Death

by tmb1112

Death is a Quirk that can only kill. A perfect Quirk for a villain, but what if the boy who manifested that power just wanted to be a hero? Enrolling in U.A. might not be enough when all your Quirk can do is kill people. Follow Zach Sazaki from his first day in Class A on a story that spans years, as he learns to be a hero, finds out more about his Quirk, and too much to summarize!

252. Chapter 252

Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 252:

Booom!

Ka- CRsshhh… ch-Boom!

Damn it. Get up! I- I need to move. The fight isn't over yet! I can't just lay down and die. Get up! NOW!

Ba-doooosh- CRSH crash… BOOM!

MOVE!

"Midoriya, Bakugo, the two of you injured yourselves too much in the first round… Sometimes real fights happen one after the other…" Why do I always do this? Every time! Deku's half-closed eyes squinted more while looking back down to the man just ahead of his tilted head. He had lifted his eyes up and into the distance up past the deep walls of the park. He could see the smoke rising still from all over Tokyo. He could hear the explosions, and he saw enemy AANTs flying around, and the Battle of Tokyo continuing without him. "Recovery Girl won't always be there for you like she was after the second event. If there was no break for other activities and lunch though, how many of you would have been able to give it all you have in the final round?" How do I fight this? I can't move. I need to though! I have Shigaraki beaten. Nejire-Chan and Suneater were going to tell everyone and end the battle. And now, what is Danny doing?

"…You should think on that though, and try to avoid making these mistakes in the future." Aizawa sensei… I'm sorry. I never learn.

"Danny," Midoriya rasped out towards the man in front of him. His gaze darted to the left and he stared out the corner of his vision at the blue woman who had moved carefully to that side of him and closer to Shigaraki who she was staring down at. Deku could not see much of her face behind the black covering that made her appear like a ninja. Her eyes appeared angry to him though as she glared at the leader of the League who Deku had taken down. Midoriya shifted his attention straight back towards the seven foot tall man in front of him who was staring towards Midoriya's unmoving form with confidence that masked the caution the man honestly had towards this enemy before him.

He didn't move to stop me from killing those two. It looks like he really is out for the count. Good. The dark-skinned man was covered in weapons over his green camo outfit. He had sheaths and holsters under his armpits and around his waist. Twin black straps crossed over his front and back that also had various villain tools on them that would help with his assassinations. "Deku," Danny spoke to the boy ahead of him fifteen feet away who was still a threat even now. Even with one arm missing, and the rest of his body looking too beat-up and broken for the kid to move, Danny was overly cautious of the hero who had managed to defeat Shigaraki Tomura. I wish I could have killed him first. I was too slow though. Suneater and Nejire would've started spreading the word of what happened here. I wouldn't have been able to control the narrative if that were to have started.

"I appreciate you eliminating Shigaraki," Danny began. He started pacing to his left which moved him farther onto Midoriya's right side. Midoriya still had Sly in his peripheral vision, but the way Danny was moving made him track the more deadly of the two which was going to put Danny's partner into his blind spot. Midoriya could barely shimmy his chin on the ground to keep his head turned straight towards the assassin who had his heart racing insanely fast in fear of what was about to happen. "But the world can't know that it was you. That'd be too, encouraging, for the resistance to my new world order."

Danny kept moving until he was directly opposite Sly with Midoriya between them. Midoriya tried to keep from turning directly after Danny and instead kept his head partially pointed forward, giving him the ability to turn it quickly if needed to look the other direction. Could I force One For All into my mouth and blow at them? I don't know, if that'd be enough. It must be what they're afraid of right now though. What do I know about them? How do I… not through force. That's not how I win. Think! Think constantly, as Zach would say. Why is it that Danny "The Devil" doesn't want people to know I defeated Shigaraki? He just said one reason, but is that the real reason? If so, then he's going to claim credit for killing me and Shigaraki. Prove himself to be at the top of heroes and villains? Eziano's gone. Nothing's holding him back. We read about "The Devil" in the God Book. We thought he was dead, but he survived. We couldn't find him in the aftermath. That woman was unconscious, but she must have woken up and hidden them away before the beam killed the rest.

Think Deku, think! How do I handle this? Danny's keeping his distance instead of just rushing and killing me. He's being careful. He thinks he needs to be. It's not that he's over-estimating me, he's just that good that he doesn't take unnecessary risks. That's it. He is worried that I'm stronger than I'm letting on, or that I can get off one more powerful attack if he suddenly rushes me. He might think my time with Zach has made me someone who can trick him into attacking when I'm actually setting a trap…

I know why the sky is dark over there, Danny thought. This kid thinks I'm afraid of him. I know he can't move. At my signal Sly would move in and kill him. And if he does start to counter, I'll stop him, and if he somehow pushes against my Voice, I'll be right behind him to cut him down the second he manages to turn away to her. Three-pronged assault. No chance of survival. And yet… Danny did not look away from Deku's gaze, but he felt the ground rumble below him and did not hear any explosion this time. No smoke rose from anywhere in his peripherals. Yet he saw lightning flash in the clouds high above a different district of Tokyo. That pressure is just like Ares.' That fucking Raijin. I don't know if he can do it. If he can't, I shouldn't try this. Killing Deku? He's the only thing that holds Death back. He stopped Death from killing us all right after arriving in the Muindo.

If I kill him here, and then Death shows up behind me? Danny was afraid. He hid it completely from Deku who thought this man to be one of the most intimidating figures he had ever seen before. One of the most imposing villains who was composed and unafraid, and that was a lie. Zach himself had talked up Danny to Raijin earlier in his fight as he believed that Danny was messing with the League to make himself out as a pawn. He was only half correct though, because the League really had seen fear that Danny allowed them to. It was to convince them, sure, but it was easy to do so for the same reason that Zach's lies worked so well. Including the truth in your lies made them easier to believe. And in no way was Daniel O'Sullivan confident in Raijin's ability to kill Zach Sazaki. Not as he saw the distant clashes between them that shook the city and told him that this battle could go in either direction. If I kill Deku, Death won't hold back against me. I tried him before. With a hundred other assassins to work with. And I only got one good hit in, before he actually started taking us seriously and dropped me a second later.

Raijin might still do it though. And I need to act under that assumption. Assuming Sazaki wins is assuming the end to any future moves. But if he loses, and Deku and Shigaraki are dead too, I'll be able to get the drop on and kill Raijin. Intanzo too if need be. If he can't fall in line. Danny kept up his grin that got more genuine as he considered how few obstacles remained in his way. Two of those who were the biggest threats to him lay unmoving on the ground in front of him.

"Think this, through," Midoriya started. He found more force for his voice that he kept steady despite how exhausted he was that he had to keep breathing heavily during it. Danny looked interestedly at the boy for what he was attempting here. He even lifted the left corner of his lips a bit higher so it was almost above his ear that that corner nearly touched already due to Danny's mouth stretching across the entirety of his face. That lifting corner dropped though as Midoriya went on, "You're, the Devil. The title, that Enzo created, which you killed to take…ack-" Midoriya coughed as he was speaking too much and his chest felt like it was on fire. I can move my fingers on my right hand. It hurts. Can I force OFA into them? I'll have to. Any half-hearted defense I put up, he'll get around. He's the Devil. Stall him with stuff from the God Book he might not know even about himself, while still thinking up a plan to counter him!

"Enzo created it, huh?" The Devil wondered. His eyes lifted slightly from Deku's face and glanced up at Sly whose eyes appeared similarly confused as she looked over Shigaraki's body and to the boy saying some strange things. She had not seen Zach and Midoriya pick up the God Book while she was busy escaping from them. Her confused but interested expression faded though as she just shook her head and got back fully focused on the assassination at hand. Danny tilted his head to the right and humphed before getting on with it as well. Ares must have said a lot to them. He scared the hell out of me. I really believed he was a God. And Death killed him. I'm going to kill the friend, of the guy who killed God? I'm not stupid. That sounds like a stupid plan.

"You mind, Deku?" Danny wondered. He crouched both legs while standing the same distance away from Midoriya's face that he had been at when he was straight ahead of him. Now Deku almost had his left cheek on the ground as he had to turn to his right to watch Danny, and his head was only slightly lifted off by the straining muscles in his neck so that he could quickly spin the other direction if need be. Midoriya did not say anything in response to the man who crouched to get more on eye-level with him as if to treat him as an equal and talk to him better. Midoriya was too focused on the realization that his other senses were not enough to tell him that Sly was approaching if he needed to spin to see her. His head suddenly snapped her way then right back towards Danny, gasping breaths panting out of Deku's mouth as she was in the same place that he feared she was already moving from when he was being distracted by Danny's feint at a candid talk. "Haha, calm down kid. Sly's not gonna hurt you," Danny said while lifting his left palm up and curling his fingers down a few times.

I won't be able to hear her. She's an assassin! Can I judge it based on the feeling of the ground alone? No. No, but I'm not alone here. I cannot be assassinated so easily! Danger Sense, Midoriya tried calming his breathing but let the paranoid look remain on his face as he uneasily stared back into The Devil's eyes. I have to trust in my predecessors' Quirks. Danger Sense isn't one of my most refined, but it saved my life multiple times today. I have to trust that I'll know when Sly makes her move.

"I want to run something by you," Danny continued to the hero laying helplessly before him. "See, your buddy out there is, truly terrifying." Danny said these words that he would not admit aloud to anyone who might survive this conversation. Only his partner and follower on Deku's other side who he trusted completely was allowed to hear this, but she knew already so he was only speaking to Deku. "But you and I both know he's not indestructible. The trillion yen question is, will he survive this battle? What do you think?" Danny asked it seriously and his eyes locked on the hero's who stared straight back into them and froze at the sight. "Speak."

Midoriya's mouth opened and his eyes shook in panic at what his body was doing beyond his own control. Those shaking eyes were as much because of the movement of his mouth, as the look in Danny's eyes that were closer to his own than ever. He stared back into the dark, cold-blooded eyes of a man who Midoriya understood in that moment had killed hundreds of people. He's a killer who won't hesitate for a second. Were all those assassins like this?! Or, or is it because he's The Devil? One of the most powerful enemies out there. The one whose ability actually caused damage to Zach before we faced Eziano. He survived Ares' beam and escaped that day even though we searched the range for survivors. He's the best of the best. The last surviving assassin! Midoriya felt chills down his aching spine. But he held back his voice despite what Danny just told him.

