There was a brief flashback of Mandalay explaining what happened to Kota's parents. Then Kota was shown at his hide out, remembering when Mandalay once told him that someday he'd meet someone that would help him understand the title of hero, someone who would risk their life for him. Kota told himself there wasn't anyone like that, just before he noticed the flames in the forest, and someone was shown approaching him again.
Pity and fear swirled together in the hearts of those watching.
'I thought Midoriya learned harsh realities at too young an age after hearing him think that people aren't equal, but at that same age Kota has learned something even harsher. I wonder how much of Kota's more cynical views are due to that harshness and how much is due to differing personalities.' Momo mused.
The scene of the main group getting attacked by Magne and Spinner was shown again, then it suddenly switched to a scene 5 minutes earlier. Those who had failed the final exam were shown complaining as Aizawa dragged them back to the main building. As they entered, Aizawa said he was going to drill them on how to react during an emergency.
"Oh, well, that's great, so long as you can teach us enough in five minutes." Kirishima said, forcing a joking tone.
"Heh, yeah, perfect timing, we can make the lesson practical now." Kaminari joined in.
"We most certainly will not. If I get a whiff of what's going on outside then I'm going to go deal with it and the five of you will all be staying inside and away from the villains." Aizawa corrected.
Aizawa went on to say that they would need to become more self aware and such in order to not fall behind the others. When they opened the door to the room they would be using for the lesson, Monoma was there, and immediately started going on again about 1A having so many people in the extra lessons.
"Dude, that loses a lot of its punch when you're in there taking those same lessons with us." Sero pointed out.
People felt even more annoyed than usual by Monoma's attitude. Who the heck cared about the stupid A vs B competition when a villain attack was about to happen?! There was no way Monoma could have known about that of course, but still!
Mic couldn't help but think the bit about self awareness was ironic, considering they were about to be attacked by an organized force and had no idea it was going to happen.
Vlad King was there too, and Aizawa started talking to him about how the lesson for that night would go. Before they could start though, they all jumped when they felt Mandalay's telepathy ability. She quickly warned everyone in range that villains were attacking, and told everyone in range to get back to the main compound while avoiding engaging with the villains. Aizawa told Vlad to stay with the six kids here, then ran out to go help.
Ashido groaned. "We failed the practical, and now we can't even go help protect our friends! This sucks!" The others who had failed nodded in miserable agreement.
"Well, at least it keeps Monoma there too. Now we don't have to worry about him distracting everyone with rambling about how good our bad either class is doing in the fight." Sato said. He hoped Monoma would know not to take it that far, but you never know.
Midoriya started mumbling about how useful Mandalay's quirk was already proving to be. After all, if she hadn't used it here then it may have taken much longer for the teachers in the building to be made aware of what was happening, and this kept them from being taken completely off guard. Midoriya was glad to have something besides his growing dread to focus on.
Aizawa got out of the building, and saw the light of the blue flames rising above the trees. Just as he was thinking about how bad this was, Dabi suddenly appeared next to him. Aizawa started to call for Vlad, but was cut off by a blast of fire from Dabi. The villain told Aizawa not to get in their way, because the pros weren't the ones they were after.
"Shouta!" Mic shouted in alarm. That same sense of alarm shot through the students too, seeing the teacher that defended them at the USJ suddenly appear to be engulfed in flame. They expected to hear or see some sign of pain from Aizawa, but none came. Aizawa himself had braced himself for it, but only felt a brush of heat against his skin.
"I feel fine, so I must have gotten out of the way." He said. Mic and the students slumped with relief.
"Then who are you after?!" Yagi demanded, despite knowing the villain couldn't hear him. Given who the villains were ultimately working for, and Shigaraki's obsession, he couldn't help but worry that Young Midoriya was the main target.
Back at the main area, Spinner introduced themselves as being from the League. As the class and WWP watched warily, Magne threatened to to crush Pixie-Bob's head. Tiger stepped forward, saying he wouldn't let it happen, but Spinner told both of them to calm down. He said whether or not that happened should depend on what would better follow Stain's ideology.
People around the room groaned.
"Dammit, Stain again?" Iida asked acerbically.
"I guess we should have expected that, Dabi and Toga both said they were, uh, influenced by Stain too." Uraraka said, fidgeting nervously.
On-screen Iida also objected to the following of Stain, which caused Spinner's attention to focus on him and realize that Iida was the boy who helped end Stain's vigilante career. He explained his name meant he would 'spin his dreams into reality'. As he said this, he pulled out a gigantic blade that looked like it was made entirely from smaller blades all strapped together.
"What the actual hell." Bakugo deadpanned.
"I know right? How does he even keep all those swords and stuff together?" Kirishima asked, bewildered.
"Not that Shitty Hair, I don't know how it's put together either but that thing actually looks cool. I meant what the hell is up with that name! 'Spin his dreams'? The fuck kind of villain name is that?!"
Kirishima barked a laugh. Even at a time like this, Bakugo was still Bakugo.
"Spinning stuff would fit better with a spider type quirk that a reptile type. I don't know any reptiles that spin stuff." Tsuyu said.
Tiger stepped forward, declaring how angry he was at their actions. Pixie-Bob was just worrying about getting married, so how dare the villains threaten her face and then laugh about it! Spinner exclaimed that a hero like her shouldn't be going after such average dreams anyway!
"I feel like I should offended on Pixie-Bob's behalf. Mostly because of Spinner but also kinda because of Tiger." Jirou said slowly. "Like, Spinner is implying that heroes shouldn't be able to have families and stuff and that's just dumb and narrow minded. Your job shouldn't determine if you can start a family."
"By that logic, doctors and police officers also shouldn't have families, since their careers are also about saving lives." Momo agreed.
