Coco: Hey, guys, here's another chapter for you! Honestly, I didn't think I'd get this much done XD But I finally managed to get my regularly scheduled two days off, so I guess it helped me move things along, which is nice. I hope you like the chapter. After this one there should be about two more to wrap up this arc!
Ayano frowned as she hurried in the direction Aizawa had been fighting. After getting a full report from Izuku about their teacher's condition, she told Fumikage and Koji she had to leave them. They both understood, and while they didn't ask, Ayano was sure Fumikage knew what was going on. As she ran, she opened up a mental link with only a few of her classmates.
'Todoroki-kun, Jinsoku-chan, Kirishima-kun, Katsuki.' She reached out to them. 'I have only opened a link between the five of us. I don't want the others to panic, but I do need assistance. Aizawa-sensei is down for the count.'
'Seriously?' Ayumi asked sounding shocked.
'Did all those villains overwhelm him?' Eijiro questioned.
'No,' Ayano replied. 'Apparently, the secret weapon they have to kill All Might got the best of him. Now, three of our classmates are in trouble as well. Izuku, Tsuyu-chan, and Mineta-kun all went to check on Aizawa and are now in the line of fire. Izuku is also suffering from injuries.'
'Stupid Deku.' Katsuki scoffed.
Normally, Ayano would defend their childhood friend from Katsuki's judgement, but even she had to admit what Izuku did was stupid. He even brought others into harm's way as well. Though she could understand he was worried for their teacher.
'We need to rush over then,' Shoto guessed. 'For assistance.'
'Not all of us,' Ayano said. 'I think it's time we wrap things up. Jinsoku-chan, will you be able to go all other points out classmates are in and get them out? Try to get as many of those zones cleared as possible—don't worry about the villains only getting our classmates out. Then have our classmates all gather where Thirteen and the others are. Please, remain with them once you finish.'
'I'm on it!' Ayumi promised before leaving the conversation.
Ayano was starting to make progress towards her destination as a large bulky creature came into view it had Aizawa pinned with his head being smushed into a face sized crater in the ground.
'I am about to engage the enemy,' Ayano told the others. 'I ask you do hurry, but don't become reckless. A few villains could still be hidden throughout the facility.'
'Don't be stupid, Aya!' Katsuki snapped. 'If Aizawa was taken down, you won't stand a chance on your own. Especially if you're worried about protecting Deku and those other two idiots.'
Ayano came to a stop as she let out a sigh. She very well knows her own limitations. Better than Katsuki she likes to believe.
'I don't have to beat them or anything.' Ayano pointed out. 'I just have to distract them enough until you heavy hitters show up. Don't let me down, Kacchan.'
She then cut the mental connection as Katsuki was going to yell something else at her. She took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves as her heart beat erratically through her chest.
'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid,' She thought to herself. 'But even so, I won't let fear stop me from protecting my teacher or my classmates.'
She let out that breath before she hurried forward again. She wasn't the best at running. She already felt worn out before she even reached the others. She needed to find a better way to get around. As she arrived at the scene, she saw the blue-haired guy reaching towards Tsuyu. Ayano cursed about to lift him up and toss him when he suddenly paused. He then turned and Ayano thought it was because he knew she was there. But he turned to Aizawa instead.
"You really are so cool." He said.
Ayano looked seeing Aizawa managed to lift his head enough to cancel what that guy's quirk was. However, the beast pinning him down soon smashed his head into the ground again. Ayano knew if they didn't get their sensei away, he'd be dead before any help arrived. But her friends were in trouble too.
"Ayano!"
Ayano jerked around as Izuku jumped out of the water while throwing a fist towards that one guy who was now looking straight at her.
"I've got him!" Izuku said. "Save Aizawa-sensei!"
Ayano frowned though turned to face the monster about to lift him up off their teacher. However, it suddenly flew passed her so fast she couldn't even see it. She barely had time to turn around and watch as Izuku punched with everything he had, which sent a blast of wind out so strong it shattered the lights clear across the facility. Ayano gasped hunkering down for a second to avoid being blown away. Once it all settled, Ayano looked up to see that creature had gotten in the way and it wasn't even phased by that hit.
"You're pretty powerful." The blue-haired guy said. "This "smash" of yours…are you one of All Might's disciples? Doesn't matter. I'm done with you now."