"Let me be more specific then," Danny continued. He stepped both of his legs forward while still in his crouched stance. His head leaned towards the boy whose face pulled back from the enemy's as Danny stared deeper into his soul. "Will Sazaki survive today? Answer."

"Yes," Midoriya stated.

Danny frowned. He lifted his left wrist to his chin then curled the back of his hand up and covered the bottom of his mouth with it. "Hm. That is your belief," Danny stood back up straight. He lowered his left and right hands to his sides still with bloody blades in them. Am I being overly optimistic? In a month I've seen who I believed to be the strongest two men in the world to pass. The two who kept me from the top tier. These two laying before me are in my same tier. But the one who removed the two from the top, is above me. He can die right here. I was not fooled into thinking the blast eliminated him. But Raijin set this city up as a perfect counter. Sly even managed to steal two of his bone blades, and if Death rushes me in rage thinking I have no counter at the end, I'll still have one shot against even him.

"Shigaraki," Danny began while glancing over Deku's head. "Has several ultra-powerful comrades who are all getting defeated by heroes expending every last ounce of their energy." I'm already here. In a world with the Army of Death, only through success today can any strong counter form. I can't just slip away and imagine that I'll be able to create what the Mozcaccio family did over millennia. I am not Ares. I will not live forever. I can only use today. "What they all understand so little, is that their 'army' of villains is minuscule compared to what would grow should they win. I know that just being the one in charge at the end of today will garner a stronger group around me than the League's current 'Army.'"

"The city will remain under heroes' control today," Danny accepted. "But as for you, Deku. You'll die here. And so it will be the heroes' defeat. No one would call today a victory for heroes, as long as you fall…" And as long as you're not revived. I'll leave your revive-able body here for Sazaki. Instead of ripping it into pieces. That should keep him from hunting me on a vendetta of bloodlust and vengeance. Danny compromised with himself as he had yet to obtain all the information he believed he needed to make this decision before the battle had started. They were late into the fight already from what he could tell, and yet he had no clarity on the status of Death. The most important piece of information was the one he could not confirm.

He had to adapt and improvise. All that really matters, is that at the end of the day the strongest heroes, Death, the AoD, and the LoV's leadership are dead. If some of them survive it's not catastrophic. They'll be the ones I need to worry about most in the days to come. The one who comes out on top is all that matters. And those rivals will all know that I am the top. Deku and Shigaraki's deaths at my hand will make it clear that I am above Intanzo. Raijin would be the only true equal if it is known that he killed Death, and so I would have to quickly eliminate him. Shigaraki suspected my presence when we snuck back into the League's headquarters. Before Sly emerged though, neither him, nor Intanzo, nor Raijin, noticed that we were there in the room. It came off as acting mysteriously for no reason. But I was testing to see how close I could get to those fools. Allowing an assassin who proved he could get the drop on any of you into your ranks. A group of imbeciles. Falling for my cowardice.

We're close at hand, Sly thought while gripping onto a blade of her own that she kept her hand curled around so most of it was hidden up her sleeve. Deku's reaction time is world-renowned. Danny will kill him though. And I'll record as he takes Shigaraki's head after. Calling on the rest of the world's villains to stand behind him. Then we'll slip away. Outside of the perimeter international heroes have surely created around us. And this will be our victory above all others.' The League may lose. But heroes will have also lost. With Death's death, they'll hopefully have lost Lifebringer, Deku, Suneater and Nejire-chan, Gang Orca, Crust, Underguard, Bikergang, Gilgamesh, Drivress, Gargantuan, TyreFire, Enorma, and the bastion of All Might at the least. Lifebringer hasn't been reviving during his fight thus far. If he dies before he gets to any revivals, we'll be in good shape remaining in Japan. Bringing in the international community. The Army of Dearth aren't accepted here but would try to stick around afterwards, and they'd be targeted by Lemillion and his idiot followers. This is all if Death dies though.

If we kill Deku and then Death comes and revives him though, we'll have to lay low forever. Slip away deep into hiding and abandon all plans. But that means that no matter what happens with Death's fight, we've decided on our actions here. Sly glanced back up at Danny who she could read well enough to know that she was tracking his thought processes and that they were on the same page. Do it, Danny.

"You his daughter?" Sly stared towards her partner and boss who glanced up at her as well. He was fully focused on the task at hand though. He was saying something to Deku but gave her a look of confirmation that was not a pre-decided signal. They did not need one of those. "No? Then what are you doing here? …Oh. Well, that sucks. Didn't know about that when I killed him though." She pictured the man she was looking at appearing a foot shorter than he was now, and she imagined that teenage boy spit a glob of saliva onto his dead mark's face. Even as a teenager though, he was a very tall person, and in her mental image he appeared even taller because she was half the height she stood at now at the time. "HA! I wasn't here to save you two. You honestly think a hero would do that to a man? … 'Why not?' Because to heroes, that ain't justice."

"You're really getting the wrong idea here, girls," Sly smirked behind the black mask that covered her face except for her eyes. She did not have to worry about that smile being seen as she let the blade slide down her sleeve and flipped it around so the blade pointed down. Her legs started crouching. Sly had a laser focus on the side of Deku's neck where she was going to stick the blade, or attempt to at least as the first move in their assassination that might not work out when against such a strong hero. She knew her blade might miss the mark, but it would be enough to allow Danny to follow-up and kill him if she failed. Probably only a ten percent chance I actually hit him. She thought it but did not hesitate at all, even knowing that she was about to get repelled by a very strong blow. Deku was protecting all us assassins from Death's fight with Ares. This is a hero right here. A real hero. "That wasn't 'my justice' or anything. I'm not carrying out justice. I don't only target bad guys. I kill for a living. The only reason I'm not killing the two of you, is because you hated that fuck too right? If you were his daughters you'd be making a pile on top of him… Hahaha, ha, that's not funny! That's not ha- alright, alright that was pretty fucking funny. You've 'done that before' huh? Fucking crazy, stupid, little girls…"

"…Come with me. No, not for that." Sly slid her right leg quietly back behind her. In her head she imagined what had seemed to be the end of their interaction with this man who had given them an offer instead. "I don't think I've laughed on the job before. Been quite a while since I've laughed at all. The fact that you two still have senses of humor at all after this shit means that whatever we do from here on won't spoil the mood. And it doesn't sound like y'all have anywhere to go. I've signed my life away. I'll be killing 'til the day I die. You two come with me, you'll help me do that. HA! 'Fine?' 'Sounds fun?' No hesitation?! Perfect. Then let's clean this mess up and head to Bora Bora. We're gonna take a quick vacation with the huge reward from this hit. You wouldn't believe how many people hated this fuck… Okay, maybe you would believe it." Sly imagined the huge smile on the face of the boy that lifted up more as she and Ria laughed at his joking remark. That smile she saw then was one that only they saw as his comrades because it was all serious business around any other people…

Then, she imagined a bright beam of light that flashed back in the Muindo Range. She knew Ria had been inside of it.

Things are changing fast. Ria and I had a pact to never go for Danny. Since we were kids. If we kill Deku here. And Shigaraki- If we become the top of the world… I'll go for it. Ria's gone. I'm free to step over that line. Eziano and Ares who kept Danny as nothing more than the best killer of the assassins, they're dead too. He's free to pursue the top. I'm free to pursue him! We've got this, Danny!

Attack, Sly. Let's kill him and take this world! Danny did not take his eyes off Deku who he kept talking to, "…when Raijin kills your friend it'll restart the decline of the hero-"

Deku's eyes bulged. Danny did not know what gave it away to the boy as he had trained Sly in not making any noise on an approach like this. Her light assassination steps should not have given away her sprint either, but somehow Deku knew without any doubt that she was charging at him. Danny had noticed the curling of Deku's right hand's fingers. The boy looked to be struggling intensely to push up using that arm and his legs that were twitching at the same time. His fingers had curled enough though that Deku knew he could move them. And those fingers all pressed their tips down into the floor on his side.

Danny wanted to yell at him to "Stop" but Sly was too close and there was no way for him to keep that isolated solely to Deku. She had earplugs that could be utilized to block any sound from reaching her, but she worked well enough with Danny in combat that often his Voice needed to reach her to have her body move in such ways their enemies were not expecting but she was. Step two then, Danny thought while crossing his own arms in front of himself to protect from this.

Deku's right hand had pushed all its fingertips down. He saw himself getting murdered by the woman sprinting at his back who was targeting his jugular with her blade. He curled his fingers just past her line of sight as his right arm was on the side of his body closer to Danny. His torso itself was in the way between his hand and Sly. He pushed his torso up though using the strength in his right fingertips, creating a small gap under his body for some of this force to go under. Then Midoriya flattened his right hand. His palm that struck the floor was full of One For All, and the entire Yoyogi Park shook from the 5-Centimeter Palm Strike to the dirt next to him.

Sly was too close to him already. The ground shook below her far more violently than she expected. And the wind that blew away from Deku's body took her from her off-balanced position and threw her off her legs and backwards. Dust rose up in a pillar around him but also over ten feet tall in a wave that spread out far and wide. It slammed into Danny who only skid backwards but then moved once he was separated from Deku's potential sight inside the dust.

Sly hit the ground and tried to catch herself but had not been hit straight-on by the force, so she had turned in midair and dropped into a roll back onto her right foot instead. She skid backwards while crossing her arms in front of her face to block from the wind that put dust and dirt in her eyes and had her squinting with watery vision. She had been invisible while sprinting at him too, but her Quirk cut off and she tried stifling her coughing to keep her location from becoming known to the boy in this dust cloud with her. Even in that state he's a monster.