"Exactly! And it's cool of Tiger to care that much about what Pixie-Bob wants, but I feel kinda offended that he thinks she couldn't get dates if she got scars or something. Anyone who wouldn't date her because of something like that wouldn't deserve her anyway!"
"True, but I'm sure he means well. Even with mutant type quirks becoming more accepted over the years, people can still be sensitive about injuries that drastically change one's appearance, be it their own or others." Plus, they both remembered Recovery Girl talking about how attractiveness made things easier for heroes.
Mandalay interrupted the standoff by telling Tiger that she'd used Telepathy to give instructions to the students. She and Tiger would fight the two villains here while Ragdoll went with the students. She told Iida to take charge since he was class rep, and Iida quickly started directing everyone back to the main compound. He called for Midoriya to follow, but he didn't. Instead he told Mandalay he knew where 'he' was.
"You really are reliable at times like this Iida." Midoriya praised.
"As much as I appreciate that compliment, I will not allow you to distract me from what you yourself are going to do. You are planning to go get Kota by yourself aren't you?"
"Probably." Midoriya confessed. "But, it's not like I know there's a villain out there. I mean, why would one go after a harmless little kid like that when there's pros and stuff to worry about? Without knowing there's someone there, just me going makes sense. I know exactly where Kota hangs out, and can go there quickly and directly with my quirk, now that I've gotten better at using it. I could grab him and get back without risking anyone else, and Mandalay will be less distracted if she knows Kota is safe."
"You do make good points." Iida admitted.
"But now we do know someone is out there." Uraraka fretted. "Maybe they plan to use Kota as a hostage to get the heroes to back down. I hope that means they didn't send anyone too powerful, since Kota's just a little kid and all."
Midoriya hoped that was the case too.
The scene changed back to the forest, where Kendo was running through the trees. She used her big fists to protect her two classmates from the gas, and was holding her breath as best she could. Then she ran into Tetsutetsu, who held an unconscious Ibara. Both of the new comers were wearing gas masks, which Tetsutetsu said were made by Momo. She was nearby them when the gas rolled in, and made some for them as well as extras to hand out. Awase, another member of class 1B, went with Momo to show her where everyone was hiding so more could be handed out.
"Go Yoamomo!" Ashido cheered.
"An excellent show of cooperation between the classes." Nedzu praised.
"Flashbangs, gas masks, you really know how to make a lot of useful stuff huh?" Jirou said, smiling proudly at her friend. Momo blushed a little at the praise.
"Well, it just seemed logical to know how to make them. Plenty of quirks can release gasses and such, so I knew it would come in handy at some point."
Once everyone in the little group had masks on, Kendo said they should all get back to camp. Tetsutetsu said she should take the others, but that he was going to fight. Kendo started to scold him that they'd been directed not to engage, but was cut off by Tetsutetsu. He said he could feel the difference between their class and 1A. 1A had dealt with crisis, and turned those instance into opportunities. How could a hero turn away from villains? He was gonna find the villains and beat them up!
Mic took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay, I get what you're saying, and you're not wrong, because dealing with all that stuff is what has given 1A a leg up in this time line. Plus fighting villains to help others is a generally heroic thing to do. But that doesn't mean you should go around running toward a villain when you don't have to! Especially when you've been given specific directions that are the opposite of that!"
"If he wants to really help, he should continue to escort the injured out. Then he can go back to help more people afterwards,or locate the villain responsible, if that seems like a tenable option. After all, if both Kendo and her classmate are responsible for caring for one of the ones passed out, they may need another person to help defend them from possible attacks, and Momo's group could have gotten people out by the time this group gets to camp. Going off without any additional information could lead to some pretty bad things." Yagi said.
None of the students said anything, because they couldn't say for sure that they wouldn't try to do exactly what Tetsutetsu was suggesting if they were in that situation.
The scene changed to Mandalay using her Telepath ability to call out to Kota. She told him to get back to camp, and apologized that she couldn't go to save him. As she was saying this, Kota was fearfully backing away from a a very tall villain with white mask covering his face.
"I know appearances can be deceiving...but that guy doesn't look weak." Sato said, his worry for the kid growing. The other students were having very similar thoughts and feelings.
'Try and hold out Kota, I'm sure the other me will get there soon.' Midoriya pleaded internally.
The villain said he had just been looking for a place with a nice view, and here he found a face not on the list.
"There's a list? A list of faces?" Ojiro asked warily.
"Pray tell, which people are on such a list, and why?" Aoyama asked, matching his tone.
It was a good question. Were the villains told to capture certain people? Kill them? Avoid them? A combination? They still had no idea.
The villain told Kota he had a cool hat, and offered to trade it for the white hockey type mask he was wearing. When the villain reached for his mask, Kota tried to run away. The villain leaped ahead to cut him off. Muscles started to grow along his arms, and he said he wanted to get in a warm up shot. As the mask fell away, and his face started to be shown, Kota froze. His mind flashed back to the news after his parents died, where a photo of the villain who killed them was shown. The villain that killed his parents was the same one facing him right now.
"Are you. Fucking. Kidding me." Bakugo ground out. "Of all the people that could have joined the League, and come along on this trip, it ends up being this guy that finds him?!"
Bakugo said what many others were thinking, though most of those others could only stare at the screen with either fear or incredulity.
"If this villain truly did run into Kota by chance while scouting, then that is indeed an incredible coincidence." Nedzu admitted. He couldn't help but wonder if this villain was actually the obsessive type, and had agreed to join this mission because he had some intel that showed his past victims' family lived there.
Kota tearfully cried out for his parents. The villain started to bring his fist down. At the last second, Midorya shot in and tackled Kota out of the way.
Those watching had gasped or gone rigid when Kota was about to be attacked. There was a collective sigh of relief when Midoriya showed up.
