozen, then started cheering again. And the punch hit - the blast from it obscured the camera. When it cleared, our Sensei was being pushed back - despite everything he was doing to fight it off - he was getting ground down into the ground like he was fighting off a semi-truck.

Then suddenly he hit the villain from the other side.

And buffed up the other arm - to land a punch on the Villain's face! And blasted him - against all odds - into the ground.

It was over.

Well, we thought it was over. As the police arrived to restrain the villain, and Yaoyorozu and I walked away, moving with the crowd, still a little too stunned to say much, there came a sound from the Television screen that made us turn back.

All Might had turned around. He was facing us all again, and he'd held up his hand to point at the screen.

"Now…"

We were all waiting, not even breathing.

"Now, it's your turn."

Everyone else in the crowd cheered at those words. A rallying cry against the villains, they guessed. But I saw in Yaoyorozu's face that she guessed too, what I felt was true.

Those words were meant for us.

Because the symbol of peace had used the last of his power in that fight, and would never fight a battle again.