Yo Shindo had been prepared for a lot of things. But the martial artist he ended up fighting wasn't, apparently, one of them.
"I had to train someone as much as possible in a short time." Huanli said as the fight started, "I might be a bit too ready to fight."
Shindo attacked the moment the go was given… and so did the girl. She dodged his opening blow, but he brought down his foot, creating an explosion of quake waves, as he called the vibration energy he could create on his limbs. The waves exploded, recoiling on him but also impacting on the girl.
She didn't stop, instead pushing through and attacking with a fist strong enough to crack Shindo's ribs. He groaned in pain but delivered a counter. When the fist landed on the cheek, accompanied by his waves, he thought that was it, but to be sure he followed up with a right to the face.
The girl however didn't let him, moving low under his fist, and then bringing up her fist in a rush of blows that impacted his face and chest.
Shindo didn't win that fight.
Huanli did.
-x-
The Announcer gulped. Of course, there were various reasons for Shindo's loss. He wasn't the most experienced or accomplished of fighters, he was strong but not one of the strongest, and he was at a disadvantage against fast opponents.
Still, the fact he lasted three minutes against Huanli did say a lot.
He wondered what that Lord Arkin hoped to achieve.
-x-
"Alright, I'd say everyone has put them on." Kiruka said, panting lightly.
"You ok?" Itsuka asked.
"I had to jump from one universe to another a few times." She explained, "Don't ask me to do it again for a bit."
"Right… You sure this will work?"
"It's what they use in this world as protection from spells like it. Every knight and noble wears it somewhere on their body." Kiruka replied, "I had to get them to a lot of people we don't want to see summoned accidentally."
Itsuka looked at the simple, black pendant she had been handed, along with everyone else in the League's camp. Apparently, it was protection against summoning magic. She had to assume it actually worked, because otherwise anyone could have just summoned the king of Colfire at any time, so she put it on.
"Don't take it off. We don't know if Arkin can try to summon us, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised. That goes for all of us." She said, pointing toward the low buzzing. There wasn't any perceivable response, but she decided they got it.
Itsuka meanwhile nodded. "Alright. Dekirn and Izzzuku also came back. Dekirn is trying to figure out if he likes his look with the beard and all the muscles, and the God of Thunder seems suitably confused."
"What did they say?"
"About four thousand Demons in the city itself according to Dekirn, six hundred in the forest and four hundred above according to Izzzuku. If the rule of distribution holds, we are talking of about forty Demons strong enough to be compared to a High-End in the city and ten more across the upper layers."
"Less than we expected." Itsuka noted.
"I asked Dekirn. He says it's likely the Demon King recalled a larger force north to cause damage along the way and join the army."
"So what's left must be under Arkin's control. Joy." Kiruka sighed.
"We will need an extermination squad for the plan to work." The Green Scar said, having waited for the right moment to butt in the conversation.
"What's the plan?"
"Splitting up if needed, but not like during the assault Itsumi and Ojiro took part into. We will split up in large groups, six or seven members, and try to either beat the opponents with sheer numbers or at least band together to mix our skills. No one goes alone, this time." Kiruka and Itsuka nodded. Splitting up hadn't been a terrible idea with the smaller group that had attacked Arkin's base last time, but this time they had numbers they could use. Keeping themselves in a group was the better choice. "I'm just waiting for the last reinforcements. Also, I got bad news from Izzzuku."
"What is it?"
"They apparently found out about the dream catchers and the fact they keep me out. Probably Jack or Izumi's doing." The dream being replied, popping out of The Green Scar's head. I can't know what's going on in the Spires anymore. On the bright side, before I went I managed to confirm that the Spire's main defenses have all been destroyed. No thunders shooting out of the sky to pulverize us."
Itsuka and The Green Scar sighed in relief. It had been a major concern, since splitting up in groups of three or less became necessary when a larger group just meant a larger target. This meant their plan could work.
"Arkin also recalled every fighter inside the Spires. I spotted a man-wolf in the city, that Argali says sounds 'worryingly familiar', and the Beast accompanied by Mustard in the Forest, and all three were going back."
"That's absurd." Itsuka replied, "Is he planning to make the main combat grounds the Spires?"