Deku's knees started to curl below him after he dropped back on the floor. He had bounced when the ground below him dropped down and the force from his palm strike went below his body to raise him up even more. He fell into his deepened crater though, and he failed to catch himself on his knees and right elbow. Midoriya slammed his forehead into the floor though and focused One For All in his arm and legs to move them, as without his Quirk he felt incapable of moving them at all. He bit down as agonizing pain shot through his whole body. Can I Float? I wouldn't have to move these muscles. Try- TRY! "Ahh- hahh-ack," Midoriya gasped and coughed in failure. His face was pale. He was struggling to move his body at all while focusing his full mental effort on One For All's strength which was the part of his Quirk he was most familiar with. It's no use. I'm exhausted. I can't focus, on that new Quirk, that I just-

"Slow." Midoriya had just refocused solely on bending his knees to rise up into a better position to fight back. By abandoning other efforts to think about Float or Blackwhips, he consolidated his hazy thoughts on just using his strength. That felt like it would work best, and his body responded… and then it slowed down as Danny's voice cut through the dust. "Drop."

Midoriya's head flattened onto the floor. He was tilting it forward to try and use his head to drag himself up farther. His chin dropped down onto the dirt though and hurt his nose. His right elbow splayed out to his side, and his legs started to slide back down flat… but Midoriya's legs glowed brighter. The remnants of his costume on his upper legs and waist blew around in wind that picked up even more dust around him. "No," Midoriya hissed back at Danny's order. I don't need to listen! What is his Quirk really controlling? Is it my mind? It's not just me though-

"Sink into the ground."

Midoriya's legs he was struggling to push up even more flattened fully into the ground as he heard Danny's voice only feet away from him compared to twice that distance a moment ago. The ground underneath him cracked out in all directions. And a Midoriya-shaped hole opened up in the floor that his body smashed into so strong that it forced all the air out of his lungs. His Quirk- so strong- CAN'T BREATHE!

The weight pushing down on him was stronger than Inasa's Category 6 Hurricane: Skyfall. Midoriya had been able to get out of that at the time, but he had had a lot more strength at his disposal. He was in better shape then against a weaker move, and it was still a struggle. He gasped out the breath he had left, and his lungs were being compressed due to how hard he was pressing into the floor. The dust around him was not flying around like crazy as it would if there was actually wind pushing onto him though. Whatever Danny's Quirk was doing just had Midoriya's body pushing into the ground so hard that the ground around him was breaking and falling on top of him.

Expel everything! Midoriya filled his extremities and his head with One For All. He flailed around with all that power.

The ground that he had just pushed down into did not give him much room to move. As the walls of that hole crumbled though, giving him a small gap, Midoriya's right leg shook in a way that expanded the hole. Then the rest of his flailing body had room to thrash.

Danny was above the hole. The silenced pistols he just fired were thrown out of his hands while he himself was tossed backwards. "Danny Left." A boulder flying up towards him missed just to his right side. His Quirk did not work on himself most of the time. He knew he was out of range of Deku hearing his Voice right now though, but he still frowned as he had to say something that he liked to avoid mentioning while potential enemies could hear him. Even though he had decided to kill Deku, he had also decided to leave the boy's body for the potential of being revived afterwards. He did not want to show Deku how to fight him a second time if the hero came at him again at full power next time.

Danny landed and stared towards the boy who was crawling up from beneath a larger chunk of park that fell on top of him after getting blown upwards by his own Quirk. It landed on his right leg, and Midoriya yelped in pain from the rock hitting him. Once more, Danny thought. "Let go." Midoriya's right hand released the smaller rock he was about to flick towards where he correctly predicted Danny was currently standing. Midoriya struggled against the Voice, but his fingers loosened and let go of the rock. He did not know where Sly was, and he considered her for a moment before his face smashed into the ground as Danny stated again: "Sink into the ground."

Deku did not see her when his thrashing had sent a chunk of ground at the woman who tried leaning away but got hit in her right side and spun out violently a moment ago. Danny's voice was farther than last time he was told to "Sink," but all Deku's efforts to push up from under the boulder on his right leg ceased as Danny's Voice flattened him into the ground again. He was just taking a breath again, and it was all gone again. Breathing in he sucked in a bunch of dust too that made him cough while losing his air. "Ack- agh- uuuh- uunnhaa-" Midoriya desperately tried to breathe but had nothing. The force was not as strong as last time, so he was not falling through the ground this time. He was just pressing against it and his body attempting to squeeze through the cracks on it in just as painful a way as he had been smashing through it a few seconds ago.

Danny pulled a new weapon out of his black weapons' straps. He removed the gun different from the silenced pistols that had been thrown somewhere distant. The bullets he fired either missed or were blown away by Deku's Quirk as well. One shot. Not as clean but I can just back up afterwards and let the poison take effect. He's got All Might's strength for sure. Feels like it's probably even more. Insane. "Breathe out." Danny ordered loudly towards the boy he hesitated to get closer to. He won't suffocate completely here. It's too slow to try and squeeze him to death though. It's time to finish this!

Danny lifted and aimed his pistol at the boy who breathed out the little amount of air he managed to suck in despite the force of the last 'Sink into the ground.' In that moment that Danny ordered it, he rose his own pistol to fire while Deku had to deal with that new command. And in the corner of his eyes as he rose his gun, he spotted something coming through the dust at him. Danny spun left quickly but then pulled his head away and stumbled backwards while a spray of water slammed into him and knocked the gun from his hand.

"Ah-"

"Hahh-"

Two voices breathed out at once because they were close enough to hear his Voice. And somehow that exhale made the aim of the splash even better. Hearing his voice also helped with that considering the low visibility around them. Those two breathed out and their eyes opened huge as they saw the spray of water connect with the silhouette in the dust and knock him backwards. Then the boy who had his arms lifted spun, and he yelled out, "DEKU!"

Midoriya's eyes were squinted to a close and he was desperate to breathe. He gasped and took in breath. His head twisted to the right from how it was pointed straight down into the ground. He just managed to take in breath, but he gasped it all out again at the sound of that voice. Kota?! Midoriya stared in disbelief into the settling dust on his right side. He felt weaker than ever. He was in a pinch and the whole world had appeared blurry due to his lack of breath and the blood loss seriously impacting his senses and thoughts. Midoriya recognized that voice though.

Deku's head turned and his left cheek lifted slightly off the floor. His eyes trembled at the sight of not one but two small silhouettes who became clearer as they ran towards him. The dust finally settled down. The two children standing in front of Midoriya stopped short and held their breaths as they stared towards the man who stumbled backwards but just lifted his left arm to his face and wiped down it in annoyance.

Danny pinched his fingers to the bridge of his nose over his eyes and rubbed them a few times too. What the hell? Seriously? Was I that focused on Deku? That was sloppy. I don't act sloppy. Someone trying to do what I'm attempting isn't going to get away with it if something like this can actually get in the way. That's why a team was good. All three of them wouldn't have gotten knocked down by Deku's splash damage alone. Sly got hit hard. And I kept up the attacks because it would've worked. Only if I put my full focus on him though.

That's the reason for this risk. Taking command. Taking charge of the villains. It's impossible to do anything on your own. Danny sighed and lowered his left hand from his face. He shook his head back and forth while calming himself from the rage that wanted to take over. The emasculating thoughts he had about doubt in himself caused by these children made him upset, but he just reminded himself to be calm and turned to look at those kids closer. They were clearly terrified. The attack did not damage him as much as just catch him by surprise. Even someone like Deku. Or myself. It's no difference. Even the smallest people can help guys like us. That's why a team is vital. Necessary. Far superior to fighting alone. And fucking Sazaki… didn't kill them. Ares did. Don't let emotion get in the way. Not here either. I don't recognize the boy. The girl though, Danny tilted his head to the left and looked past the kid in a red baseball cap to the girl behind him.

"Hm," Danny hummed at the sight of her long silver hair. He examined the horn on her head. That's the one Vostranus' team were after. Eri. I'll eliminate her here for good. No, no that's not good. I'm leaving Deku's body for a potential revival, and if that happens he'll reveal that I was the one who "took" her. I'd really just be hiding the body. They'll come though. They've been extremely patient. They were searching twenty years ago. Don't need new enemies right now. But, I don't want that Vostranus back either. I remember what Eziano said about him. That's not happening. I guess I'll kill those two instead. Tell them I got the girl for them if they make it out of this city. Then lead them into darkness and gut them at the first opportunity.

"Ko-ta, Eri-chan," Midoriya gasped towards the kids in front of him. He was on their left sides and a bit in front of them still from where they stopped short as Danny turned to them. Danny was a tall man. Scary. Intimidating. Glaring straight towards them. Midoriya's eyes darted towards The Devil and then to two kids he swore to himself in that moment, I will not let him hurt them!

The dust that rose up in Midoriya's last attack was the cover they needed to get close. The scared kids shaking as they stared at Danny had been afraid when they were looking down from the edge of the dipped walls of the park crater that they had crawled to together. They feared more though that waiting any longer and the villains down there would kill Deku first. And so when the dust rose up and it looked like the villains inside there might not be able to see them, they rushed in and slid down the dirt wall. They could not see if Deku was alright in there either. They ran straight towards him, and now they were here. Now they stood in front of a villain.

It was not the first villain the two of them had faced before. Both of them had horrible memories with Overhaul and Muscular. They had personal relationships with those villains that had made them so terrifying and permanently scarring to them. And they each saw those monsters in their heads as they looked at this man who they did not know. They did not recognize him. He was not one of the most famous League of Villains' members. Not on the Top 10 most wanted list. But neither of them could convince themselves that this was just some no-name opportunistic villain trying to get the drop on an injured Deku. It had been hard to believe that from the edge of the crater when they saw Suneater and Nejire-Chan's motionless bodies in puddles of blood down there. And it was harder to imagine as they looked at him from up close now and into his cold eyes that did not look like he was thinking about how he was going to kill them. Rather, he was already considering the consequences of his kill that was all but assured.

If the kids were heroes maybe they would have noticed Danny underestimating them and tried to use it to their advantage. But they were not heroes. They were children. Terrified kids who realized in that moment that they had no idea what they were doing and both froze up in terror at Danny's gaze seeing them already as dead. Maybe, because we're kids- Kota tried to convince himself while his face turned blue and his head leaned back in panic. His right foot slid back on the dirt floor below him as his mouth opened but both lips just quivered instead of letting any noise come through them. No- No he doesn't care! AH! AHH! Deku, please!