"The hell man! Going after a little kid? As a warm up?! I don't care how many muscles he as, that guy doesn't have a single cell of manliness in his body!"
There was a mixture of angry agreement for Kirishima's words and belated cheers for Midoriya's heroic timing. While that was going on, Midoriya found himself being moved to the ground and given a towel by his friends. He found he couldn't argue with their decision. Even though he'd figured out how to not break his bones every time he used OfA, there was a good chance this fight was going to hurt.
As Midoriya and Kota rolled away from the villain, Midoriya's phone was shown flying through the air, cracked and broken. When they came to stop, Muscular commented that Midoriya had been on the list.
Midoriya was already grateful that he'd been moved to a more comfortable position and given something to bite. It was hardly the worst pain he'd ever experienced, but neither the shockwave from the hit nor the rolling had been pleasant.
"Well that can't be good." Sato pointed out needlessly. "Also, definitely not a weaker villain!"
Yagi's heart skipped a beat when one of his worst fears was confirmed. The whole villain team had been told to keep an eye out for Midoriya! He was definitely one of the targets!
Midoriya couldn't believe his luck. There was a villain right here, when he'd been rushing out here to keep Kota away from villains. Now his cell phone was broken, and he hadn't told anyone he was coming here, so there wouldn't be any back up coming.
"Midoriya, I will maintain that your earlier reasoning for going after Kota was sound given the information available. However I believe that falls through when you tell no one where you are going!" Iida scolded.
"Problem Child," Aizawa started, suddenly sounding very tired "how is it that you've gotten worse about this since the Stain incident?"
"That's a fair question." Midoriya said, after taking the towel out of his mouth for a moment. He didn't have an answer though, so he just put it right back in. The only thing he could think of was that he didn't want to distract the others from their own fights by worrying about him, but he didn't think that would go over well. He could argue that he'd seemed to tell Mandalay he was going to help Kota, but his own thoughts implied he hadn't actually told her where the hide out was, so that wouldn't hold much water either.
Midoriya questioned his ability to take on the villain and protect Kota at the same time. Then he looked back and saw Kota crying, and reprimanded himself for thinking like that. He had to do it, because there was no other option. With a determined smile, he told Kota that it would be okay, he was going to save him.
Yagi had just maneuvered himself to sit behind young Midoriya on the couch. When he saw the look on Midoriya's face, he smiled proudly. He couldn't help it. He was still incredibly worried about what it meant for Midoriya to be a target, and about the fact that he was in this fight alone, but that smile was a clear sign of just how much Midoriya was growing into an admirable hero. He had no doubt his own Midoriya would reach this point some day.
When All Might sat down, his legs ended up on either side of Midoriya, and his hands rested on the boy's shoulders. The unexpected touch made the boy look up, and for a moment he was awestruck at the smile All Might was sending toward the screen. It made him all the more determined to live up to the example his other self was setting when it came to smiling in the face of danger.
The scene changed to Bakugo and Todoroki walking through the forest. The gas still lingered in the air, and Todoroki was carrying a boy from 1B on his back.
There were some noises of frustration when the scene changed. As much as they wanted to know how everyone was doing, they also wanted to know if Midoriya was going to make it out of his fight in one piece.
Todoroki was saying they should bypass the finish line to get back to camp. Bakugo started to argue, but they were brought up short when they saw someone on the path ahead of them. There was an unfamiliar figure kneeling on the ground, a severed arm in front of him. Bakugo asked who had been ahead of them, Todoroki said it was Tokoyami and Shoji.
A few people gagged, and several others covered their mouths with their hands to keep from doing the same. Apparently it wasn't Midoriya who they should have been most worried about staying in one piece.
Aizawa grit his teeth, dread filling his heart. Had he and the other pros already been too late to keep a student from getting handicapped?
"Well, if that arm is from one of us, I hope it's from me. That would be the better option." Shoji said.
"W-why would that be better?" Koda asked shakily.
"Well, I've already got others. Plus, if my appendages aren't cut off too low, I can usually grow them back. Not looking forward to the pain that will come if it's mine, but better that it comes from someone who might be able to recover."
"I appreciate your willingness to risk such a thing, but I dearly hope it is from neither one of us." Tokoyami said.
The figure kneeling in front of the arm was going on about how pretty and captivating it was. Then he stood up, reminding himself that he had a job to do, and turned toward the three students, showing it was the villain with only his teeth exposed.
"Shigaraki's gotta stop letting so many crazy bastards onto his team. It's not a good look for him." Kaminari joked. It was easier to do once they could no longer see the severed arm.
Bakugo gave a feral grin as he decided to throw out the instruction of avoiding the villains.
Aizawa took a deep breath and let it out. Normally he'd still advocate for them trying to get away, especially since it was heavily implied that this villain had already grievously wounded another student. However, their mobility would be impaired by the third student on Todoroki's back, and the villain seemed like he had no intention of letting them go. Not unless he severed another limb and got distracted by that. Running wasn't impossible, but depending on what this man's quirk was, it may be just as hard as standing their ground. It was like Stain all over again: a fight where the students should have run but couldn't do so without risking the lives of themselves or others.
Back in the main area, Spinner rushed forward to attack Mandalay. He yelled about how they were heroes who only thought of themselves, and how their targets would be purged.
"Those are big words coming from a guy whose attacking a hero defending a bunch of teenagers! Not to mention one whose teammate that just tried to kill a five year old!" Hagakure yelled.
"Since we are hero students, he could be justifying the defense of us as just defending 'their own' rather than innocents. And it's possible he isn't aware of what his teammate is doing." Todoroki theorized.
"Well, yeah, we're hero students, but it's not like we've done anything to them! Most of us haven't been in fights outside of the training and the USJ, so he doesn't know what kind of heroes we'll be yet."