That creature grabbed Izuku to hold him in place as he lifted his other hand to cause a blow Ayano was sure would be life threatening. The blue-haired dude then reached Tsuyu and Minoru meaning all three of Ayano's classmates were in danger. Without thinking she lifted the big guy up then slammed him down. He wasn't really phased, but he did release Izuku who rolled away. After that Ayano went to throw the beast at its master, but the blue-haired guy was suddenly gone. She gasped when he appeared in front of her.
'Such speed…' Ayano thought. 'I didn't even see him move.'
He was reaching towards her causing her heart to nearly beat out of her chest in fear. However, just before he could grab her the doors to the U.S.J were blown away—literally. Everything came to a stop as everyone turned to see who arrived. As the smoke cleared from above, Ayano could see that familiar goofy hairstyle and large figure of their Fundamental Hero Instructor.
"Have no fear students." He told them. "I am here!"
Minoru cried tears of relief as he huffed Tsuyu who had gotten her tongue around Izuku to pull him away from the danger.
"Look we're saved!" Minoru cried happily.
"He's here…All Might." Izuku muttered.
The Villains didn't look to concerned. Of course, with a monster like they have, it was understandable.
"Ah, it looks like our game is going to continue." Blue-haired guy said.
His voice reminded Ayano of her current situation, which had her freezing up. Even with All Might here, she was close to danger.
"I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong here when Aizawa and Thirteen didn't answer my calls." All Might said. "So, I hurried over. Running into Young Iida on the way. He told me of the villainy at work here."
He stopped at the edge of the steps while ripping off his tie. He definitely did not look happy. Not in the slightest.
"After all this waiting," Blue-haired villain said. "The Heroic Piece of Trash shows up."
All Might threw his jacket to the side as the villains below who had gotten their second wind murmured in fear. They were definitely losing their nerve at the sight of him. Even before they could try to rally, All Might attacked with such speed not even the students could keep up. He took them out with ease while soon reaching Aizawa who was still laying face down. He picked up the fallen hero carefully, which was one less worry on Ayano's shoulders.
However, there were still more. Ayano quickly dropped the monster to lift her three classmates up. They gasped as she practically threw them to the side. The treatment might be harsh, but it got them out of harm's way. They landed near All Might just as that creature managed to get to its feet. Ayano turned to face the villain in front of her, but she was suddenly picked up causing her to gasp. Then in the blink of an eye she was over with the others as All Might was hanging her Aizawa. She stumbled under her teacher's weight though managed to keep him over her shoulders.
"Everyone back to the entrance." All Might said. "And take Aizawa with you. He doesn't have much time."
Minoru and Tsuyu quickly went to help Ayano with Aizawa, but Izuku looked up at All Might.
"You saved us, All Might." He said.
"I believe I'm the one who got you away from that thing, Izuku." Ayano deadpanned. "Though thank-you, All Might-sensei."
He was the one who gave the villains enough pause that kept her from being harmed by that one guy's quirk. Speaking of that guy, he seemed to be having someone kind of panic attack. Ayano noticed the hand he had had on his face was knocked on the ground, and he was currently covering his face with his own hands. Hmm, definitely interesting. He kept mumbling to himself as he stumbled over to get that hand to place back over his face. Ayano tilted her head to the side. He was certainly a strange one. And she's definitely heard his voice before even if she can't remember. Ayano then looked to Izuku when he took Aizawa off her shoulders.
'Was I holding him wrong or something?' Ayano wondered. 'I suppose I could use my powers to carry him back. Though I'd rather not turn my back on this guy. But All Might ordered us to gather with the others, but I have three classmates heading this way. Besides, while I know All Might is strong, he's used too much power already this morning. Meaning he's weaker and they have a pet that was made to kill him. He shouldn't be on his own. What do I do?'
"All Might, you can't." Izuku said snapping Ayano from her thoughts. "That brain guy took One For A—I smashed him and didn't break my arm this time, but he wasn't phased at all. He's too strong."
"Young Midoriya!" All Might cut in then turned around to give the kids a peace sign. "I've got this."
Ayano gave him a deadpanned look since his little move didn't impress her at all.
"A peace sign doesn't really bring me peace of mind." Ayano said causing him to flinch as he sweat-dropped. "Besides, you might have the title of the Symbol of Peace, but that doesn't make you invincible, All Might-sensei. You should learn to accept help. Isn't that something all heroes must do when the time calls for it?"