Eri could see past the side of her friend's face. He was slightly ahead of her. She was just at his back though. Her hands were trembling down at her sides. She saw in the bottom of her vision Kota's foot sliding back even closer to hers that she could not even more in her fright. Eri's trembling hands balled into fists as she saw Kota's fear so clearly. I just ran down here without thinking. Because, because that's what you would do, right?! Eri could see Deku in the corner of her tearing-up eyes. He was staring at them in shock still, but he darted his gaze back to Danny and then started twisting his head again to drag his chin on the floor. Deku was going to try something. Danny was going to move before that.

Eri gasped. She had run down because of this very moment. I came to help him. The realization suddenly reoccured to the girl. Splashing Danny and giving Deku a second that he might not have had otherwise, was all that Kota had needed to do when Midoriya was fighting Muscular. Midoriya's body was broken though. The kids were terrified at the sight of it, and now that they were close they could see that Deku was not just laying on his left arm which was why they could not see it before. Both had tricked themselves without saying anything to the other that that was what they believed, and now they could see his lack of a left arm and the state his broken body was in. Kota had told Eri before about the time that Deku had saved him. And her fists lifted up behind Kota while opening back up into palms.

Danny whipped out two serrated daggers from his sheaths and rushed forward but in a curved sprint to put Deku on the other side entirely as the kids who had to turn so their backs were to Deku now. Any attack Deku could have prepared would now have to blast straight through his "saviors" who Danny was sprinting at. Deku stopped puffing-out his cheeks that he was going to try and blow One For All out of like a massive wind. He gasped and yelled, "Don't! Plea-" Midoriya's mouth froze open. He was shouting too loud that his whole body ached, and he had felt a cough coming on to interrupt him, but that cough was interrupted itself as Midoriya's voice caught in his throat.

Kota turned himself towards Danny while pivoting in a scared way but managing to stay on his feet. He felt a pair of small hands on his back. Kota's eyes opened huge. Just as he had told Eri about the time that Deku had saved his life, she had told him over and over again about the day that Deku had saved hers. Kota's shaking fists curled open and rose up in front of him. Pixie Bob, Tora… Eri's hands glowed on Kota's back, and he could feel a strange sensation he had never felt before fill his entire body. Mandalay, Ragdoll… Kota was not scared though. Mom, Dad… Eri closed her eyes behind him and rested her head on his back as Kota pointed his palms at the villain who swung his right arm early and flicked a knife towards the boy who yanked his head back while firing Water Gun out of his palms. WATER HOSE IS STILL HERE!

The tip of the blade was too close. A huge spray of water burst out of Kota's hands though. It pushed the knife back the other way, even as Kota winced from the tip of the blade cutting into his right palm. Kota stumbled backwards from the force of the spray he just shot out, and Danny even skid to a stop as he only slightly shifted his sprint to the right at first to dodge, but had to leap backwards as the falling kid's fast spray seemed to get more random. Some edge droplets got on him even in his dodge.

Seems like normal water. This spray was stronger than the last one. Not too accurate. Nearly killed him right there too if he had been a second later. What did she put her hands on his back for? Danny steadied on his feet upon landing then ran back at the two of them again. Deku lifted his forehead though and smashed it into the ground while glaring towards Danny and trying to focus all his force forwards, even extending his neck out a bit to see if that could help.

Danny crossed his arms and barely felt a strong wind pushing into him. He did have to stop running though as the ground broke apart too badly around him. It shattered worse at his feet, but the kids to Deku's right again were the ones who flew backwards and onto their butts or rolling away. "Get back up, Kota!" Eri called at her friend who rolled over on his side near her but spun his head at the sound of her shout. She pushed her hands down next to her butt and got back up, and Kota scrambled onto his hands and knees and ran forward back in front of her again.

Eri rose up her hands and put it on Kota's back. She spoke softly to him, "Longer this time. You can do it."

Kota nodded his head with an affirmative hum telling her he had felt it. His right hand was bloody and they were both covered in dirt. Dust around them was still blowing around from the force of Deku's squirm while using One For All that seemed weaker this time than the previous attempts. Deku spit up on the floor under his face that he could barely turn to the side again to glance towards those kids whose muffled voices he heard. He was not focused at all on his left shoulder anymore, and so it bled without him manually squeezing the wound shut. He panted raggedly with spit sliding out the left corner of his mouth and onto the floor under his left cheek. "J-ust, ru-n," Deku gasped out so quietly he did not know if they could hear him. Please, he begged them in his thoughts, hoping they could get that from the look in his half-closed and unfocused eyes.

Blood trickled out of Deku's forehead that he just slammed hard into the ground too. The kids glanced towards their hero and found themselves even more determined at the look of his face with trails of blood spilling down over his eyes. Kota's arms stopped shaking as he aimed at the tall villain who looked down on them in mild annoyance this time. "Raise up."

Kota and Eri thought they were ready. The two kids yelped though as they lifted suddenly off the ground. They shot up into the air letting out screams of panic. Eri gripped onto Kota's shirt tighter so she would not get flung away from him, and she pulled herself closer to him as they flew up high. "He's going to kill Deku!" Eri exclaimed into her friend's ear.

Kota had lost focus on what they were doing in his own fear. He heard her voice though and snapped his head back down and stopped screaming. Kota looked down and saw Danny had turned to Deku after sending those kids up and out of his way. Midoriya's gaze was up high watching them lift in fear that they would come crashing back down. Midoriya's right arm curling up on the floor next to him was trembling but he curled his fingers into the floor to get ready to throw himself at the children.

Danny saw Midoriya's half-opened eyes grow a little more but he assumed it was Deku's fear for those kids that made him look like that. He saw the shadow cast over him though and it came faster than a cloud covering up the sky that was clear above them right now. Danny's eyes darted to his left and above him, and he grit his teeth this time much harder in aggravation while bending his knees. The rapid spray of water flying down at him hit the ground where he had just been sprinting to. The spray dragged along the surface after where he first dodged though, forcing him farther back from Deku who he tried to keep running towards.

Kota had aimed pretty straight down at first. The spray of water from his Water Gun was strong enough that it slowed him and Eri down too so they were not just falling with gravity. As he moved his arms though to track after Danny, he was aimed more diagonally so that he and Eri were flying backwards as the fast spray continued to shoot from his palms. He cut it off and pointed both hands down below him as they were getting close to hitting the ground, "AH!" He fired water below him hard enough that it jolted them to a stop above the ground, then they fell into the water below them in the middle of the splash that dispersed out to their sides. Landing in the water Kota had slowed them with made it so even their legs did not get hurt as it was like falling slowly into a two-foot deep pool that slowed them even more.

Kota was amazed at what he just did reflexively after seeing how his water had slowed him the first time when he was really just trying to stop Danny from killing Midoriya. That attack on Danny had slowed them though, and as his Water Gun moved him around in the air, he had gotten a mental grasp at least on why that was and was able to utilize it to save their lives. He was amazed at himself yet had no time to think about that amazement. Danny shouted, "COME CLOSER."

The kids felt a tug as if gravity had flipped to their backs and dragged their feet across the ground. Midoriya's right arm buckled at his elbow, his face falling flat and dragging across the dirt as Danny's Voice affected them all. Danny lifted up a pair of blades. One was in his right hand closer to Deku, the other was in his left that he swung out to the side to flick forward and finally kill this water-controlling kid.

Eri's hands that had stayed curled into Kota's shirt opened up into palms again. She was sliding forward right behind him. Eri pressed her palms in his back, her hands glowing bright, and Kota snapped his arms up and aimed at the villain who did not move this time. Enough of this. It's just water. They're far too. The kid's spray doesn't last that long. The second it weakens this time I rush and kill him. Danny had gotten a grasp on Kota's Quirk too. His arms crossed as the spray shot out of Kota's hands. Two seconds and move.

Kota gulped but then opened his mouth and yelled out over the sound of rushing water, "HYDRO BLAST!"

The water spray slammed into Danny. "Danny steady." His legs did not budge as the water hit his crossed arms. He kept his face behind the crossing point of his arms. Water hit him but pushed past his sides. He was strong. The water spray hit hard, but not hard enough to be anything actually damaging. It caused him to squint his eyes though as the water sprayed into his body and pushed back to either side of him. It broke apart on his arms and gave his face a small space of air that he continued to breathe in and out calmly in despite being in the direct center of his enemy's attack. He even gripped the blade in his left hand tighter as he prepared to kill the child with it…

Two seconds passed. The spray was still hitting him. Those are scared kids! They weren't leading me into a trap! Danny's fighting instinct screamed that his enemies had lured him into a false sense of confidence by making him believe there was a limit to how long Kota could fire for. He had seen the looks on their faces though. And they were children who should not have been able to come up with something like this. And yet the spray kept hitting him, and if anything, it felt stronger now than when it first collided with him.

"HaaaaAAAAAAA!" Kota yelled out while leaning farther forward. He stomped his right foot ahead, then his left, and he continued to fire an endless spray of water from his arms that were flashing with white light.

Eri curled her palms against Kota's back. She was afraid, but she remembered the feeling and trusted herself not to make a mistake and accidentally zap Kota out of existence. She heard her friend's voice in her head, "…It's really strong right when I first use it. It gets weaker pretty quickly though. If I try to rapid fire though, it works for three or four strong blasts in rapid succession, before it gets weak and I have to wait…"

Just as Kota had told his friend all about his Quirk that he was training to be a hero with, she had told him about her Quirk too and how she had helped Midoriya fight before with it. Kota had heard her voice echo in his mind when she first grabbed onto him, "…It was like by holding onto him, I was making it so he was back at full strength with every move. By constantly returning his Quirk and body back to its strongest. I was on his back the whole time, and he was so, so strong. He said it was thanks to me!" Kota could feel whatever it was that Eri had been talking about that day. Because his arms were not getting tired. His Quirk was not getting any weaker. It was as if the spray from the palms of his hands was at the strength of his usual initial release but constantly firing with no break. He did not feel tired. It was the strongest blast of water he had ever fired from his arms, and he heard Eri start yelling out too behind him so he got even louder himself.