"Since Iida is there, and he blames Iida for ending Stain's work, he might be lumping us in with him." Iida looked affronted but Todoroki kept talking. "That doesn't explain his willingness to 'purge' all the targets though. Midoriya was stated to be on that list of targets, and Stain went out of his way to save Midoriya. It's very contradictory of him." Unless Spinner meant something different by purge, or that only some targets were meant to be purged.
Mandalay used Telepathy to talk to Spinner as they swiped at each other. She told him he sounded cool and that his face was her type. That actually startled Spinner enough to make him pause, and gave Mandalay an edge for a moment. When they were away from each other again he called her a harlot for using such a dirty trick.
Mineta sat up in interest at the interaction. He was learning he shouldn't say every thought that came to mind about girls, but that didn't mean his urge to say something had just gone away. Maybe if he could learn to do things like Mandalay just did, a flirty response that would startle an opponent without creeping out people on his side, then maybe he wouldn't have to conquer the impulse completely. He could just change it up a bit.
A glow surrounded Mandalay and she was sent flying back toward Magne. Before she could get hit by the villain, Tiger stepped in and hit Magne, releasing Mandalay. While Tiger threw punches, he recited the crimes he knew Magne was responsible for.
"That's a lot of attempted murders." Tsuyu noted.
"Only three actual murders though. Means the shitty villain messed it up all those other times and only succeeded those three times." Bakugo said, sounding far from impressed.
"Bro, we're supposed to happy when the villains haven't murdered more people, not disappointed." Kirishima reminded him.
Tiger demanded to know why the villains had come. Magne gave no answer. Mandalay called to Tiger that something was wrong, she hadn't gotten a response from Ragdoll. Magne smirked and mockingly wondered why. A bloody desk was shown, the same one Ragdoll was supposed to be working at.
Some people went pale while others cursed. The tension among the teachers spiked. Ragdoll was supposed to be the one helping the students get back to the camp, and keeping track of everyone. Without her, the students would be more likely to be forced into fights, and they would have a harder time finding anyone missing.
The scene changed back to Kota's hide out. Muscular mocked Midoriya's promise to protect Kota, as well as heroes and their talk of justice. He asked if Midoriya really was Izuku's name. Midoriya didn't say anything, but Muscular said it was perfect anyway, because they'd been told to kill him. He promised to torment him thoroughly.
Yagi's hands tightened around Midoriya's shoulders. He wished for the hundredth time that he'd taken All for One out for good during their last fight. 'Would even that be enough to keep Midoriya safe? Or would a power like One for All attract dangerous attention no matter what?' he wondered.
"You will make it through this." All Might said, making sure his voice didn't waver. He wanted to make sure Midoriya knew he believed in him.
Just a moment ago, Midoriya's posture was a bit bent, seeming resigned to whatever pain he was about to face. After hearing All Might's words, he sat up straighter, and nodded in determination. He didn't look forward to the pain, but the bolstering words made him feel like he could endure it.
Iida cursed. Internally of course, but he still cursed. It just occurred to him that with Ragdoll having been either captured or killed, not even she would be able to tell anyone where Midoriya was. His friend really would have to face this fight alone. The thought filled Iida with resentment for the whole situation. Midoriya had come to his aid when he faced a powerful enemy, without being asked, but now Iida could not do the same for him.
Muscular leaped forward and swung a punch at Midoriya. Midoriya raised an arm to block. The block worked, making the punch hit Midoriya's arms rather than his face, but the force of it was still strong enough to slam the boy into the rock wall beside him. Dust and blood flew threw the air.
Midoriya's shriek of pain could easily be heard, despite the slight muffling of the cloth in his mouth. His back and arm jerked, trying to escape whatever was causing them pain. Yagi continued to grip the boy's shoulders, hoping to give him another sensation to focus on, and Uraraka and Iida stayed close to his sides. As the dust on screen cleared, Todoroki came over to join them.
Muscular suddenly asked where he could find a student named 'Bakugo'. Midoriya could only look up at him in surprise. Muscular said he had to remember he had a job to do.
"Wait, is Bakugo on their list of targets too? Why would he be on there?" Mineta asked.
"Clearly it's because I'm the powerhouse of the students and they want me out of the way to make things easier for them." Bakugo claimed.
"I suppose that is a possibility." Momo admitted. Bakugo was indeed powerful and smart when it came to fighting, so she could see the League warning some of their members about him or ordering others to get rid of him.
Todoroki wondered if Bakugo was correct. If so, then Todoroki was likely on the list too. He hoped that didn't result in too much trouble for the pair of them.
Muscular went in for another punch. Midoriya dodged this time, and the arm he'd used to block the last blow was shown to be in a bad state. It wasn't bruised and broken all over like when he overpowered OfA, but the angle it was shown at wasn't natural either. Midoriya wondered why they were after Kaachan. Muscular interpreted his lack of response as 'I don't know' and went back to attacking. He kneed Midoriya in the stomach, sending him into the cliff side once again. Muscular laughed in delight when he saw blood flowing down Midoriya's face.
"This guy's insane!" Sero said, clearly shaken.
The intense hit reminded Yagi of how he himself had been shown hitting young Bakugo and young Midoriya during their exam. Guilt twisted in his stomach as Midoriya cried out with each blow, despite knowing that he wasn't the one dealing them this time.
"Focus on your own damn fight Deku, I'll be fine!" Bakugo snapped, hoping the sharp tone wouldn't betray the undercurrent of worry he was starting to feel.
Muscular mocked him again for saying he'd save Kota earlier and asked what he was doing running away.
"What are you talking about? He's not running away!" Hagakure said, offended on Midoriya's behalf.