"Possibly. Or maybe he is enough of a coward to want them all close to him, now that he has to know we are coming in days." The Green Scar offered. "Or…"
"Or maybe he doesn't want us to see something." Revenant offered, leaning against a tree nearby. When had he… "If he isn't dumb or insane, he must have a plan. If he plans to do something, he will do it where we can't see. That's the spire."
"Bingo." The Green Scar pointed at him, "We don't know what he is doing, but if the 'coward' option is the one I want to believe… the idea he is trying to prepare for us is what worries me the most."
-x-
"That's… something." Gun said, staring at the trio. Those were clearly dangerous. Some more, some less, but all three were deadly. Was this what 'strong' meant across the Multiverse? Suddenly, Isaac Green didn't feel confident in his skills.
Izmird's eyes, he noticed, were positively shining.
'Those people better be good.' Gun thought, 'And they better get here fast.'
Arkin had pitted the three new summons against Sagawa – Mutt – and the Beast, one at a time. Each of them had won instantly. If it wasn't for the Lord's orders to not kill or maim, Mutt and Beast would have died. Hawks was pale as a sheet, staring at one of the three like he was watching the devil himself.
It was an abyss of strength disparity that reminded him uncomfortably of the difference between a normal Shadow Beast and the Ruiners. The former you could kill. The latter, you could try to avoid.
Try.
-x-
Fuyumi and Zombie stared at each other. On Fuyumi's side was a maze of pipes, releasing steam. On Zombie's side, was the broken-down villa.
"I thought you couldn't ask for a modification that gives you weapons."
"It doesn't. I can't harness steam freely, I need something to connect to the suit." She replied, "I'm just more used to the terrain."
Zombie nodded. And then the battle started.
Fuyumi rushed forward, steam surging from her back as she moved in to release a rush of punches, the pipe on her arms rotating to first push the fist forward and then help it retract faster. From what Zombie could tell, that would have definitely broken not only his bones, but also the user's bones. The fact she wasn't breaking her bones meant she had either a natural resistance to it or, more likely, knew how to dampen the side effects.
Still, she was cracking his bones, pushing him on the defensive. Not a bad plan. She probably figured that Zombie couldn't transform if he didn't have the space to pull out the book, and while his Zombie form was saving him from critical injuries, it wasn't suited to fight a fast paced and armored opponent.
Good thing he had come in with the bookmark already moved to a different chapter.
Oni wasn't Izuku's favorite form, but it was one of the most balanced between physical strength and resistance to burns, electrocution and the like. It was also one of the most recent, the chapter right before his own on the Book of Evil. As he grew in size, his face deforming into a monstrous appearance, his skin turning bright blue, a pair of horns growing on his head, he felt his muscle bulge under the skin and his bones partially reset. It wasn't healing per-se, but it did help. He stopped growing at almost three meters of height, towering over Fuyumi. A kanabo appeared in his hands, the signature weapon of any Oni, a large, studded mace as big as Fuyumi was, and around his flanks a tiger loincloth that looked awkwardly out of place on him.
"Let's see how you deal with this, Momotaro." He said and swung the kanabo. Fuyumi raised both arms, and the armor softened the blow, but she was still flung back. The pipes on her back emitted a strong explosion of steam, pushing her forward as she flew back to help her land on her feet and soften the impact, stopping her before the wall. 'I see, she used the steam like a air cushion. Clever.'
He rushed forward. He was slower than normal, but he could cover the distance- and then Fuyumi aimed both arms forward, locking the fingers together, and shot.
A projectile of concentrated steam hit Oni straight in the face, forcing him to stumble back as the heat seeped in the eyes, making him roar in anger. More hit him in the chest and arms, but they didn't have the same effect. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes, in time to see Fuyumi was apparently gone.
He heard the hissing of steam above his head, and looked up in time to see her shooting down at speed far exceeding what a simple free fall would achieve, bringing down an axe kick. 'She can fly using her steam?!' He realized his mistake and raised the Kamado to block the armored kick.
Fuyumi had made him close his eyes and then had propelled herself in the air using her steam, reaching the highest point she could before dropping down combining her armor's weight and more steam to make her kick as strong as possible.
The Kamado shattered on impact, much to Oni's surprise, even as Fuyumi used once more the steam to stop herself from impacting the ground at terminal speed.