Eri had not started yelling for the same reason as Kota though. Her eyes darted to her left then back at the spray of water ahead of them that the villain was inside of and starting to realize this spray might not be ending to give him a good moment to kill them when they were weakest and recovering. Danny glared past his crossed arms. I'm faster. I'll rise up out of the top of the spray and recover from being hit quicker than he can lift his arms and bring this absurdly strong blast up after me. It's the girl behind him. That's what Eri is doing. It's not that his Quirk is this strong. The kids just have a good combo. That's all.

Danny opened his mouth. His lips curved in the way to say his own name. The 'D' sound was ready in his mouth. He was going to send himself straight up through the water. A shadow was suddenly on his right side though. Through the water passing by that side of his face. The rushing water and screams of children were too loud and the water spray too thick for him to notice until it was already hitting the outside of the blast. Another 'D!' He instantly adjusted the word he was trying to say, "Dr-" He could not finish saying 'Drop.' He had to shift to another 'D' word because his mouth was already moving for 'Danny.' He was too late to notice though. The kids he had finally focused on for real as they became a real nuisance in his side, distracted him from the one who now flew through the side of the water wall surrounding him with his right fist already pulled back.

"SMASSSHHH!" Blood sprayed out of Deku's lips as he screamed the word. It splashed off his left shoulder and from the sides of his face too. His body was in disrepair, and yet he flung himself through the Hydro Blast and swung his right fist into the side of Danny's head. Midoriya's face was just pushing through the edge of the blast as Danny found the fist colliding with his face. The last thing he saw before it all went black was the look of righteous fury on a hero's bruised and bloody face.

Midoriya dropped to the ground. All the water around him was blown away. Kota and Eri spun out at the start of their blast from the vacuum of air that came off of Deku's fist. All the dust around the park rose up with dirt and blew the same way that Danny's body was just sent flying like a ragdoll. The villain rolled and rolled across the park crater until he smashed into a curved wall of it. Giant cracks broke out from his impact and caused rockslides all around him.

Eri and Kota spun their heads towards that far wall where they had only seen a blur get sent flying. Then they looked back to where they had been spraying Danny, where Deku dropped to the floor on his face without seeming able to even more his right arm or bend his legs to catch himself. Deku just dropped limply to the ground. Kota looked towards him in fear as Midoriya was not moving an inch, and he sprinted towards his hero while Eri put her hands up over her mouth in fear at the way he dropped like a sack of potatoes and did not flinch as he made that heart-wrenching thud on the floor. "Mi-doriya?" Eri took a step. Then her face turned pale. Sweat covered it. Terror filled her eyes. As she felt a hand on the right side of her neck that lifted up off the ground. "M-M-Midoriya!" Eri screamed out in fear.

Kota had just reached Deku's side and rolled him over off his face. He spun back as Eri was farther behind him than he realized, assuming she had just been running towards him with her. He had been too focused on Deku though. And he looked back, and his own face matched Eri's own terror as he saw the girl lifted off the ground by the neck. A blue hand with wrapped bandages dangling off of it was tightening around her throat. Eri's eyes shifted to the corners and lifted up, to the half-covered face of an assassin whose look of murderous intent was far more bloodthirsty than Danny's that had just appeared serious and like he considered this a job.

Sly's fingers curled tighter on Eri's neck. "Don't move," Sly hissed past the girl towards the boy who stood back up on trembling legs in front of Deku's feet.

Midoriya was on his back now. He was staring at the sky through blurry vision. He could hear his own heart thumping in his ear. It sounded slow. And then he heard something else. His mostly-closed eyes squinted back open. The glossy coating they had started to clear up. His eyes shifted down past his nose and past Kota standing at the end of his legs and shaking in terror. No, Midoriya thought at the sight before him. Again? There's nothing… left.

"Stay exactly where you are," Sly hissed. She stepped forward. Sly held Eri over the ground with one hand around the girl's neck. Her eyes were locked on the boy whose spray on Danny had given Deku the moment he needed to get one last attack in. I can finish this for you, Danny. If they're all dead, no one will know the truth but for us. It's not over! "Try anything, and she's dead," Sly ordered the boys ahead of her. She knew Kota could hear her, and she was unsure about Deku but was pretty sure he was still at least semi-conscious.

"Hey!" Midoriya heard a familiar voice scream in his head. His mind was so foggy he could barely focus on what was happening in front of him. He did not know why he was suddenly imagining this person's voice that he hated to hear. It was a conversation from three years ago that filled his head though. "Don't talk about it like you know! Zach, he didn't kill him because…" Midoriya saw himself, Iida, and Uraraka looking towards the boy confronting them angrily over the quiet conversation they were having about the national controversy everyone was talking about but they were supposed to keep quiet about. And something they had just said- Midoriya could not remember what it was that had set off their nearby classmate- had made him angrily snap at them.

"Zach was injured. The villain would have killed him- but that's not, that's not even what it was. You weren't there, so don't talk like you could've done it better! That villain had him hostage, but it was only when he started going for Yaoyorozu and Jirou that Zach did it. The girls couldn't do anything or the villain would kill him, and he knew that they weren't going to fight back, and that guy was going to kill them! He was going to kill them, because of Zach. That's, that's what I think he was thinking. No! What I know he was thinking. He only killed that villain to protect us. It crushed him to do it… and he only was only in that position, because he pushed me out of the way. Because I was too dumb to save myself…"

Midoriya's gut wrenched as he thought about the pained voice of his friend that day who had given them a clearer picture of what Zach had done at USJ. None of them could argue against what Zach did after hearing that heartfelt eyewitness account from someone there who truly thought what Zach did was heroic. It sickened Midoriya hearing that voice defend Zach so passionately now as he recalled it. That sickening feeling was worse for another reason though. Because Midoriya could see the girl held hostage who was being walked towards them. He saw her, and he realized why it was that Kaminari's voice had just filled his mind.

Time slowed down. Midoriya had never before understood it as well as he did in that moment. Even after Kaminari had explained it, he had still found it hard to understand that Zach had to do what he did. He could never speak that doubt aloud, and yet he wondered what he would have done in the situation and knew he would not have acted so quickly. He knew it, and he knew that Zach knew it because Zach had told him before that that was the biggest difference between them. Midoriya would have waited those extra seconds that would have allowed Snipe to arrive. And yet Deku also understood why Zach had done it. I wouldn't have. But we didn't grow up the same. Zach sees the worst-case scenario. He knows how bad things get. I was idealistic- I am still! I need to be. That's, that's who I am. That's who I'll always be. But that girl!

Midoriya's heart clenched up as he saw her panicked look rising even more afraid than ever. And time stopped completely at that look he saw in her eyes. She's not afraid for herself, Midoriya knew it. He knew it because he knew Eri well enough and had seen that look on the girl's face before. It was as if she reverted in that very second to the scared girl he had met over two years ago. She knows the worst-case scenario too. She's seen it! Midoriya's slowed heart started to beat faster and faster in his chest. All of his pain was gone as his body had gone numb. As Sly tells us not to move, while she moves closer and it's like we can't do a thing because she'll hurt Eri otherwise, Eri will come to that same choice! She's already thinking about it! Midoriya was alarmed. Panic flooded through him at the sideways glance the girl being walked towards him just gave to the woman behind her. Eri's hands were trembling down at her sides.

I know what will happen if she's too afraid of what this villain will do to us. Using her as a hostage to do it. Tears rose up in Midoriya's eyes. Something he had known about for years but now was witnessing first hand filled him with so much pain. Because he could see that panic on Eri's face and knew how his best friend had felt this same way. No one saved him though. The ones who tried were too late. I can't be. I WON'T BE! Midoriya imagined that villain behind Eri suddenly disappearing as the girl's hands touched Sly. I can see what her life would turn into. If she chooses to kill someone intentionally. Even to save a life!

Midoriya knew that outcome because he had seen that outcome. A chain of events starting from this moment! His heart pounded harder and harder in his chest. He felt a glowing light in his heart as it pounded that hard. And he felt hands grabbing onto his back as one scrawny arm held that glowing light out for him to take. Seven hands pressed onto his back. They grabbed his shoulders, above his waist, behind his neck, and in Midoriya's head he saw that eighth recognizable wrinkly old arm holding out the ball of light for him to reach out and take in his own head. A chain of terrible events that start at this moment as she consciously uses her Quirk to kill another human, instead of just an accident as a young child. I can see it. I watched every step of it, and here, right here! I can stop that first step!

Midoriya's mental hand grabbed onto that sphere of light. His hand curled around it, while his right fist curled at his side as well. His body rose up from laying on his back. He did not use his hand to push down and stand. Rather his legs stayed stretched out and just lifted up his whole body as if he rolled on his heels that were the only part of him that stayed in place. Midoriya's body glowed all over as if an energy was surrounding him. His eyes were wide open and full of pure determination as he rose up straight. Whether it was from using Float, or if One For All had just gotten so strong that his ankle muscles could raise his body like that, Midoriya went from laid-out on his back to standing straight up in a second.

He was at 100% without hurting himself. He did not even notice that he had surpassed his own limits. Sly flinched at the look on his face as he suddenly rose behind Kota who turned and stared in awe at what he saw standing tall behind him. And then Kota saw nothing. He blinked in confusion then looked down as Eri was sitting in front of him with a similarly confused look on her face.

Sly found herself imbedded in the same wall that Danny was in. Midoriya had attacked her and saved Eri in the same move that was too fast for Sly to process. Just as All Might had rescued them back at USJ, an incident that had just been on Midoriya's mind, he rescued the hostage and took down the villain in the same blow. Faster than All Might had moved that day. Stronger than him too. One For All was that overpowered, that even in the near-death state he was in, his enemy did not stand a sliver of a chance.

Eri had stopped considering the scary thoughts of how she could save the boys when she saw Midoriya stand. Those thoughts had not even fully formed in her own head yet, and yet her eyes still filled with water as she imagined what she might have been about to do. Her shock at the hand being off her neck and suddenly sitting in front of Kota replaced with the utter terror of the situation she had just been in, and then her emotions changed again and she quickly scrambled onto her feet and ran forward with Kota.