"Yes, indeed, he's just... taking a moment." Aoyama said delicately. "If you were referring to the dodging earlier, then I encourage you to stand still when Midoriya comes to hit you and see how well it works out for you."
Midoriya thought about Muscular's quirk as he shakily stood up. He told himself he couldn't worry about Kaachan, he had to focus on the fight in front of him.
Bakugo grunted in approval.
He powered up OfA and leveled a punch at Muscular. Muscular blocked it, much like Midoriya had earlier, but this punch didn't send Muscular flying like his punch to Midoriya had. Muscular started mocking him again, saying he was fast, but not strong enough.
"It...Isn't that like what the Noumu did when All Might punched it? It just sort of absorbed it?" Tsuyu asked warily.
"It is." Momo said, voice terse in response to her nerves. "If he can achieve a similar affect with the muscles he keeps growing on his arms...then there is a chance that the strength level Midoriya has learned to safely use may not be enough to outmatch him."
It was only now that all the students began to truly worry. Many of them, while concerned about the pain Midoriya would go through, thought he would doubtless win because of how good he'd become with One for All. But if this villain could use his quirk to counteract so much of that strength...
Despite the pain radiating from different parts of his body, Midoriya's mind began running through possible solutions. Muscular had commented on his speed. If he was faster than Muscular, could he use that to win? Was there a way to outwit him? Would he be fast enough to outrun him? How high a percentage would he have to use of One for All in order to make a dent?
Muscular threw Midoriya away, sending him skidding along the ground. Muscular started bragging about his quirk, explaining how he could add muscle fibers to himself to increase his speed and strength. Muscular declared that Midoriya was an inferior version of him.
"Hm, an ironic statement, since some of us were just commenting on his similarity to the Noumu from the USJ. One could say that he himself is an inferior version of an enemy young Midoriya has faced before." Nedzu said. Midoriya hadn't done well against the Noumu at that time, but the young man had improved a great deal since then. So, considering Midoriya's improvement and this man's stated abilities, Nedzu felt confident that Midoriya would come out victorious. Not unscathed, but still victorious.
Yagi snorted. "I agree with the principal. Additionally, he does not know the true nature of One for All, so he cannot know what you are capable of young Midoriya. Even if you don't have any pros or classmates to aid you, with the power of One for All coursing through you, you are never truly alone. And you could never be inferior to a murderer like him, no matter the strengths of your quirks!"
Warmth bloomed in Izuku's chest when he heard All Might speaking so confidently and protectively about him. It didn't lesson the pain he was feeling, but it did make it easier to deal with.
Muscular slammed his fist down at Midoriya. Midoriya dodged, but debris was sent flying up and a large piece hit Midoriya in the head. Muscular leaped up and another hit smashed Midoriya back onto the ground. Midoriya lay still as Muscular landed and approached. He mocked Midoriya's promise to save Kota again, and prepared to hit him again, only to be brought up short by a rock hitting the back of his neck. Muscular turned to see that Kota, still crying, had been the one to throw it.
"No...Kota don't..." Izuku mumbled through the haze of pain. His thoughts felt a bit more addled than what he now considered 'normal' for when the pain factor started to come in this much. It probably had something to do with that rock hitting his head on screen. Still, he could still think enough to know that Kota should be taking the chance to run, not trying to distract the villain for his sake.
"It'll be okay." Uraraka whispered, trying to soothe him.
Kota said his parents' hero name and demanded to know if Muscular had tormented his parents like this before he killed them. Muscular was surprised to learn who the boy's parents were, and declared this must be fate.
'I see, so he didn't know about Kota relationship to his past victims.' Nedzu thought. If that was true, this truly was an unbelievable coincidence. Nedzu had a hard time believing in coincidences of this level though, and now wondered if All for One had been the one to make the connection and perhaps recommended taking this villain along to Shigaraki. A villain of all for One's caliber would certainly be able to provide the kind of medical care necessary to get that replacement eye Muscular had after all.
"Kid, stop antagonizing him and get out of there!" Ojiro urged. The heroes' young son dying by the same villain after the heroes sacrificed themselves like that would be a tragedy he didn't want to think about, much less see.
Muscular said Water Hose was the reason he now had an artificial eye. Kota said guys like Muscular were the reason things always ended up this way. Muscular said Kota was being childish and shifting the blame. He held no grudge against Water Hose. He did what he wanted, which was kill, and they did what they wanted, which was try to stop him. What's wrong with wanting to do something you can't do?
"The more this guy talks the crazier he sounds." Kaminari said. "I'm not sure if the fact that he's debating a five year old makes it better or not."
"At least if he's talking then he's not punching anyone." Shoji pointed out.
Muscular raised his arm to hit Kota, which spurred Midoriya into action. Muscular seemed to expect this though, and turned to face him right away. Midoriya got his hand in between some of the villain's muscles, to make sure he couldn't dodge. Muscular said that wouldn't help him with that weak punch of his. Midoriya said it didn't matter if he could do it or not, being a hero was about risking your life to 'make lip service into reality'!
Midoriya would make good on his promise to protect Kota. No matter what it took, he'd make that the reality. That's just who he was.
Those watching were briefly stunned by the sheer power of determination Midoriya was displaying.
Even Muscular could tell something had changed. Midoriya powered up One for All, this time at 100%. The blow that landed rocked the cliffside, and sent debris flying everywhere. Kota was sent flying along with it, his small body tumbling off the side of the cliff.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
It had now been a while since they'd heard Midoriya let out that kind of scream. The scream that heralded bruised muscles on top of broken bones that occurred all in one terrible instant.
"No!"
"Don't!"
"Grab him!"
"Midoriya!"
"Kota!
While Midoriya screamed in pain, his classmates cried out in despair. Both out of fear from Midoriya using that much power, and in fear that Kota would fall to his death.