All Might flinched at her words again, but this time for a different reason. Someone else has said something along those lines to him before. The person Ayano resembles so much.
—FLASHBACK—
All Might let out huff as he faced off against another troublesome opponent. He didn't know how many of them there were, but he's already taken down so many. He was feeling the fatigue grow, but knew he had to keep going. Just the villain went to attack, he suddenly fell forward causing All Might to jump in shock. When he heard the villain snoring, his eyes widened.
"Of course, I find you being reckless again." A familiar voice said behind him.
All Might whirled around seeing a young woman with long, curly ginger hair behind him. Her eyes were a striking whitish-silver color framed by dark lashes. She wore a green body suit with gold trimming and there was gold figure of a bird on the front. Her boots were gold as well as was the sash around her waist.
"Phoenix!" He exclaimed.
The younger hero smiled at him as she came to stand at his side to place a hand on his forearm.
"You're exhausted, All Might." She said. "You might have the title of number one hero right now, but that doesn't make you invincible. You should learn to accept help. I believe you were taught that the same as I."
"Right—uh—I'm sorry." All Might said scrambling for words. "Sorry, Phoenix."
Phoenix chuckled as her smile grew across her face while she gazed up at him.
—END OF FLASHBACK—
While Young Ishida's words held truth, there was a big difference from accepting help from a fellow pro and accepting help from a young student.
"Izuku, Tsuyu-chan, Mineta-kun, take Aizawa to the others." Ayano ordered not giving time for All Might to answer. "I have Jinsoku-chan picking up the rest of the students from their zones. I told her to worry about rescuing them not taking down the villains, so watch out on your way."
Izuku was going to protest, but this look in Ayano's eyes had him shutting him. The way she stood ready for attack with her eyes hardened—he knew better to say anything. Something about this was personal to Ayano.
"Okay but be careful." Izuku said.
"I will." Ayano said.
Izuku nodded then went off with their two classmates as All Might went to protest. Ayano didn't want to see to give him time to protest since she turned towards the one controlling the creature that hurt Aizawa.
"I have a few questions for you anyway." Ayano said calmly. "While my brain keeps telling me we've never met, my subconscious says otherwise. You've been in my head. And you had someone scramble my mind. Where is the psychic you used to get into my head?"
All Might stiffened as he listened to Ayano question the villain. He heard about the attack at the school and how Ayano had been hit the hardest. Though he didn't know another psychic involved.
"Based on the intense memory of pain—the only thing I can clearly remember—I'd say your psychic has empathic abilities." Ayano continued. "And considering your psychic could get inside my head a telepath as well. Finally, my memories were taken from me, which leads me to believe another one of your psychic's abilities is memory manipulation."
All Might's eyes widened as she listed off those three abilities. Those abilities were just like the ones Phoenix once had.
"Well, well, aren't you smart?" The villain asked. "Impressive you could figure out so much when most of your memory has been wiped of that moment. My friend was right to tell me to take you more seriously, Ishida Ayano."
Ayano's eyes narrowed at the man. He knew her name. Not exactly that was reassuring.
"But that isn't your real name, is it?" He asked.
"It was the name my parents gave me—whether they're my adoptive parents or not—the name they gave me is mine." Ayano said. "Now where is your psychic? With their ability, you'd have a much easier time completing your goal. Makes it hard to believe you'd leave them behind."
The man chuckled as he tilted his head at the young psychic who continued to look at him through narrowed eyes.
"My Nomu can handle the Symbol of Peace." He said confidently. "She's unneeded, so I left her at home. Besides, she tends to let her personal hatred get in the way—couldn't have that on this mission. Now, Nomu."
He snapped his fingers with the creature—Nomu—charging at All Might. All Might jumped in front of Ayano then went to meet Nomu head on. He hit him hard, but Nomu wasn't even phased by the hit.
"Guess he wasn't wrong when he said it had no affect on you!" All Might said as he dodged the Nomu who tried to restrain him.
He tried another punch to the gut, but the large creature wasn't fazed once more. He tried one more punch to its face, but it didn't even blink. He jumped back again while nearly running right into Ayano who had to jump back.
"Young Ishida, I know you wish to help, but this is a dangerous place to be!" All Might called over his shoulder. "Please, retreat with the others! I can't fight and worry about you at the same time."