Midoriya had stayed standing where Sly had just been a second ago. His finished stance was awe-inspiring to Kota when the boy looked back and saw his hero there. Midoriya had taken down the assassins, saved the kids who came to help him, and Midoriya could see them in the corner of his eyes looking at him the same way that he and his friends in Class A had looked at All Might back then. They had shown up to save him, and they really had managed to help All Might that day, but in the end it was All Might's power that even while injured he was able to defeat the villains and save them all. Deku tried flashing a smile at the kids, just as he was supposed to…

His limits had been broken not during his fight against Shigaraki. But in saving a life. Because that's who Deku is. A hero. A hero who collapsed to the ground and did not move again this time as the children sprinted towards him and knelt next to their hero's body.

"…you sure?"

Midoriya could not hear much. His eyes were open a little but only because he did not have the strength to close them. He lay still on the floor. His mind was foggy. He did not know if he was breathing or not. He had just tried to smile at those kids, but now he was on the floor for some reason. Deku could not feel a thing. Is this, death? I didn't pass on my Quirk… I need to, give it to- uh, uh… Kota? Or Eri? I don't want, either of them to feel, like they have to… Midoriya's eyes shot open huge and he gasped out a giant breath. "Ah-ahhh!"

Midoriya flipped over quickly onto his back. He stared up at the kids leaning over him. "Stop-" Midoriya gasped at the girl who just pulled her arms off of him.

Whoa, Midoriya's head just cleared. What just happened? I was dying. What was I thinking about?! "Eri," Midoriya whispered. He glanced down at his own body. He did not feel a head wound on his forehead anymore. Did she reverse the blood loss too? Midoriya sat up and glanced at his left side. The arm was still missing. He focused on his shoulder though and clenched the muscle again as he felt more awake than he had for a while. He felt better off than he had since the Tokyo Smash against Shigaraki. "You don't have, a hero license," Midoriya continued to the girl who lowered her bottom lip just like Kota next to her.

Midoriya lifted his right arm and put it on top of Eri's head. He tousled her hair around and pushed her head down a bit in a soft way. Midoriya thought about how Lemillion had scolded him after Wonderlass' miraculous recovery. He imagined Gran Torino who had aged so far backwards that he barely looked any older than Midoriya now. That would destroy me completely if she slips up now. If she does that same amount of time on accident. She'd send me into non-existence. Midoriya smiled while lifting his hand from the top of Eri's head. He was panting still and felt tired and beaten from his fight against Shigaraki, but he no longer felt like he would die in the next few breaths. "Thank you though," Midoriya said to the girl who lifted an uncertain look back at him wondering if she had done something wrong.

Midoriya glanced to his left and at Kota too. He moved his right fist over and tapped Kota's chin with it in a caring way. "Thank you," he assured the boy who he did not want to feel guilty or confused like both kids looked like they might as their hero scolded them. "You saved me," Midoriya told the kids. "And, you did the right thing. Interrupting Danny, because Lifebringer's Law allows for self-defense. And, a clause in that law allows the definition of 'self-defense' to include the defense of others around you. Including me," Midoriya told the kids who looked at him in awe as he defended their actions. "You were real heroes right there," Midoriya said with a smile at the kids who looked at each other and then smiled too at Deku telling them that. They each felt really happy that their hero told them they were heroes too.

"But before, no one ever told her that she should seriously consider using her Quirk to save him… Because she knows the horrible things that could have come from using it!" The argument with Togata echoed in Midoriya's mind. He made sure not to discourage the kids, and yet he recalled how intense that conversation had gotten. "She doesn't have the right, because she doesn't have a hero license." I don't want them to think that this moment means they can break the rules at any time they want as long as it's convenient or could help. I know what that leads to. This no longer counts as an emergency. I, don't have the right, to ask Eri to restore my arm. Lemillion was right about that.

Even if I really wish I could be back at full strength right now. Midoriya tilted his head back and looked up in the sky. The clouds that had covered one part of the city had spread and now covered most of the sky over Tokyo. Dark shadows cast over Yoyogi Park and made the kids next to Midoriya lift their heads into the sky as well. They all stared up, and their smiles faded at the powerful lightning zapping in the clouds that they wished they could believe was natural…

---

Two Years Ago…

Off the hallway stretching around the Sports Festival stadium, Uraraka Ochaco sat in one of the waiting rooms by herself. Her fists were over the table in front of her. She was in her gym uniform still. She was bruised, and she was upset, and her head was bowed over her shaking arms with tears in her eyes as she listened to the cheering out in the stadium.

I lost again! I could have won! I was so close, and I- I just… "Ah," Uraraka gasped out a pained breath. Her whole body ached from the fight. She was more frustrated than in pain though. All the fights of the day compounded together. All her exhaustion was supposed to be hitting her right now, but she felt the adrenaline that could have pushed her on to another fight. I could have won. I should have! And whether Zach or Shoji, I could have won the next fight too. I could have made it to the finals! Damn it. "Damn it," she whispered. She seethed it through her teeth, "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it."

The door behind her opened up. A spiky-haired blond walked into the room that he was expecting to be empty so he could mentally prepare for his next fight. This time will be different. Deku's gotten a much better grasp on it now. I'm stronger than he is though. I always will… Bakugo's eyes widened in surprise as he only lifted his head after letting the door close behind him. He was too in the zone to realize that the room was occupied, and he frowned in annoyance that someone was here even if it was his fault for coming in completely before realizing.

Uraraka spun her head in anger. She glared back at Bakugo who just came in. He looked at her and the annoyance at someone being here shifted into even more annoyance at the look on her face. She was barely fighting back tears. The expression on her face was so frustrated and then angry that someone came in and was catching her like this.

Annoyance first grew on Bakugo's face as he saw she was crying. He recognized the frustration well though. Uraraka rose her arm and quickly rubbed back and forth across her eyes to keep from looking pathetic. She froze though and lowered her arm slowly as Bakugo said, "You fucked up." Uraraka looked at him in confusion that overcame the other emotions she was feeling at the moment. Her anger bubbled back up though at what he just said to her that made her jaw drop a bit at the blunt way he said it.

"Wha-"

"Going for Yaoyorozu just 'cause she didn't actually team up with you like she was making it out like she was." Bakugo continued to the girl who closed her mouth and frowned deeper at him for saying this to her. Uraraka was already thinking of all she could have done differently in that fight, and her fists curled tightly at how the battle had ended. She thought of the opportunity she had given Kirishima by attacking Yaoyorozu instead of him, even though it had looked clear that Kirishima was the one she had to be more worried about back there.

Yaoyorozu had caught Uraraka before she could fall out of bounds though. Using her grappling hook, Momo had caught her and made it look like they were teaming up, only for that to just be a way to catch Kirishima off guard. Momo knew it. She knew she had to focus on Kirishima. But I- I just- Uraraka bit down in more frustration as ever that Bakugo and Yaoyorozu had both known this but she had made the wrong move.

"You had the drop on Kirishima and should have taken it," Bakugo said in annoyance of his own. "Kirishima's stronger than you, but you've got the clearer head, usually." Bakugo's tone of annoyance suddenly clicked in Uraraka's head and made her fists uncurl a bit.

Just then, Present Mic shouted something about Zach and Shoji's fight outside that made Bakugo turn his head in surprise. Cheers rang out around the stadium. Bakugo's eyebrows rose up at what he heard out there about a fight he did not expect to last this long. Uraraka stared at the side of his face as he looked over towards the wall like that though. Her eyes were wide and she felt stunned for a second as she heard that tone he just used. He sounds like… He was rooting for Kirishima. He had to be. But, he almost sounds, angry that I messed up like that? I thought he would definitely have been rooting for Kirishima. Why's he annoyed at me?

Uraraka watched as Bakugo shifted his gaze back onto her and saw her expression towards him that made him tsk and glare away again. The fact that he looked away from her made Uraraka's eyes widen even more. And then the corners of her lips that had not lifted from her deep frown since the end of her fight, lifted up the smallest amount. Bakugo respects me? I, I guess I've noticed. Uraraka smiled and moved her arm that she had wiped her eyes with to cover her mouth so he would not see her smiling at him like that. She considered how he had grinned at her when she came to him and suggested they team up in the previous round, which had made Bakugo ignore everyone else around him also trying to team with him to instead just pick her. Since our fight last year…

---

Present

"Decreased Gravity!" Uraraka could not remove all of her weight. Her jetpack had been destroyed. Bakugo had better maneuverability in the air even with Pinoko in full control of his movements so they were a bit slower and sloppier than if Uraraka had to fight him at his normal strength. Even as damaged as he had become during his fight with Gigantomachia, and under the control of a villain using the Quirk Puppeteer to move him around, he was still much more powerful than her though.

She leapt to her left and did two front flips in the air while raising super high off the ground. It was like she had moon gravity affecting her. Her body still had some weight, making it so she would drop back to the ground to get footing and be able to dodge again, but with less weight she was able to stand on her badly wounded legs that she could not hold her whole body weight up normally on anymore.

Uraraka winced still even without much weight pressing down on her legs when she landed on top of Machia's left leg. The unconscious giant was not as massive as before but still took up a lot of the road. Her eyes darted to Pinoko who stood on Machia's cracked torso below where Bakugo's final Explosion had ripped apart all the hardened exterior of Machia's upper chest. Pinoko was lower near its stomach, glaring towards the left leg where Uraraka sprinted forward with leaping steps of low gravity to pass Machia's knee and rise up his thigh.

Pinoko swung her upper four arms that she held up as if controlling a marionette. Her bottom two arms slashed inwards, and Uraraka's eyes widened as she saw glints on her fingers and the sharp wires that had blood flying off of them as Pinoko slashed towards her. This was not her Quirk but just a weapon the villainess was using. Uraraka had to jump up to dodge the wires, but then she had to touch her fingers together and yank her body sideways in midair with more weight to drop her below Bakugo's right arm he swung towards her and fired an Explosion out of.

Uraraka passed just above the sharp wires and just below Bakugo's Explosion. She narrowly avoided death once again, but Bakugo ground his teeth as he saw how close she was to just barely not get killed. "Get out of here," Bakugo snapped at the girl falling below where he blasted himself backwards.

Uravity fell between the legs of the giant. Then she had to leap backwards as Bakugo swung his left arm above his head and blasted into the sky to drop himself faster straight into where she just was. She jumped backwards, but this time she stayed close to the ground as he punched his right hand towards her. She crouched until his right hand came close, then she kicked off a chunk of pavement sticking up out of the street's normal level which was deeper than the surface had been at the start of this fight. Uraraka stayed very close to the ground in a crouched position as he swung his right hand down and Exploded just behind the girl who dodged at the last second so his Explosion ripped up the ground where she just was.