Before Kota could fall any further, he suddenly stopped. The boy turned his head to see that Midoriya had grabbed the back of Kota's shirt with his teeth. He mumbled an apology for almost sending him off the cliff.
The sudden relief of seeing them both looking okay made several people laugh. Some of that was fueled by the fact that Midoriya had chosen to catch Kota with his teeth of all things. Those that thought about it more deeply just became more worried about Midoriya. With one arm messed up from Muscular's first punch, and the other now having been used for a full powered OfA attack, would Midoriya be able to use his arms for anything? Even if Midoriya had managed to take out Muscular just now, how would Midoriya get himself and Kota back to camp? He couldn't carry the boy if this arms were out of commission, and taking the long way would make them likely to run into other villains.
Midoriya himself could only let out a sigh through his nose, the relief of Kota being okay drowning out the pain that buzzed through every part of his arms.
Midoriya pulled Kota up and out of danger. The boy turned and started to thank him, but stopped when he saw how hurt Midoriya was. He started tearing up again, the only thing he could think was 'why?'
"Because that's what true heroes do, young Kota." All Might said, softly and proudly.
Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki all nodded in agreement. Izuku managed to smile around the towel. He certainly hadn't meant for any of this to happen, but it made him happy to think that Kota really could be reached. He just hoped it didn't require something so drastic when they got back to their own world. When he wasn't in so much pain, he'd have to start thinking up plans that would allow him to meet and help Kota.
Just as Midoriya said they should get back to camp, something suddenly moved among the rubble. Midoriya turned, and was horrified to see that Muscular was standing. He'd encased himself in thick muscles to lessen the damage of the impact, leaving him roughed up, but otherwise uninjured.
"Oh come on!" Ashido shouted. "That's not fair!"
Aizawa would normally take the opportunity to point out that he'd warned them that hero work would be unfair, but found himself filled with too much anxiety for how both Midoriya and Kota were going to survive this to do so.
Midoriya couldn't believe his hit at 100% had done so little damage. Muscular started approaching, saying the punch wasn't bad, but still too obvious. Midoriya desperately tried to think of what to do. He asked what the League was here for, what they were planning. Muscular said he didn't know, and didn't care as long as long as he got to fight.
"What do you mean you don't know?! You said both Midoriya and Bakugo's names and faces were on a list, so you must know something!" Jirou cried in exasperation.
"It figures this is the kind of character Shigaraki would attract." Tokoyami said darkly.
"Your idea to try stalling for time was a good one, it is unfortunate that you were faced with someone like this." Iida said. 'It seems like the only answers the League members ever give is 'I don't care' or 'because Stain said so'.' he thought bitterly.
"If only it was Dabi or something. He keeps giving those weird speeches, you could probably get him going on a monologue or something." Uraraka said. Todoroki nodded in agreement.
"If only." Izuku muttered. He was already bracing himself for whatever pain was about to come next.
Muscular took something out of his pocket, and placed it over his eye. He talked about how he just wanted to stretch his wings with his quirk, then said he was done playing and was going to take Midoriya seriously now.
It seemed to Nedzu that a number of people in this viewing had framed their villainous deeds as simply wanting to use their quirks without consequence. While he highly doubted things were that simple, it did make him wonder if there might be fewer 'villains' out there if it were made easier to use quirks in a greater variety of settings. Maybe after they got back he could look into what initiatives were on the table to allow such a change to happen.
Midoriya realized what was about to happen. He crouched down and urged Kota to grab onto him. He got a hold of the kid and jumped out of the way of Muscular's blow just in time. The increased damage made Midoriya realize Muscular really had been just playing with him before.
Dread started to infuse the room once more. Momo's words about Muscular's abilities came back to their minds. Midoriya had already tried a hit at 100%, what else could he do to get out of this?
Muscular attacked again. Midoriya hit the ground and Kota was forced to let go and roll away. Midoriya tried to think of what to do again. He thought that if he could lure the villain back to the main camp, then Aizawa would be able to erase his quirk. But there was no way he'd be able to lead him on all that way. If he turned his back to him, he'd be prey. His only choice was to fight here and win. "You're going to save him right? Remember where you came from!"
Something tightened in Aizawa's chest, making him feel both proud and pained at the same time. First hearing that Midoriya trusted Aizawa, or at least his abilities, enough to think of going to him for help first, only to remember that his other self hadn't been seen since he was attacked by Dabi. Then hearing Midoriya's conviction to fight when he concluded no other option was available to him, accompanied by the very words Aizawa had spoken to him earlier that day.
Others once again became impressed at how quickly Midoriya's mind thought up and then discarded possibilities before deciding on a course of action, not to mention the determination Midoriya needed to continue to fight Muscular despite how the fight had been going.
"You can do it." Todoroki said with conviction. Uraraka nodded rapidly.
"Yeah! You'll definitely find a way to take down this creep and get Kota to safety!"
Izuku nodded, grateful for their confidence in him.
Bakugo took a moment to wonder how he would fair against Muscular. He begrudgingly admitted he likely wouldn't be much better at hurting him than Deku had been. But he probably could have put Kota on his back and fled, since his explosions would let him fly through the air in a way Muscular wouldn't be able to manage. He wondered if his other self would have been able to put his pride aside enough to make that call.
Midoriya told Kota to run back to camp as soon as the next hit came. Kota begged Midoriya to run with him, the hits earlier didn't work and now both his arms were broken! Midoriya said it would be okay. Muscular lunged for them again, and Midoriya started powering up at 100% again.
Before he knew what was happening, Midoriya found himself lying on the ground, arranged in a comfortable position. His friends surrounded him, close enough to comfort but not so close he might lash out from the pain and hit them. He really loved his friends.
"Oh man, not again!" Kirishima cried, remembering the last time Midoriya had used his quirk with already broken bones.