Ayano frowned though knew he had a point, but the guy hiding behind Nomu had answers to her wayward memories. She then gasped when All Might lifted her up to get them both out of the way of Nomu's next attack. She then flinched when Nomu was right on top of them. He went to grab her as if to remove her from All Might's hold, but she didn't like that plan. Quickly she created a thick psionic wall to smash Nomu so hard into the ground a crater was made.
"Whoa." All Might as he jumped back to get them to safety.
He then set Ayano down as Nomu forced himself out of her old, which had her frowning even more. All Might set her down while thinking these villains might not let Ayano leave. That Nomu had been reaching for her. Was it just to get her out of the way, so it could reach him? No, it seems as if its master had an interest in Ayano, so there had to be something else. He grit his teeth together knowing none of this was good.
"I know I need to get out of your way." Ayano said. "I could become a liability if these villains try to use me a hostage or shield. But…"
Ayano looked up to look him right in the eye as her hands clenched into fists at her side.
"I'm the one who took responsibility for my classmates and took charge." Ayano said. "So, it's my duty to keep them safe. I have three classmates heading this way, and they're all so stubborn that if I ask them to just run back to the others, they'd ignore my request. I won't retreat when knowing they'll be here soon to put themselves on the line to help fight these villains. I wouldn't be able to look them in the eye if I did that. Not after asking for their help to begin with."
All Might stared down at the young girl while noticing that despite her brave words—she was trembling ever so slightly. She was afraid, and any sane person her, who's never dealt with villains like this, would be. Yet she refuses to back down—for the sake of her companions.
"If you want me out of the way, you'll have to force me." Ayano said firmly.
All Might really didn't know what to do with this kid. Though he didn't really have the time to decide considering the situation.
'I'll just have to scold her later.' He thought to himself.
He then turned back towards the villains who had surprisingly waited for them to finish.
"Well, well, aren't you such a courageous young hero." Blue-haired guy said. "Let's see if you keep that bravado after Nomu rips the Symbol of Peace into a thousand pieces."
He snapped his fingers with Nomu charging forward. All Might went to battle the creature once more as Ayano turned towards the other two villains. However, before she could even think to battle them, she sensed someone coming up behind her. She whirled up putting up a psionic shield to protect her from an onslaught of bullets. She bit her lip as she saw those villains were getting up again. They might be small fry, but they made up for it with tenacity.
"You all are starting to annoy me." Ayano said as she narrowed her eyes.
She stretched out the psionic wall around her then sent it straight at the villains. It plowed them down then dispersed and reshaped into small orbs that Ayano sent flying at the other villains. They rained down on the villains without mercy. Ayano didn't have time to worry about them sense All Might didn't have much time left to continue his own fight. He needed assistance as soon as possible. She just hoped the others got here soon. She then stiffened when she heard All Might shout out in pain.
She whirled around with her eyes wide to see the warp villain had gotten in on the fight. All Might had apparently tried to bury Nomu in the ground, but the warp villain warped Nomu's upper body below All Might. He had a death grip on the hero's torso, and Ayano could see his white shirt being stained red on one side. And it was the side where All Might had sustained those injuries that caused him to have a time limit on how long he could use his power. That wasn't good. If it took more damage, his time as a hero could be shortened even more.
Ayano paused her attack on the small fry villains to turn and help All Might. But she was shocked into pausing when she saw Izuku running forward to help. She cursed knowing things wouldn't end well with him charging in without even thinking of a plan of attack.
'Is he trying to get killed?!' She wondered heatedly.
Izuku jumped towards All Might while holding out his hand, but the warp villain got between them. Izuku was going to fall right into the warp he opened on his body, but he felt himself get snagged backwards. He looked back seeing it was Ayano's doing. And just before he could tell her to let him go, Katsuki flew over him. Katsuki hit the warp villain with a concentrated explosion that managed to knock the villain back a bit.
"Get the hell out of my way, Deku!" Katsuki ordered.
Ayano let out a breath of relief while realizing that the help ahead arrived. She carefully set down Izuku as Katsuki grabbed the warp villain by his neck armor to slam him into the ground. Ice then shot across the ground to cover one side of Nomu's body even through the warp gate. The ice stopped at the monster's wrists, which kept All Might from being frozen himself.
"One of your poorly trained thugs told me you're here because you think you can kill All Might." Shoto said as he stared evenly at the villains.
With the monster somewhat immobilized All Might managed to break free. He jumped away from the villain to land near his students. He winced holding his bleeding side.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked.