"Well, looks like your weapon is gone." Fuyumi said, rushing forward and attacking raining more fists and kicks and pushing Oni back toward the pipes. He realized why the moment he stepped on them. He hadn't realized at first, but there was no ground under them. Fuyumi seemed to have no trouble fighting on them, elegantly stepping forward one move at a time like she wasn't walking on a round, hot metal surface that should have been difficult to walk on. He, on the other hand, was not only large, but also lacked balance.
But he still had an ace up his sleeve.
Because Fuyumi had made the mistake of thinking his weapon was gone.
He moved the handle of the broken mace, and the weapon reformed. After all, that weapon was a construct that the Book of Evil created to embody the fear. The kamado could be destroyed, but it would always exist, because it was part of fear itself.
And so he swung the reformed mace out of nowhere, crashing several pipes and creating a burst of steam, even as Fuyumi stepped back. Enough time to pull out the Book of Evil, even as he felt his foot slip and fall through an opening.
It was enough to open the Book of Evil and move the bookmark.
-x-
Fuyumi stared at the cloud of steam, through the visor of her helmet. She knew Zombie – or was it Oni now – wasn't out for the count, and that must mean he was transforming. A cackle resonated from the smoke, and something small and agile rushed forward, a dagger in hand. It looked like a tailless monkey covered in brown fur, the green skin of the face and toothy grin making it quite apparent it wasn't though. The creature rushed forward and dodged under her fist, before planting its knife in the joint of her leg. She shrieked as she felt the knife enter her knee, but didn't stumble.
Fuyumi was used to fight on pipes. Her home world was a landscape of steam and pipes, their technology entirely built around using it as their main form of energy. From what Kiruka had said, it was a style called 'Steampunk' in other worlds, but to her it was just home.
As such, Fuyumi had learned from a young age how to balance herself on top of pipes, even if she was wounded. It was the minimal requirement to fight, given how often the terrain one would step on was made of hot, burning pipes.
She held her ground and tilted her head slightly, listening to her tank. She still had about three quarters of the water, even after she had used high-consume technique like the steam cushion and the flying kick. Now the issue was what to do to actually hit her enemy.
'What even is this thing?' she wondered, blocking the next hit of the dagger with the armor on her right arm, only for the thing to twist the knife and cut her wrist. Not deep enough to cut the whole hand, thankfully, but she could still tell this wasn't a simple scratch. She didn't stop though, attacking with a barrage… and then she felt her head spin, almost losing her balance. Her arms started to tremble. "Wha… Poison?"
"Sorry, we Goblins don't play fair." The creature said with a cruel cackle as it rushed forward. Of course.
Fuyumi groaned, feeling her head grow heavy. How strong was the poison? Probably not lethal, but still enough to knock her out, or at least incapacitate her. 'I have to win before that happens…' She thought.
Which meant, she had to hit the goblin jumping from pipe to pipe no matter what. If she was on a timer, she might as well go all out.
Fuyumi crossed her arm, pointing the larger pipes on her elbow forward.
"Water cannon!" She shouted, as the two exploded into a pair of high pressure water jets. She used the entirely of her tank to create a burst of steaming hot water, a large enough wave that crashed toward Goblin and swept him away, launching him against a series of pipe behind him before he could dodge out of the way.
Fuyumi grinned, seeing Goblin's form unmoving on the ground below the pipes, where it had fallen after hitting its head. She knew he hadn't expected the attack and…
She felt her legs lose balance and fell down, but she knew she had won, slumping on her back and panting.
So why wasn't the fight ending? She realized that a second later. And glanced again at the unmoving form. Except it wasn't there anymore.
"Sorry. Goblins are tricky." Zombie said, axe in hand, "I pretended to be unconscious so you would relax enough for the adrenaline to stop working and the poison to take full effect."
"Eh. Was I close at least?"
"If I hadn't used my arm to block the impact with that pipe, I'd have been out. Goblin is pretty fragile." He admitted, showing his free arm, bent in a neat ninety-degree angle.
Fuyumi sighed, and then looked at the sky above. 'Sorry Shoto…' "I give." She said. That last attack had run her water supply dry, and she was fairly sure she couldn't move anyway.
"We have a winner!" Announcer shouted.
-x-
"What were you thinking?!" Itsuka shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Itsuka, we are kind of trying to not get caught…" Canary said, before stepping back with a yelp as the woman glared at him.