Recovery Girl remembered too, and was already coming over. She'd really been hoping that would be the only time Midoriya would do something like that. On the plus side, at least now he was doing it to save his life and Kota's, rather than just doing it for some competition. On the down side, he was in the middle of the woods and wouldn't be able to get medical attention right away like he did at the Sports Festival.
Midoriya met Muscular head on. Lightning sparked around him as his arm thrust into the mass of muscle that the villain had become. The pair became a pulsing mass of power on the cliff side. Muscular mocked that the hit wasn't as strong before. Midoriya declared that was fine, but no matter what he wasn't going to let Muscular get any further. He urged Kota to go.
Midoriya writhed on the ground, desperately trying to hold in his cries and only partially succeeding. It felt like pain was radiating from every muscles in his body, and his bones were cracking under the pressure they produced. But all that mattered was that he was doing it. He was holding Muscular at bay!
"I...I think we finally got the answer to what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object." Momo said breathlessly, awed by the display of power going on before them. As powerful as that feeling was, she also desperately wished for it to stop. She wanted Kota safe and Midoriya to no longer be in pain!
She was far from the only one to feel this. The other watchers also couldn't help but stare in both awe and trepidation.
Muscular was delighted. He pressed down on him, overwhelming Midoriya with his mass and power. Midoriya yelled in defiance, but was still forced down. He heard All Might's voice saying that a hero always gets out of a tough spot. Midoriya desperately apologized to his mother in his mind, then kept repeating a cry to All Might.
If every muscle was in pain before, now it felt like every single cell in his body was in agony. But he had to hold on, he had to hold on! It would be over soon...one way or another.
Yagi felt like he was both petrified and radiating with pent up energy. The way Midoriya was apologizing...this couldn't be it. His child couldn't die here! He wouldn't allow it!
Yagi didn't remember moving, but he found himself cradling young Midoriya's upper body on his lap. The boy writhed and screamed even harder than before; holding him got him struck by elbows and hands, but that didn't matter. He would be here for his boy.
Debris flew up, obscuring Midoriya from sight as he was smashed into the ground. Midoriya stopped struggling, and went still. The screen went dark.
Midoriya went still in his grasp. Yagi's heart stopped.
"NO!" Uraraka cried, tears streaming down her face.
Todoroki stared at the screen, his hands clenched so hard he could feel drops of blood starting to well up under his fingernails.
"He, he's just unconscious." Iida said, desperation dripping from every word. The rest of the watchers stared in horror, fervently hoping he was right.
A splash of water suddenly appeared in the darkness. Muscular looked up in surprise. Kota was shown, his hand dripping wet, and he desperately yelled at Muscular to stop. Muscular said he'd get to Kota later, then Midoriya's eye was shown opening and focusing.
Midoriya let out a strange whimper, and Yagi felt like he could breath again.
Based on how many gasps could be heard around the room, including a couple right next to him, he wasn't the only one to feel this way.
Midoriya's body started to move again, pushing Muscular back up. For once, Muscular looked off put rather than excited, as he realized Midoriya was actually getting stronger now. Midoriya's whole body glowed with energy. He declared that he'd never let him kill Kota. As he said this, the same connecting lights that had shown when All Might explained OfA were shown again. Midoriya screamed out "1,000,000%!" as he punched into Muscular's mass. The blow pierced through every layer of muscles until the fist hit Muscular's face. The man was sent flying back into the mountainside, creating a whole new crater from the impact.
The shriek Midoriya let out as all this was happening...All Might couldn't think of any way to describe it but 'inhuman'.
The brief relief brought on by Midoriya's first movements became swirled together with the awe of the display. Terror was added to the mix when Midoriya haunting scream filled the room.
"That has to be enough right? There's no way that wasn't enough, please tell me that was enough!" Ashido begged.
As Kota stared up at Midoriya, he remembered something Mandalay had once said to him. She said that, even though his parents had left him behind, what happened to them resulted in others being saved. She was sure he would meet someone that would make him understand some day. As he looked at Midoriya, broken, battered, yet still defiant, he finally understood what she meant. He looked at Midoriya and thought 'My hero'.
Midoriya slumped again as the episode ended. Yagi heart skipped a beat before he remembered that Midoriya was in no danger now.
"My boy..." He murmured, unable to think of anything more to say.
"I'm...okay. Just...tired." Midoriya mumbled.
The singled chuckle Yagi let out sounded thick with unshed tears. "I'm sure. How about I take you to your room so you can rest for a while?"
It was a testament to how exhausted he truly was when Midoriya made no attempt to dissuade him from doing so. He gathered young Midoriya up in his arms, and carried him to the room he'd slept in the last few times. Recovery Girl followed close behind. Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki watched them go, feeling unusually anxious about letting Midoriya out of their sight but unsure if their presence would be considered helpful with Recovery Girl there.
"Well," the principal's voice snapped up everyone's attention. "as much as we're all eager to know how this whole debacle at the training camp ends, I believe now would be a good time for a break, yes?"
No one argued. Everyone wanted to give Midoriya time to recover his senses, as well as take a breather themselves. Plus, if Midoriya showed up at all in the next episodes, he would still have all those injuries. He deserved some time off before he had to deal with that.
Recovery Girl discovered that, while Yagi Toshinori made for a terrible patient, he did make for a good assistant. Though she suspected that was partially due to the patient he was currently assisting her with.
Midoriya was pretty wiped out after his other self battled Muscular. He'd sweated a lot due to the pain factor, so Recovery Girl made sure he got cleaned up once they away from the others. Midoriya put up some token protests about not needing to be taken care of like that, but still allowed Recovery Girl to wipe him down and Yagi to help him into a new set of clothes. He was simply too tired to do anything else. In fact, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and the covers were settled around his shoulders.
