For the last six days Izuku was able to count the number of hours he'd slept with one hand. Himiko had never called him back, but Izuku hadn't dared to contact the cops. He knew he was putting himself and mom in danger, especially after Stain had escaped, but what if by going to the cops he was endangering Himiko? Still, the thought of Stain kicking open his door and cutting down mom never left him alone. There had been many times he had picked up the phone and dialed Tsukauchi number, but… the sheer dread on Himiko's face had stopped him every time.
When had things become so complicated? What was he supposed to do? There had to be a way to make things right for both mom and Himiko.
All Might had told him to ask for guidance if he ever needed it, but… as more time went on the harder it became. It was almost like the window of opportunity had closed and going to him would have just amounted to confessing betrayal. It was either All Might or Himiko. Either way he was betraying someone's trust.
I'm a liar and a sneak, Izuku thought.
When Aizawa-sensei told them to get ready for rescue training Izuku wondered how he would make it through the day. He was so tired. The constant anxiety ate away his strength almost as much as the lack of sleep. The only moment of respite was the brief nap during the bus ride.
None of his classmates bothered him during the ride.
After what had happened with Bakugou they'd been avoiding him. The crazy kid who'd broken Bakugou's hand. At least Bakugou hadn't fared much better in the friend making department. As far as Izuku knew the only one who could stand Bakugou was Kirishima who was either a Saint or a masochist.
When they arrived Aizawa-sensei led them to the rescue training grounds. It looked like a huge theme park for any kind of a natural disaster you could wish for from floods to landslides.
They were greeted at the entrance by the space hero No. 13. A round man… or woman in a spacesuit. No one seemed to be sure which.
"Good morning everyone. Sorry to disappoint you, but All Might won't be joining us today." No. 13 said.
There was a bitter groan among the class, but Aizawa-sensei's glare made them pipe down.
"Now, now. Don't make us feel too inadequate and in return we'll teach you how to use your Quirks for others. How many of you have considered how dangerous your Quirks are?" No. 13 said.
Izuku looked at his hand. Controlling One for All came in bursts and dealing with his enhanced emotions was a constant struggle. He had been able to use his Quirk against Bakugou and Stain. Every other time it had left him with broken bones. What was he doing wrong?
"My own Quirk is called Black Hole and it is exactly what it sounds like. If I wished it could very easily be…" No. 13 said.
Black mist had started forming in their feet. No. 13 fell silent and looked around while Aizawa-sensei took a fighting stance.
"Everyone! Run back to the bus!" Aizawa-sensei shouted.
People started walking out of the black cloud led by a tall, skinny man whose face was covered by a severed human hand. Alongside him walked a black monster with an exposed brain and rabid eyes.
"Evening U.A! We are the League of Villains and today we are here to kill All Might!" The hand faced man yelled.
While students were running towards the entrance Izuku saw Aizawa-sensei pull out a pair of goggles.
"No. 13. I'm counting on you for back-up." Aizawa-sensei said while putting on his goggles.
"You got it, Eraserhead." No. 13 said.
Aizawa-sensei jumped to meet the villains. It had been difficult to find info about Aizawa-sensei even for Izuku, but he managed to piece together Aizawa-sensei's strategy. He'd use his Quirk to erase his opponent's powers and then use the confusion to take them down.
Before the students were able to make it to the entrance the black mist swallowed them. Izuku fell through the darkness.
Right in the feet of the villain who was hiding behind a severed hand. The black monster was guarding him, and dark mist floated behind them. The man looked down on him and smiled behind the hand. The black monster looked ready to rip him to pieces, but a wave of its master's hand made it behave.
"Hello Izuku. I'm Tomura. Nice to meet you."
Fear made Izuku's stomach cramp.
"… how do you know my name?"
Tomura laughed like a hyena.
"Let's just say we have a common friend."
"… Stain."
"Aren't you a clever boy." Tomura said and touched the mouth guard hanging around Izuku's neck.
When all Tomura's fingers clutched it, the mouth guard turned to dust.