Huanli was sixteen, but she might as well been six faced with her Master's rage. "What were you thinking?" She repeated. The girl was clearly crying.
"Itsuka, maybe you should calm down and…"
"Don't tell me to calm down! She got lost in the Multiverse because she couldn't wait for me to teach her how to use the technique properly. Do you know how dangerous that was?! If you made one misstep, you might have landed in a place like the AIverse and died of some unknown virus! Or maybe you could have gotten trapped in a Current of dead worlds, unable to go home! Did you consider any of that?"
"I-I protected myself from the viruses with the technique you developed…" She murmured.
"That isn't the point! You are almost ready to become a Master, Huanli…"
"Wait, she isn't?" Izzzuku asked, and Huanli turned red. Itsuka's glare intensified.
"Huanli, have you been introducing yourself as a Zhandou Quan Master?"
"I am!"
"You aren't. You know I still have to teach you the technique that is the peak of Zhandou Quan, the Wukong Quan. Or did you learn that while I wasn't looking?"
Huanli turned red, "B-But I mastered the six fists and the Samsara Taotuo. I'm capable of teaching people. I know almost everything, I'm just missing the final technique, and it's because you refuse to teach it to me!"
"… Did you escape in the Multiverse because of that? Were you hoping to find another Qiverse…"
"Kungfuverse." Izzzuku corrected, before retreating as Itsuka glared at him.
"- another Qiverse to learn Wukong Quan?"
Huanli shook her head, "Never! I only have one Master and it's you!"
Itsuka looked at the girl. There was remorse there, even if it was covered by rage and embarrassment. Her daughter was a thrill seeker, that she knew. She also knew about the insecurities she tried to hide, even if for her they were oh so easy to notice.
Itsuka sighed, "Look me in the eyes, Huanli." She said, and the girl did just that, "Do you promise me that after this you will come home?"
"Yes." Huanli nodded.
"In that case…" Itsuka sighed, "Just this once, and given the situation, I'll allow you to assist us. You aren't a Master, but you are close enough I feel comfortable letting you fight. However!" She added, raising a finger, "You will then come back home and spend six months doing nothing but cleaning the gym and training on the basics with the new students. Maybe remembering what it's like to go through the simple stuff will give you a better appreciation of the level you have achieved and what you still have to do to become a true Master."
Huanli gulped, but nodded. Itsuka sighed. She knew this was a fairly humiliating punishment. Samidare and Tamashiro would tease Huanli mercilessly for this. She would make sure it stayed on the level of friendly tease, of course, and stomp heavily on one of the two going overboard, but she figured a bit of humility would serve his daughter well.
"Oh, by the way. You didn't teach Zhandou Quan to anyone, did you?" Itsuka asked. The League needed to know, since if someone learned how to use Samsara Taotuo they could theoretically travel the Multiverse.
"One person accidentally activated their Qi by copying my power." Huanli said, and Itsuka groaned as she explained that a Monoma capable of copying magical power had thought it a good idea to use his power on her. Alright, nothing too bad, so long as they didn't teach him, he probably wouldn't be able to copy the techniques themselves. That was- "And I taught him the basics."
She looked at Huanli's finger, pointing toward Revenant. The teenage Izuku with the dangerous edge in his eyes just nodded. "I asked for it."
"Wait, when was that?"
"Yesterday night." Huanli admitted.
"Yester- did he use the meditation?" Itsuka asked, and at Huanli's shake of the head, she turned to stare at Revenant, "How are you walking? Even if Huanli used the Fist of Hell correctly to balance your Qi, you should have barely recovered from the pain."
"Actually…" Huanli coughed in her fist, "He got over the worst of the pain in three hours. Then we spent seven hours fixing his Qi flux and teaching him the basic of manipulation."
"Three- Wow, that's a record." Even Todoroki had taken longer, and he was considered the most pain-tolerant student of his generation, 'thanks' to his father's training. Itsuka had never heard of someone going through the pain for less than six hours. "What's his Shape?"
"Axiuluo Quan." Huanli said, and Itsuka frowned. Ashura Fist at that age? That was… concerning. If he was at least an adult, Itsuka could have chalked it up to some war, but the Axiuluo Quan, the Ashura Fist, was supposed to be the exclusive natural Shape of people that had gone through hell, fallen into the depths of rage, and had clawed or were clawing their way back out to the light. To go through that at his age… Well, maybe that explained the pain tolerance. 'Inhuman treatment at some point. And inhumane adaptability too, if Huanli really thought him the basics of manipulation in a few hours.' Natural talent or some modification? With the Multiverse one could never say.