"You're weaker than me! RUN, and get someone-"

"I'm not leaving you to Pinoko's devices," Uraraka snapped back at him. He was turning his head left and looking past his Explosion at the girl who glared back into his eyes. "She'll use you to hurt a lot of other heroes and civilians who don't know you're being controlled until it's too late!" She landed and winced again at the pain in her injured legs. Her arms were not much better off. She had light burns on her body. Uraraka felt sore all over. And her eyes narrowed into Bakugo's that glared straight back at hers.

"I'm not leaving you," Uraraka said firmly to him while they were only a few meters away from one another.

Pinoko grinned wider than ever as she heard the girl declare that to her Puppet.

I'm not going to convince her to leave. Fuck. FUCK! Why am I not strong enough? Bakugo hated it. He hated every second of this. I ignored Aizawa sensei. I knew what I was fucking doing, and I did it anyway! Bakugo had thought of his teacher's words as he went all out against Machia. He knew he would be helpless afterwards, but the worst-case scenario he saw resulting from his post-fight weakness did not include being controlled by Pinoko. That's why "stamina" is so important. Fights happen "one after the other."

Zach was so tired from fighting by the time he got to Kwunkai, that it got him enslaved. I knew that, and I still let myself do the same fucking thing. IDIOT! "RAA!" Bakugo fought against it but still blasted an Explosion towards his friend who had to dive for cover again. Then he yanked as hard as he could away as he saw his flames licking at Uraraka's legs and burning through her costume. The girl tried to hold back a scream of pain so as not to hurt him, but he could see her trying to do that through the agonized expression on her face.

Pinoko brought her bottom two arms out to her sides the same distance as her top four. Surprise flashed on her face but she hid it well a second later. Even this damaged, he's still so strong! No wonder he was able to take down Machia. I thought he couldn't move on his own without me picking him up, but I think he could have stood. He probably would have gotten up and kept fighting. And he would have been the strongest hero around! "Hehehe, HEE hehe," Pinoko giggled and cackled in amazement. "I wonder if that fight will leave you once you execute Uravity?!" Pinoko shouted at the boy whose struggle ceased showing any signs of success when Pinoko used her Quirk's full strength to hold him to her whims.

Uraraka rolled on her landing and grabbed at her legs that only got grazed by Bakugo's Explosion but still felt like she had just shoved them into an inferno for a second. Not good. I won't be able to dodge as fast. Come on, Bakugo. Figure it out!

Bakugo spun back towards her and dove at the girl while in no control of his body. Uraraka stayed crouched and low to the ground, really low to the ground. Bakugo's infuriated eyes shook wide at the sight, and then they immediately returned to the fearful and frustrated way they just looked. He ground his teeth harder and tried pulling back even as his right and left arms both swung at her. Uraraka had her hands down near her legs, and she pressed them on the floor to help with pushing up as jumping alone would be too hard with her legs in this state.

I knew that Zach could beat Raijin and Deku could beat Shigaraki. But those aren't the only villains in the city. I fucked up. I can't just think that I've done enough now and stop fighting. The battle's not over. I can't stop fighting! No one else is done! I WON'T STOP UNTIL WE'VE WON! Bakugo struggled with every fiber of his being pushing back against Pinoko's control.

Pinoko's going to kill us. But she can't control him if she's focused on someone else, Uravity thought calmly as she barrel-rolled in midair away from another Explosion that sped her up even faster away. If she loses focus on Bakugo for even a second he'll be able to escape her binds. But she's using him to keep me away. And she has her own weapons too. I can't get close. That's clear now. I'm not fast enough. I won't be able to touch my hands to her. So stop thinking about beating her like that.

Uraraka landed on all fours. She did so because her legs were injured and so she needed to use her hands to keep herself up and with full maneuverability. Her hands curled around the chunks of ground below her though as Bakugo dove towards his friend again. Bakugo's body spun around in midair, and his right arm swung down in a curved swing that dragged a long Explosion across the street.

Uraraka pounced forward. She could not dodge left or right as the Explosion had too wide an area. Pinoko predicted the girl would jump back instead so Bakugo's second Explosion was blasted behind the first swing and into empty space as Uraraka predicted her prediction. Explosions filled up most of the road, and yet Uraraka was closer to Pinoko now who flipped around her Puppet who was just blasted backwards himself after that second Explosion so he was above where Uraraka had sprinted to between Machia's legs.

There was not much space for her to dodge. Uravity stopped short and pressed her hands into the floor below her, bouncing back into the fading swung flames of Bakugo's first Explosion as he blasted a third that expanded and filled all the space between Machia's unmoving legs. Bakugo's arms screamed out in pain. Blood splashed from his open wounds. His arms struggled back against her control. And Pinoko had to fully focus on forcing Explosion King to chase after the girl who darted out of some smoke while staying low to the ground and moving with long strides. Her legs stretched out ahead of her with each step. She barely tapped down on the ground before kicking out into her next stride on damaged and burnt legs.

Uraraka felt lighter than air. She had to keep her legs so close to the ground that the soles of her feet, that were bare now as her shoes had burnt through, were grazing on the floor with each stride. Uraraka grabbed a chunk of building on the road that she was running past, and she flung it up towards Pinoko as the two hundred pound chunk lost all its weight. Pinoko had Explosion King flying at the girl, and he did a spin in midair with Explosions going off around him looking like a fiery drill that ripped apart that building chunk and filled the air with more smoke that Pinoko had to look below as Uraraka darted back her way while still close to the ground.

Pinoko sent Bakugo flying down at the girl he blasted more Explosions at. "Just run away from me!" Bakugo yelled out at her. He punched his right arm forward at Uraraka while she stopped short and ducked close to the ground. Her head was up. His body was between her and Pinoko. And Uraraka smirked as she saw the right corner of Bakugo's lips twitch up the slightest amount after that last yell. He was straining against Pinoko's control enough that his moves were slower along with sloppier due to just being controlled by a worse fighter.

Uraraka was able to dodge him with ease. And Bakugo's Explosion ripped up the ground that Uraraka's hands just touched before she bounced to her right. Bakugo dragged his arm after her, but Uraraka flipped herself away and dodged over to the facade of a building that only had the first few floors of it remaining due to all the fighting on this street. She bounced off that building as Bakugo bounced after her and blew apart the structure she was just on. Uraraka's cheeks puffed out, but she swallowed back and held off from puking again. A little more!

Bakugo spun around after Uraraka again and pointed his hands behind him. His frustrated look filled with real panic just like Uraraka's worried one, as Pinoko shouted towards them, "If Uravity dodges again, I'll sever Explosion King's brain stem!" They both darted their eyes towards the crazed villain who laughed at their conflicted and panicked expressions. "Then I'll just connect to her, force her to send people flying up in the air and then release their gravity. Dropping them to their deaths!" Pinoko shouted it and then smiled wider as she actually considered doing just that as it sounded amusing to her.

Bakugo blasted after Uraraka who turned her head sideways and looked towards him in fear wondering what to do. Pinoko saw that expression of a girl who was hesitating too long that she would be blown away in a second. I'd prefer to torment Explosion King for longer though anyway, she told herself as the idea of dropping people with Uravity's Quirk was about to be a distant dream no longer possible. I haven't even been able to really rub it in his face how I killed Best Jeanist. I know he interned with-

Pinoko's eyes widened in surprise as Uraraka touched her hands together and dropped out of the air and below Bakugo's Explosion. Is she calling my bluff? Amazing! Putting the life of her classmate in my hands. Now I'll kill him. I will follow through with the threat, and watch as she… Pinoko felt like it just got way too dark around her. Is the storm- Pinoko's gaze rose up.

All six of her arms jolted forward. She staggered a foot ahead. Her whole body hunched forward. Her bulging eyes at the sight of what was falling above her when Uraraka touched her hands together, coincided with the similar shock of how much force just pulled against her arms. "You shouldn't be able to move like that-" Pinoko gasped while yanking back the other way and trying to run to her left at the same time.

Her focus was split though. Uraraka had touched her hands together, and Pinoko saw what it was above her that the girl must have been preparing for so long now. Bakugo had already seen it. She and him had been preparing it together, even while he was seemingly completely under Pinoko's control and fighting back against her. Bakugo was saving his strength though while pretending otherwise. That was why his sudden jolt of strength caught the villain off guard. He knew it was their moment though, and Pinoko felt overwhelmed as Uraraka's Meteor Storm dropped all the debris that Bakugo had been blowing up into the air.

Pinoko yanked back on her arms to force Bakugo towards her. Fix both problems at once! Pinoko flung her struggling Puppet over her own head. All that rubble falling towards her was dangerous, but there was only a bit of it that she needed to destroy in order to protect herself. She aimed Bakugo's hands towards the debris over her head. BOOOM! He fired and annihilated that debris, but Pinoko's eyes were already dropping back down to in front of her where the danger was approaching from now. Between all the rocks and pieces of street and buildings that were falling in front of her, the brunette hero dove through midair weightlessly.

Pinoko let go with her bottom right arm and reached for the girl. Uraraka snapped her left hand to Pinoko's wrist though and twisted it around while yanking herself closer in a quick jolt that only worked so well because she weighed nearly nothing. The girl proficient in martial arts flung her body towards the villain's head with her right leg pulling back like she was going for a kick, then she slammed her right elbow into Pinoko's nose before bouncing off the woman.

Pinoko needed all 6 arms to control Bakugo when he fought back against her. She had managed to make him attack the falling rubble over her head, but the elbow to her face opened her up as she lost control for a brief instant on the hero above her who was stronger than 5 arms could overpower anyway. Pinoko's head had snapped back from the elbow. Her eyes had clenched shut as her nose broke. And then her eyes squinted back open and she saw in the bottom of her vision Uravity grabbing onto a falling piece of rubble that she used to slingshot herself backwards and farther from Pinoko. Uraraka did not want to be there any longer as Bakugo was dropping their way already.