"I wanted to see what all the buzz was about. What kind of a kid wrestles the Hero Killer while naked and then bites his hand in half?" Tomura said and gave him a critical look: "I have to say, not impressed."
Tomura turned his gaze from Izuku to Aizawa-sensei who was making a short work of the villains attacking him. Alone. The black mist had whisked away everyone. Even No. 13. How could he be so calm against such odds?
"Look at him go. What do you do you say, Izuku? Isn't he cool?"
Tomura was insane. Even a child could see it. It was safest to play along with his madness for now until help arrived. Particularly when Tomura wasn't the real problem. Izuku glanced at the black monster who was staring at Aizawa-sensei like a predator at a lamb.
"… yeah." Izuku said.
Tomura's eye twitched.
"You sound nervous. Are you scared?"
"… yes."
That had been a mistake. Tomura was on him in an instant. His hand was hovering mere inches from Izuku's face. When Izuku tried to push him away, the black monster took a tight hold of his head. Its grasp was almost gentle, but made his skull creak.
"What the hell do you know about being scared?! What do you know about fear or terror?! Huh?! What do any of them know?! You've never been to the Thinking room! You know nothing, you dumb fucker!"
A voice came out of the dark mist. It was soothing and refined.
"Calm down, Tomura. Remember what you promised."
Tomura started grinding his teeth, but finally put down his hand.
"You're lucky I gave my word to spare you. I'd kill you otherwise. Fucking All Might fanboy."
Polite laughter came out of the mist.
"You have to forgive Tomura, Mr. Midoriya. This is very stressful for all of us."
"… no offense taken." Izuku managed.
"Fuck you, Kurogiri. And fuck you too, Izuku." Tomura barked.
Izuku closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. This was not an opponent he'd beat with punches. He had to stay calm and not think what would happen if the black monster squeezed his head a bit harder.
"… what do you want?"
"I told you! I want to kill All Might!"
"… why?"
Tomura started scratching his neck like a junkie.
"I hate him. I hate liars. Hate them! He tells everyone there's nothing to be afraid of, but there is. If something scares them or bothers them, they hide it and pretend it doesn't exist. I want to show everyone the truth. That their precious peace is built on a lie. When I'm done everyone will regret sticking us in that hellhole!"
Tomura turned back to Aizawa-sensei's fight and scratched his neck hard enough to draw blood.
"Where the fuck is All Might?! He should be here!"
Tomura's hands fell on his sides and a terrifying calmness filled him.
"Want to play a game, Izuku?" Tomura said.
"… a game?"
"Yeah. We'll make a bet on how many kids we manage to kill before All Might shows up. I'll say… all of them." Tomura said.
"Hey!" Aizawa-sensei yelled.
Aizawa-sensei stood alone among the fallen villains.
"If you're done bullying a kid, want to try your luck with a man?" Aizawa-sensei said.
Tomura smiled.
"As you wish. Noumu, kill him."
The Noumu dropped Izuku and ran at Aizawa-sensei, but Aizawa-sensei wasn't looking at the monster. His sights were at Tomura.
"Midoriya!" Aizawa-sensei yelled.
"Yes, sir!" Izuku cried out.
Tomura was quick on his feet, but not quick enough. An uppercut knocked out a few of Tomura's teeth and send the hand on his face flying. Tomura fell to the ground and Izuku pinned him there. He pulled Tomura's hands behind his back and was mindful with his fingers.
"Call it off! Call it off or I swear to God…!"
Tomura started crying long ugly sobs full of snot. His face was haggard with sunken cheeks and full of old scars.
"Give it back! Daddy?! Mommy?! I didn't mean to hurt you! Where are you?! Sensei?! Kurogiri?! Help! I'll be good! I promise! Don't send me to the Thinking room!"
Whatever breakdown Tomura was having made him useless. Izuku turned towards the black mist. Behind them Aizawa-sensei was fighting and losing against the Noumu.
"Call. It. Off." Izuku said.
All pretenses of civility that Kurogiri liked to play up were gone. The dark mist was simmering.
"We'll kill your teacher if you…"
Izuku tightened his grip on Tomura and he let out a pained cry.