"I didn't teach him Renlei." Huanli added, and Itsuka hummed. Right choice. Axiuluo Quan was one of the styles that pushed Qi outside. Renlei was the usual basic Shape because most people were born with predisposition for the Human Fist and never changed that through their life, but that didn't mean it was the starting point for everyone. She walked up to him.
"I'm Master Itsuka Quanteng of Zhandou Quan." She said with a bow, her right fist enclosed in the palm of her left hand, "If you don't mind, I wish to discuss with you the knowledge you have been imparted on Qi. We don't have time, but I intend to clarify any mistake or misinformation my students might have given you."
"I didn't-" Huanli started, but Itsuka glared at her.
"But first I wish to know why you chose to learn Zhandou Quan, and with such a reckless system as well."
Revenant nodded. He didn't act disrespectfully, she noticed. No sarcasm in his voice or annoyed look in his eyes. Good. "I wished to acquire one more weapon, and was informed the meditation technique would not bear fruit in time. I decided to take a gamble and go through the awakening Huanli described."
"Did she tell you there was the possibility you might not learn anything valuable in time?"
"I believe in my ability to acquire useful skills." He replied. Confident, but not arrogant. He was stating a fact with no attempt at bravado.
There was a sharp edge behind it all, but that was a given for someone whose natural Shape was the Ashura Fist. Only the broken and the survivors usually had that, and this one wasn't broken. "Huanli!" She called.
"Y-Yes Master Quanteng?" Her daughter asked. She was going formal, Itsuka noticed.
The woman sighed, "You chose an interesting student. However, you are not a Master, so you didn't have the right to teach Zhandou Quan. I'm adding a month to your punishment for this." Huanli didn't complain, just bowing her head, and Itsuka turned back to Revenant, "As for you. Come. You won't learn anything new, but I will make sure what you were taught was correct. Huanli, come too, I want you to run me through what you two did."
Huanli nodded, following her Master and Revenant. Itsuka wondered how this would play out.
-x-
"I'm really sorry Midoriya." Kota Midorikawa said, bowing his head, "I would absolutely help if I could, but the Board would go ballistic if I mentioned going into active combat."
Kota had won his round, defeating Todoroki in a heated battle, and he was certain Izuku had wondered if he should have asked. Since the start of the day, he had seen the green-haired teen rush up and down the Arena to talk with as many people as possible.
Deku nodded, "Thank you, Kota. I'm sure you would help if you could."
"I promise I will next time, whenever that is. I'm concluding some good agreements with other universes that will force those idiots to admit working with the League is a far better prospect long term." He sighed, "Hopefully, it will also solve the League's monetary issues."
"That's great! Thank you again, Kota. I assure you, I'm not angry at all. You aren't the only one that…" He paused and looked at the entrance of the Arena, "Sorry, I have my match, and then I have to wait for the last person."
"Oh, you did find someone else."
"Yeah. It was a bit… surprising, but I guess beggars can't be choosers." The Izuku replied. Kota wondered what he meant, but before he could ask, Deku entered the Arena.
Kota sighed, "Well, good luck to you then." He mumbled, turning around, and then frowning. "Oh hey." He said, waving to the familiar figure, "I thought you would have already been in that fantasy world, since you agreed to go."
"I know, I'll go back soon." The other replied, putting a hand on Kota's shoulder, "But first I wanted to talk with you about something."
"Sure. What is this about?"
"The League you should actually join." The man replied, and before Kota could react, they both vanished.
-x-
Izuku and Usagi didn't hold back. The rabbit girl knew she was outclassed, though. She had trained with her father, and One for All was on a level of strength of its own. With those braces Izuku created with nanomachines to use more of his own power, the ability to use Blackwhip to maneuver, and now adding Float too – even if he only used that one twice, both times only to break a fall from one of the pillars they were fighting around and on – she could tell that she just wasn't on his same level.
Which didn't mean she wouldn't give it her all. Her fighting style had been created by the Green Scar himself – who was… also Izuku, but they clearly developed different fighting styles – and it was a martial art that held up against most of the opponent she had to fight.