Recovery Girl left to get some food and prepare for some sleep herself once that was done, but Yagi stayed at Midoriya's bedside. He watched Midoriya, his breaths making his chest rise and fall in the slow rhythmic manner that attested to deep and restful sleep. He seemed so small, tucked into bed like that. Had he always seemed so small? Or was the lingering fear from the fight, the fear that he might watch young Midoriya die, that made his successor look like that to him?
"Truth?"
A faint noise of static entered the room and an indistinct figure suddenly appeared, perched on the headboard of Midoriya's bed.
"What's this? Are you calling for me? How nice! It's been so long since one of you tried that I was starting to think you'd forgotten all about me." A grin appeared on the otherwise featureless face.
Yagi didn't think he could forget about this being if he tried, but he wasn't about to tell them that. "What happens to the watchers if their counterpart dies?"
"That last episode got you spooked, huh? I had a feeling that might happen."
It took effort for Yagi not to frown in irritation. Thankfully, Truth went on without being prompted.
"Honestly, you don't have to worry so much about that. Death really is the last thing you have to fear here. If one of you died on-screen, the one watching would feel the pain of that death, but they would be just fine afterwards. After all, it's not like you can feel pain when you're dead!" Truth cackled, making the sound of static spike briefly. "Yes, when it comes to this place, I'd say living is much more troublesome than dying."
Truth abruptly vanished. The static lingered in the air for a few extra seconds before that vanished too. Yagi took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Morbid tone aside, Truth's words made one of the knots in his chest loosen. He wouldn't have to worry about Midoriya dying, and that meant that he could focus his energy on comforting his boy, and learning all he could to keep him safe once they left this place.
He softly patted young Midoriya's head, and silently vowed to do everything he could for the boy.
In the main area, everyone else was sorting out what they'd just seen in their own ways.
"So, I gotta ask. What the heck was up with that million gajillion percent thing that Midoriya pulled off during that fight?" Kaminari asked. "I mean, he was already doing a hundred percent. I didn't realize more than that was possible!"
"I wondered about that too." Momo admitted. "I know our motto is all about going beyond, but that seems much farther beyond than what Midoriya should be physically capable of, given previous evidence."
"Well I do have a theory about that!"
Kaminari and Momo both jumped when the principal suddenly popped up between them.
"I'm sure we would all greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter, sir." Iida said, despite the wary looks being sent at both him and the principal.
"And I'm all too glad to share!" Nedzu chirped. "My strongest theory right now is that Midoriya displayed something akin to hysterical strength during that fight. Are you all familiar with the concept?"
"Uh, that's what happens when mom's lift cars off their babies despite not having any strength quirks right?" Kaminari asked.
"That is the most commonly used example, yes. There are other anecdotal stories that are attributed to hysterical strength though, such as a woman with a non-physical quirk fighting off a polar bear to save a group of children, or even children lifting cars in order to save a parent or grandparent."
"I had an aunt that did something like that, and some people thought that was hysterical strength until they found out it was her quirk coming in late. Her blood sugar level was almost non-existent afterwards." Sato shared.
"Ah yes, that is another thing about hysterical strength. Those that are believed to have used it often end up having injuries later, or are exhausted due to the feat they performed. So I do worry about Midoriya's state after the battle has been over for a while. It's just a theory of course, especially since reported instances of hysterical strength are so rare and random that it is incredibly hard to study them and get any reliable scientific data, so the phenomenon may not even be entirely real. However, if we assume it is real, then the circumstances of Midoriya's 'one million percent' hit would fit in well with other anecdotal evidence of it."
"Because Muscular laid out a direct threat to Kota's life?" Todoroki asked. Nedzu nodded.
"Yes, exactly. He was a threat before of course, moving to strike Kota and all, but the knowledge that Kota was still there and would be alone and defenseless if Midoriya failed in that moment could very well have unlocked a reserve of strength he didn't know he had. Though there is always the chance that it wasn't hysterical strength and that the life and death situation simply unlocked something in One for All that we'd been unaware of before. Time will tell I suppose."
"It's amazing what adrenaline can do, huh?" Kaminari muttered, thinking about the whole conversation.
"Well if we're still talking about hysterical strength then adrenaline may not actually be the cause behind it. While there isn't a lot of scientific evidence behind it, what is known makes it questionable whether adrenaline, released from the adrenal medulla into the venous circulation, can reach the muscle quickly enough in order to be able to cause the effects hysterical strength is known for in the midst of a crisis. Instead, it may be that norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerve terminals directly innervating skeletal muscle has..."
As the principal went on and on, the students finally began to really understand why their teachers could be so wary of speaking to him.
Once everyone had eaten, and all the students had escaped from Nedzu's lecture, everyone got ready to get some rest.
As expected, sleep didn't come easy. The past fight hadn't been the first time the students and teachers wondered if they were about to see someone die, Iida's fight with Stain had already taken that spot. It had felt even more visceral this time though. Perhaps due to the knowledge that Midoriya was well and truly alone in his fight, save for some brief distractions by Kota. Iida had been in an area where he could have been stumbled upon by others, and they'd already known that Midoriya himself was looking for him. There had been no one looking for Midoriya though, and little to no chance of someone finding them by chance. Plus, Iida at least had some chance of fighting or getting away if Stain got past Midoriya, and later Todoroki, but Kota would surely have been killed had Muscular gotten past Midoriya.
With all that, added to the general worry of what would happen during the rest of the attack, sleep was limited. But some was better than none, and when people rose the next day, they steeled themselves for whatever may come.
A.N.
Midoriya be over here having some Gandalf moments-
Midoriya telling Kota to run: Fly you fool!
Midoriya, near the end of his fight with Muscular: You! Shall Not! Pass!