"What happens to Aizawa-sensei, happens to him. I can rip him from limb to limb if you don't…"
"Do it."
The voice of the first wielder of One for All echoed in his head. No! Not him! Not now!
"Kill him. That should bring out my brother." One for All said.
This time another voice joined him. How many people were living inside his head?!
"Izuku. Listen to me. That boy is just another victim of All for One. Heroes don't hurt victims."
The voice belonged to a woman with a good commander voice, but there was a hint of panic to it.
"Stay out of this, Nana! This ends now!" One for All shouted.
"You've become as bad as your brother!" Nana said.
One for All answered the accusation with a scream filled with rage.
Two different wills started wrestling in Izuku's mind and trying to take control of his arms. The cacophony of shouts was even more painful than the Noumu's fingers digging into his skull. All their stalemate accomplished was loosening Izuku's grip. Tomura wasn't too far gone to notice a chance and use it. He pulled himself free when the Noumu slammed Aizawa-sensei to the ground.
Tomura was a fast runner and raced towards his lost hand like a man possessed. When he placed the hand back on his face he regained his composure. The Noumu rose and left Aizawa-sensei lying motionless on the ground. Thick veins appeared in Tomura's temples when he glared Izuku like worms were crawling under his skin.
"Kurogiri. Noumu. Stay out of this. Fuck the promise and fuck that little cunt." Tomura snarled.
Izuku heard a splash behind him. Fearing it was another villain he peeked quickly over his shoulder and saw Asui climbing out of the water. Tomura gave a maniacal laugh and lunged towards Asui. Asui's tongue slashed out like a whip, but Tomura moved almost too fast for eyes to see.
"No!" Izuku screamed.
Tomura grabbed Asui's arm and his touch burned quickly through her uniform before starting to disintegrate the skin. With his free hand he tried to clutch Asui' face.
With Bakugou and Stain he had been angry. Now he was just scared. Fear was a poor substitute for rage. Izuku felt his legs snap when he activated One for All and jumped at Tomura. Even then it got the job done. He and Tomura slammed to the ground and the floor turned to dust where Tomura's hands touched the tiles. He wasn't the only one hurt and Tomura's breathing came out in long painful wheezes.
There was a terrible crash when the training ground doors met a greater force than they. All Might stepped in through the rubble.
"Fear not! For now I'm here!"
The usually reassuring catchphrase sounded now more like a war cry and All Might looked like vengeful god. Izuku managed to smile through the pain in his feet.
"Finally! Noumu! Kill All Might! Kill that fucking liar!" Tomura yelled while holding his broken ribs.
All Might ripped off his jacket and tie before walking to meet the Noumu.
The battle had ended almost as soon as it had begun. The Noumu hadn't been a match to All Might and the ugly bastard was probably floating in the stratosphere by now. Izuku was lying on the ground waiting for Recovery Girl to stabilize Aizawa-sensei enough so he could be moved to a hospital. The painkillers took off the pain's worst edge. For some reason he finally felt like he could sleep.
There was a cough. When Izuku opened his eyes, he saw Asui. Her hand was bandaged where Tomura had touched her, but other than that she had escaped unscathed.
"I wanted to say thank you for saving me." Asui said.
"… it's… uh… it's what heroes do."
Izuku started laughing although he didn't know why. Then Asui joined in. What was so funny that they couldn't stop laughing? They laughed until it started to hurt and then they both wept. Asui sat or fell next to him and held his hand while sobbing.
Toshinori sat in U.A staff's emergency meeting unable to concentrate. There were talks about cancelling the U.A tournament, but Toshinori couldn't find it in himself to offer his thoughts on the matter. Young Midoriya didn't remember much from his fight. That was usually the case when the adrenaline faded. But he remembered that Tomura had called out to someone in panic. Sensei.
A voice from his nightmares echoed in his ears.
"And who am I? You can call me All for One. Or Sensei. Whichever you prefer."
You could excuse the Noumu for being something All for One had left behind before his death, but why had Tomura called out to him? Was he… was All for One still out there? Had Tomura picked Izuku as a hostage by random or was there a deeper meaning? What had he made young Midoriya part of?