As it turned out, this wasn't the case. Usagi was completely outmatched, and despite her own skills she fell to Izuku's attacks. She sighed as he accompanied her out of the Arena, once he was declared victorious, accompanying her to the infirmary. And then they waited.
The following match, between Chojuro Kon – not the one they trained with, but another one from a different world – and Shota Aizawa, ended with that Kon winning, which meant he was going to be Deku's next opponent.
But then came the most important match, because it decided the most likely winner of the block, given those were the two strongest fighters according to pretty much everyone, and for another reason.
Deku gritted his teeth as he watched All Might and Nine walk on the field. It was weird to think those two were going to fight. In a way, it was the closest this Tournament would get to All for One and One for All facing each other. From what Izuku had find out, All for One users were thoroughly screened before being allowed in the Tournament due to their tendency to steal Quirk from others.
Nine, on the other hand, had a full set of Quirk, which was a good and a bad thing. A good thing because it meant he had no interest in stealing more, and Usagi knew how important those were for the people from the Green Scar's world. A bad thing, because it meant he had done what Deku's Nine hadn't.
He had defeated Class 1-A.
He had full control of his Quirk.
One for All, and the closest thing to All for One.
Usagi didn't know that much about his ancestor's world. He had been back to his old world for months, and while she had visited several times, it wasn't her world. Still, she understood what this was. Toshinori Yagi and Nine both realized what was at stake. The Tournament, and also their titles. The title of Symbol of Peace and Symbol of Evil of their respective worlds.
The battle was over in an instant.
-x-
Deku watched. This was All Might. This was the Symbol of Peace he had admired since his youth, the man that had chosen him as his heir, his mentor.
And this was what he was like when he didn't hold back. No, that was unfair. Izuku had seen All Might not holding back before, in places like Kamino. But this was what All Might looked like at full power years before, when he still had One for All. Not his peak, unfortunately, but close enough.
This was the power Izuku would wield one day.
Nine didn't hold back at all. The storm he created made the one he used on Nabu look like child's play. Wind and thunder rained down on his opponent, but All Might punched upward.
And the sky parted.
Even Nine needed time to change the weather. All Might… All Might could do that with a fist. All Might was the pinnacle of One for All, after all. All Might was the Symbol of Peace.
He was Deku's greatest Hero.
Before Nine could change his plans, All Might was on him, raining a hail of punches on him. This Nine had some sort of Shock Absorption, apparently exchanging it for the Hydra Quirk his version had. He tried to combine it with Air Wall.
All Might smashed through both, the punches destroying the wall and landing.
Five. Ten. So this All Might really wasn't at full power, if he was as strong as his own had been at his peak, Deku noted.
Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Fifty. Sixty. Seventy. Eighty. Eighty-fo…
The eighty-fifth punch landed, and Nine's Shock Absorption gave up, sending him fly off against the wall of the Arena.
All Might panted, but then raised his fist in victory.
The whole fight had lasted fifty-eight seconds.
This was All Might, the Number One Hero. After the injury, but before he passed on his Quirk.
Deku felt like a child again as he cheered. It didn't matter this wasn't his All Might. He would always be inspired by the back and the smile of his greatest Hero.
-x-
It didn't take long for both Toshinori Yagi and Nine to be carried in the infirmary, and, while All Might only needed a check-up to make sure he was capable of fighting on, Nine took some extra healing. Still, he was back on his feet too not long after.
"I… Lost?" Nine wondered, before sighing, "Of course I did. There is a reason no one in the underworld had the guts to act out while you existed."
Toshinori Yagi smiled. Back in his skeletal form, he looked exhausted. "Thank you. You were still strong." He replied, "I just wish you were a Hero and not a Villain."
"Everyone chooses their own path. I had to change the world. A Hero couldn't do that." Nine replied.
Toshinori Yagi made to reply, before Izuku entered the room. He looked at him. The first time he had been invited to the Tournament, the year before, he had become aware of Izuku Midoriya, the most likely successor of One for All. Curious, Toshinori had researched the Izuku of his world. The young man, however, had died in a car accident years ago with the rest of his family. All Might had visited his grave, to pay respect to the child that in another world could have been his heir. Since then, sometimes he felt a chill behind his back, and usually at the thought of having to pass One for All.
All Might had a lot to think about, before choosing an heir.