All Might didn't reply as Eijiro appeared as well while heading for the boss of these villains. He managed to dodge backwards, which shocked the redhead who jumped back as well.
"Damn, that was gonna be cool." Eijiro said.
"Is now really the time to worry about that?" Ayano asked calmly.
She hurried over to her classmates as Katsuki had a large shit-eating grin on his face.
"Found your body that time, ya smokey bastard." Katsuki taunted.
"The Symbol of Peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you." Shoto said firmly as the students faced the villains.
Izuku looked at his classmates in shock though he was glad they were here. He wiped his eyes as he turned to face the villains just as barely as them.
'You three certainly took your time.' Ayanoteased Katsuki.
He turned to send a glare up at her. He was going to retort but noticed the exhausted look on her face. She probably ran straight here—which was a definite strain on her body. He then scoffed as he looked away.
'I told you not to be stupid,' Katsuki retorted. 'Maybe next time you'll listen, Aya?'
'Listen to you, Kacchan?' Ayano questioned. 'Never.'
Katsuki nearly lost his cool right then, but now wasn't the time. Not with a villain literally in the palm of his hand. The two then looked to the boss as he sighed.
"Kurogiri," He said to the warp guy. "How could you let this brat get the best of you? You've gotten us into a real jam here."
Katsuki smirked tauntingly in reply as he tightened his grip on his hostage.
"You got careless, you dumb villain." He said to Kurogiri. "It wasn't hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turn into that smoking warp gate. You use that mist to hide your actual body as some kind of distraction—thinking that made you safe. That's why e missed. But if you didn't have a body, you wouldn't be wearing this neck armor, right? You're not immune to physical attacks if they're well aimed."
Katsuki must have guessed right on the money because the villain shifted at his words. He looked like he might retaliate. But gave pause when Katsuki gave a very small explosion as a warning.
"Don't move." Katsuki said as he leaned in closely. "You try anything funny, and I'll blow your ass up so bad they'll be piecing you back together for weeks."
Ayano sighed shaking her head as Eijiro looked at Katsuki with an amused grin.
"Ooh, what doesn't sound very heroic." Eijiro teased.
"And that scary face of his doesn't make him seem less villainy either." Ayano added.
Katsuki decided to pretend he didn't hear those comments since he needed to keep his attention on the warp guy.
"They escaped uninjured and captured my two strongest men." The blue-haired villain said. "Kids these days really are amazing. They make the League of Villains look like amateurs. Can't have that."
He turned towards his pet—Nomu—as he creature remained in place—not even trying to escape.
"Nomu." He called.
At its master's call, Nomu sank down into the warp gate that had remained open. As his body was back in the same place parts of his limbs snapped off due to the ice incasing his body. Ayano watched with wide eyes as did the others as the creature didn't even seem to notice its missing limbs or care. It kept moving even with its broken body.
"How is that thing still moving?" Izuku asked. "He's all messed up."
"Stay back, everybody!" All Might ordered the students.
They all then watched as Nomu's body started to grow new flesh and limbs that had the ice incasing it shattering to the ground. As its body repaired itself, Ayano felt sick. Not from seeing this creature's body regenerate, but by how the villains used this poor creature. It didn't even have any awareness to its own well-being. It was just a puppet for its master. What kind of living is that?
"What is this?" All Might questioned. "I thought you said its power was shock absorption."
"I didn't say that was his only quirk." Blue-haired guy said. "He also has super generation. Nomu has been modified to take you on even at 100% of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back."
Well, that certainly made things problematic. However, they did have numbers on their side even if Ayano and her classmates weren't skilled enough yet to deal with this kind of situation, but they were here now. So, they'd just have to fight with everything they have, and hope it makes a difference in the end.
"First, we need to free our method of escape." The villain continued to talk. "Get him, Nomu."
Ayano's eyes widened realizing the large creature was going to go after Katsuki. Before she could blink, Nomu was already after its target. She knew she needed to jerk Katsuki out of the way with her quirk, but she felt herself freeze up as her heart nearly escaped from her throat.
'No!' She thought wildly to herself. 'The fear is getting the best of me!'
Then before she could realize what was going on something or someone was thrown into her, which knocked them both back and out of the way as the others were pushed back as well from the force of the punch. There was a crash into the wall, which had Ayano's heart stopping as she sat on the floor.
'Katsuki!' She screamed in her mind as Izuku shocked. "Kacchan!"