Pinoko's flailed arms from when she was hit in the face snapped back up over her head. She grabbed onto Bakugo…

He felt her pulling with all her strength to move his body. He was already in position though. "DIEEE!" Bakugo screamed. His hand sparked and blood flew out from the cuts on it and all the way up his right arm to his shoulder. He needed to grab his wrist with his left hand to steady the arm, and he did so despite Pinoko desperately tugging on his limbs with Puppeteer. Her eyes bulged as his body refused to move the way she told it to. And then she screamed at the top of her lungs as the Explosion engulfed her.

Bakugo's Explosion launched him back up in the air as a spinning mess. Uraraka looked up after dodging the last of her own debris. She grabbed onto a cement slab that impaled the street next to her, and she flung herself up in the air towards him. "Bakugo!" She called out. He tried flipping himself in midair into a position less flail-y, but as he stared down his eyes shot wide for a second looking past Uraraka who spun her head to the side and looked down in shock herself.

Pinoko's bottom two arms pushed down on the floor at the side of her knees. She was in excruciating pain. Her costume was very protective though. Her hands and face were burned badly. But she pushed off the floor and slashed her four upper arms into the air. Long sharp metal wires flew up towards the heroes above.

"Grab on!" Uraraka reached out and Bakugo's left hand snapped to hers. She made him weightless and flung behind herself, in such a way that she also got sent flying the other way and the wires passed between the two of them. Uraraka returned their weights, yelling out, "Can you still move your arms?!"

Bakugo ignored the question and just moved them to point in front of himself on his downwards arc towards Machia's feet instead of his head where Uraraka was arcing to. Bakugo cupped his bloody hands in front of himself and fired rapid-burst Explosions down towards Pinoko who dropped to all six arms and scrambled backwards along Gigantomachia's body like a spider woman. Explosions went off across the surface of the giant too small to break through even his already-cracked armor. As she got closer to the top of his chest though, the ground under her was more broken-up and she misstepped one of her hands into a crack on Machia's pecs that caused her to stumble around.

Neither hero were going to let her get away with that mistake. Pinoko rose up her upper two arms and slashed in different directions at the two of them. Uraraka had grabbed onto a steel beam though on last landing and she threw it in front of her to intercept the wires. Wires wrapped around that beam, and Uraraka grabbed onto it and flipped herself over the top then pushed down towards the villainess.

Bakugo just aimed his left hand forward and fired straight through the wires before they could hit him. Pinoko was knocked backwards by the force of his Explosion even up there. He dropped down on Machia's armor and sprinted forward towards her, pointing both hands behind his back and letting off another blast to send him flying faster at her. Pinoko leaned to her side and slashed all three left arms at him as he was passing over her.

The girl flying down on her other side though grasped onto Bakugo's hands as he was passing Pinoko's side. Uraraka flipped around with him and then flung him back towards the creepy woman whose eyes bulged as Bakugo had blasted himself straight into Uravity as if he knew Pinoko would dodge him and was just setting up their next attack. Uraraka swung both arms towards Pinoko and released Bakugo whose bare bloody feet were pointed straight at Pinoko's head from point blank this time. His feet sparked. Rubble dropped around them. Pinoko's right arms swung to try and intercept him, but Uravity threw him too fast for her to prevent it.

Uraraka got launched by her own throw and she went flipping backwards uncontrollably so she could barely see their finished work. She caught glimpses of it though, as Bakugo fired Explosions out of his soles and blasted Pinoko backwards off of Machia's body and into the wall of a destroyed structure on Machia's right side that the giant's arm was resting on top of. Pinoko's body smashed into that wall so hard that Machia's arm dislodged and fell farther off of it and down through the rubble that could not hold the giant mass up. Pinoko herself cracked the whole wall, that somehow remained standing even with her imbedded deep into it in a way that prevented her from even falling off.

The Explosions out of his feet sent him flying head-first away too. Uraraka had to take away his gravity in order to throw him like she did a few seconds ago, so luckily he bounced pretty lightly off the wall he shot into without any weight to make a hard collision. She also did not have any weight herself, and the wind from Bakugo's Explosions added to how she was already flipping around from her throw. Her cheeks puffed out, but she had been handling more queasiness from her Quirk than she was getting from just spinning out like this.

She returned some of her own gravity. Just enough that she could look towards Bakugo and see that he was in a decent enough position for her to drop him too without him getting too hurt. A large metal beam had fallen out of the air near where Bakugo dropped down on his back. It impaled the street and stuck up out of it diagonally. Uraraka bounced off the wall behind her she had spun over to, and she front-flipped over the beam that she grabbed the top of with both hands. Uraraka tapped her hands together on top of that beam and finally returned her weight. She dropped onto it with her legs hanging off. Her mouth was wide open and she panted heavily while putting her hands down on top of her thighs and just gasping for some breath after all that.

Uravity leaned forward on top of that beam and looked down to the floor a few meters below her. She stared at the collapsed Bakugo, then she glanced to her right and over at the giant dent in a partially-standing wall that Pinoko was stuck in. The villain's head dipped to her chest with her chin touching it, all six of her arms limp at her sides were they were mostly stuck into the wall, though the center left one dangled off limply in front of her. Uraraka looked back from Pinoko and down at Bakugo who was staring up in the air himself. Her panting breaths caught in her throat though, as Bakugo lifted up onto his butt and made her eyes bulge at the sight of him.

She closed her jaw then opened her mouth to say something to him. She just shook her head though once in awe as he looked back up at her face above him. How strong can you be, Bakugo? How is he even still moving after all of that?

Bakugo stared up at the girl gazing back down at him. Out of the two of them, he was the one more shocked as he stared back at her with wide eyes of his own. She even lifted her eyebrows up in surprise and confusion for a second at that look he was giving her back. What did I do? She wondered from the way he was gawking at her.

We didn't say a word to each other, Bakugo thought. During the fight there was no time for it, but now he thought about it and stared up in shock at the girl still with him here at the end of their fight. The city was in ruins around them with every other hero and villain down for the count. That fighting was more in sync than anything I've ever done. Anyone I've ever fought with before. That was… I knew exactly what she was thinking- Bakugo's eyes widened more as after a few seconds, Uraraka just smiled down at him ear to ear. She laughed with a relaxed look on her face as her shoulders finally slouched and her head tilted back. She's gorgeous- Bakugo's eyes bulged.

What was I even worried about? It's Bakugo, Uraraka laughed at her own needless concern as she saw him sitting up like he was perfectly fine despite the visible injuries that suggested he was anything but. I'm glad he's alright though. She smiled back down at him after laughing and just shook her head in amazement. "You did it," she said to him.

Bakugo's bottom lip dropped further that she just said that. He opened his mouth wider to counter with something. He did not even want to retort 'we did it' though. That was all you, Bakugo thought back. He was frozen though as he saw the look on her face thought the exact same thing back at him. He may have been the one to finally blow away Pinoko right there, but he had been a Puppet with no chance of beating her while Uraraka was the only one still fighting against them.

Uraraka's smile slowly dropped down. Bakugo's eyes lifted up over the top of her head. The two looking at each other in mutual admiration shifted their gazes up to the sky. Ka-CRACK! CHHHH! Thunder cracked overhead so loudly it was like the storm brewing up there was directly above them now. Lightning ripped out of the clouds in the same second, illuminating the sky with a bright flash. And that flash exposed two figures flying up there just below the clouds.

Uravity and Explosion King stared up in even more shock than the awe they felt in their own victory. Uraraka felt chills run down her spine. Rain fell from the sky and they started getting droplets on their faces that they kept pointed straight up. Bakugo's huge eyes started to narrow on those figures high above who clashed in the storm. He's still fighting?

Zach… Bakugo glanced down at his bloody broken arms and useless legs then back up in the air with his fists clenched. You can do this. I know you can.

---

A/N Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! And get ready for next chapter: Chapter 253: Zach vs Raijin. Starbucks is about to close and I'm finishing editing right at closing time. So not much time for review responses as I want to post this before they boot me. I'll get a couple down there though! XD

Angryshadow04 chapter 251 . Nov 7

Wtf this updated 6 hours ago and I didn't get an email reeeeeeeeeeee.

Yeah, something was up with the site last time I updated. Hope this one sends out update emails to everyone though! Here's hoping.

pink9571 chapter 251 . Nov 7

Holy crap Zach really is a god! Everytime I think Kaminari is gonna die...he doesn't. I'm gonna guess after he kills Kaminari, Zach is gonna disappear, seemingly dead to the world. Only a select few know he's still alive...but you always catch me off gaurd so I honestly have no clue how this story is gonna end XD
Great work once again! This chapter took me two days to read lol

Nice predictions! We'll see how it all turns out... next time! XD These last chapters have been massive, but this one is at least only around 19k so not as bad as usual! Thanks for the review!

cartoonfan9 chapter 251 . Nov 8

Gran Torino and Lemillion getting the support from the others is really cool. Endeavor and Gentle's fights went about as I expected, though I'm bummed Intanzo didn't get smashed harder. Endeavor being done was expected, just hope he survives even if he retires after recovering. Trabo died :( I don't really have faith Zach will be able to revive everyone. I'm glad Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, Himazuri, and Dendo were able to win. Zach vs Raijin, well, I don't expect anything less than infinite power for both at this point. And is Eri going to Rewind Midoriya? Find that hard to believe considering two assassins are right there. No way they will stand back and let Eri do her thing. The only people I can see truly helping Midoriya and Bakugo are international heroes or Inasa since he's pretty OP and also undamaged...but I doubt Inasa will be back in any major way :( A shame because I really like him in canon and this story. Also what's happening at UA with Exodus and the Shiketsu students? Great chapter, hope to see the next one soon!

Glad you enjoyed the fights. Intanzo escaping sure is a bummer though. XD Eri does wind up rewinding Midoriya a bit at the end of their fight, though Deku prevents her from going too far with her Quirk that could potentially erase him from existence, even if it could've helped Midoriya get back in this. Uraraka and Bakugo manage to take down Pinoko too. Lots of fights going on all over the city, but next time as you can probably tell based on the title in the A/N, we're getting Zach vs Raijin... Get hyped. Thanks for reviewing. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And thanks everyone for reading, fav-ing, following, and reviewing to this story. 5 CHAPTERS REMAIN!