"All Might!" Izuku rushed into the room. This one was Deku, the Number One Hero recalled. "Uhm, sorry, I'm not really the Izuku from your world, and you aren't my mentor, but…"
"I understand, young Midoriya." The man said, feeling a bit exhausted himself, "Still I suppose you are here for a reason. I'm sorry again, by the way."
Deku shook his head, "I understand, All Might. You can't risk dying before passing One for All on, especially now that you have been wounded."
All Might nodded, coughing a bit of blood. Three years since his fight with All for One, and he still felt the effect. While the Villain was dead – and unlike other All Mights, Toshinori was sure: he had been aware of his accomplice, Kyudai Garaki, and had taken him down with Nighteye, not to mention he had completely shattered All for One's skull – All Might had been gruesomely wounded. "Indeed. I wish I could help, but I'd become a weight fast."
"Well, then I will be going." Nine replied with a sigh, standing up, and All Might wondered at the miracles of the treatment given here. While he had held back a bit, in his own world Nine would have been hospitalized for months. Here? A mere hour.
That cure all was what All Might needed. He had looked into getting it through money, but the price the JTO required was far too high. Maybe the government could have afforded it, but they weren't exactly sailing in money themselves.
So, his best option was winning the Tournament. Last year he had been defeated by Arsenal in the semifinals, but this year he would win.
He would get himself fully cured, and bring back the Symbol of Peace to his world. But now, he couldn't risk it. Which was why, unfortunately, he had to suggest Izuku to ask Nine.
Unlike him, Nine was a fighter that came to the Arena mostly to train and gather intel on the potential of various Heroes. For the latter reason, he wouldn't say no to seeing so many potential Quirks. He would be a valid help for Deku.
Even if he could tell Izuku was far from thrilled about asking for his help.
As the group vanished, All Might felt himself slightly less on edge. He decided it was the result of knowing they would be fine, and went back to rest a bit as he waited for the results of his tests.
-x-
Kiruka teleported Deku, Nine, Usagi, Zombie and Fuyumi in the League's camp, far enough from the city they wouldn't be spotted, so long as they used dry wood to light their campfire, making as little smoke as possible. The light was covered by a hill, and the sky lighted by the moon would make it even harder to spot them. He felt a chill and moved closer to the campfire.
Usagi instantly looked left and right, and Deku followed her gaze as it focused on an Izuku in his early-twenties. Initially, he assumed he was a new one he didn't know, but then he noticed the scar on his chest, that The Green Scar had the good sense of covering up just a minute too late.
"You!" She shouted, before getting shushed by the rest of the camp. Usagi covered her lips with her hand, and then rushed forward, toward the most apologetic Izuku Deku had ever seen. "You!" She shout-whispered, trying to convey a shout in the lowest voice possible, "You are lucky you survived. If it turned out the great Green Scar had really decided to drop dead, I'd have brought you back to life just to kill you again!" She hissed.
"Ahah… Thank you?"
"That wasn't a compliment!" She once again snarled through her teeth, "Do you know what it feels like to think someone had died because they tried to shield me from a spell? People don't survive a spell called Ultimate Bloody Disintegration, usually!"
"To be fair, I'm guessing that if you are here it worked." He replied, "Did you guys get the wand back from Toga?"
Usagi sighed, "Of course that's what you ask. Yes, the wand is back with the Butterflies, great result, go team…"
"Come on, by now you are past calling them 'the Butterflies'…"
"… Let me keep my sass at least, old man." Usagi grunted, rolling her eyes, before letting him go and, surprisingly, hugging him, looking up. "This is for a thank you, alright?"
"Alr-" and then she uppercutted him, sending The Green Scar stumbling back.
"And this is for getting yourself almost killed, you shitty geezer!" She finished, and stormed off.
"Man she is growing strong…" The Green Scar muttered, accepting Deku's hand as the teen helped him up, "Alright, I deserved that, admittedly. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, they say, and what I did was really dumb. It worked, but…"
"What did you do?"
"Caught Toga's attention as she fired her newly created spells and baited her into shooting me when she had her back turned from Usagi and the others. I had to gamble she would fire in a direction, jumped to the other, and lost the gamble." He sighed, "Not my best fight, but better me than the kids."
"Well, better neither, right?" Deku asked.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Come on, I'll give your group a run through for their position. Uh, is that Nine?"
"Yeah."
"You have the weirdest allies, Deku." The Green Scar commented.
"I know…"
As he looked around the camp, Izuku wondered why it felt like someone was missing.
-x-
Revenant snuck into the city, steps silent on the old, ruined road. Mikona held up to its name of 'haunted city'. The moment he stepped in, he felt the cold, familiar touch of other living things' killing intent. They weren't focused on him, but he still proceeded carefully-
"Man, you are a workaholic, aren't you?" A voice asked in his head. Izuku's whole body froze for an instant, even as he realized who had just talked.
'What do you want, Izzzuku?' Revenant asked, going back to taking one step after another as he snuck through the city.
"Canary spotted you leaving, and asked me to come with you."
'Not to stop me?'
"He says that you wouldn't just waltz in without a plan. What's the idea?"
'The secondary objective is getting more info on the demons. First-hand accounts are fine, but I need to know how they work. What kills them, and what just incapacitates them. It might make a difference tomorrow, since unlike you or Canary, I won't be far from them.' Revenant replied, 'As for the first one, I want more info on the city. If we have to fight here, I want to know the layout. Dekirn's map is… fine, to set up a general ambush, but I want to know that area well. Ways in and out, good spots to keep them scattered, and all the like.'
"And you are planning to do that after you trained with Huanli, came here, trained with Itsuka and ate dinner? You have to be exhausted."
'I can go a long time without sleep.' He replied, 'But I will rest soon. I just want to take a look at the area. You said everyone is still in the tower, right?'
"I can't perceive any of the people I know, so they must be in the tower, where the dreamcatchers interferes with me, but that isn't an absolute. I might have missed someon- Hide, now."
Revenant did, immediately. For the normally happy-go-lucky Izzzuku to suddenly give such an order, it had to be important. He slipped behind the closest cover, the remains of a house, and looked in the darkness. Nothing but black sky, the moon… He paused
There, staring at the moon, was a large black bird. The raven's eyes scanned the area, and then he took flight.
'What's a raven doing out at night?'
"Jack's power. He summoned the London's Eyes. The twelve ravens of the Tower of London watch over the city and the royal family. He uses them to find his prey." Izzzuku sighed, 'Abort the mission, Revenant."
Revenant instead grinned. So a test of stealth where he had to avoid both the Raven's sight and the Demons? He had the skills. All that he had to do was put them to practice.
-x-
Two hours later, a tired Revenant entered the area around the campfire and fell asleep quickly.
'How did it go?' Canary asked, knowing Izzzuku would come back to report. He was surprisingly reliable.
'Snuck by three Ravens, almost gave me a heart attack in the process, made it to the plaza, thoroughly inspected each room of the nearby houses. That's where we spent most of time. Killed a pair of demons, one by splitting the head in half, the other by stabbing the heart through. He won't have a problem, tomorrow.'
Canary nodded. 'Hopefully, that's true for all of us. It's gonna be tough.'
"Tough for you too. Why did you offer to take part in the Demon Extermination Team?"
'I'm the one that can do it most efficiently, and I'm also sorry for them all. They can't be cured, so… I don't want them to suffer anymore."
'And Jack?'
"… I'll leave it to you if the time comes." He admitted.
Izzzuku chuckled, 'Guess you are a softy Canary, after all.' He said, glancing from him to the others, 'Tomorrow, then.'
"Tomorrow."
(XX)
Guests:
The Green Scar and Usagi from The Green Scar worldbuilding thread by Quantum01 and The Green Scar by Pro-man
Revenant from Locked in Digital from Rogue Druid
Canary by Canary from Cloud_nine_and_three_quarters
Tomorrow... or really next week.
Wow, can't believe we are here, but all the pieces are set, the time has come.
If you are wondering, Tomoko Shiretoko beat Yu Takeyama in the last round of the Top 32. I'll mention it eventually, but it just didn't fit in the chapter. She, unfortunately, refused to go.
This chapter had some fun fights actually. Not two long ones, but Zombie vs Fuyumi was fun to write (and I got to reveal two more of Zombie's monsters) and we got a look at All Might. Not Prime, because it's after All for One 's death, but definitely stronger than the one we know.
Place your bets, say your prayers for any favorite character of yours, and get ready to rrrrrrumble!