Midoriya flinched as Renji caressed his hand with her healing water, watching closely as his fingers turned back to their normal shade as the bones reconnected, "Can't believe we managed to get them all at once. It took everything I had to keep my composure. It was such a gamble, what if they'd had reserves underwater that we didn't know about? They could've-"
"You're creeping me out," Asui said as she watched the boy mutter. "Stop it. Please."
"Uh…"
"Instead of second-guessing what we did, shouldn't we think about our next move?" She wondered.
"Tsu's right," Himari mumbled as she pulled her hand away from Izuku's healed fingers. "We should make getting help the top priority."
"If we follow the shore to the exit, then we can avoid the central plaza entirely," Midoriya suggested as he pointed to the entrance across from the edge of the water they were on.
"Good idea," Asui assured. "That way we don't run into the villains Mr. Aizawa's facing off with there."
The green-haired boy frowned, "Yeah, but how long can he hold off a big group like that? If he doesn't get some backup, then he's just going to overexert himself. He'll end up defeated by those villains cause he was trying to keep us safe."
Mineta gasped, "Wait, don't tell me you're suggesting…? Are you trying to get us killed or something?"
He shook his head, "I'm not saying that we should jump into battle, but...maybe we can find a way to take a few of those guys out and lighten his load."
The white-haired girl rubbed her face as she looked towards the plaza, "I did see a fountain over there. I could use that water to knock a few of the ones on the outskirts out."
The small group of teens agreed to check out the fight as they snuck by and would intervene if Aizawa needed the assistance. They started to walk along the shallow end of the water, keeping themselves low to avoid detection. They slowed down as they inched closer to the center courtyard and paused by the edge of the water.
"Remember, Midoriya, we're just here to see how things are going, right?" Mineta whispered.
"Yeah, I know," He mumbled in agreement. "We'll get out of here the second it seems dangerous."
The four teenagers peeked their heads over the lip of the lake and zeroed in on their teacher's form facing off against a swarm of villains, using his quirk and his scarf to depower and fling the attackers off at break-neck speeds. Purple eyes zeroed in on the hand covered villain sprinting towards the pro-hero, and she watched as the villain smirked at their teacher.
"First it was 23 seconds," He called.
Aizawa straightened up as he sized up the blue-haired man, "Final Boss."
He attacked with his scarf, but the villain slipped away from it, "Then it was 24 seconds. And then 20. Then 17," The pro hero came at the villain and slammed his elbow into the man's gut. The four teenagers looked on in amazement but gasped as they noticed the villain's hold on Aizawa's arm. "It was hard to see when you were jumping around, but I found your tell. It's your hair." The teacher groaned as his arm started to grey from where the villain was grabbing him, "When it drops, it means you've stopped using your quirk. You're having to blink more often. Don't push yourself too hard, now. You might just fall apart! Wouldn't that be a shame?"
The pro hero turned his quirk back on and pushed away from his attacker, cringing at the missing skin from his elbow. Himari shifted in the water as more villains slowly recovered from their teacher's earlier attacks.
"Your quirk's not suited for drawn-out fights against big groups, is it?" The hand villain questioned as he got back to his feet. "Don't you think you're a little out of your element, Eraser Head? You're much better at working stealthily. You're known for surprise attacks, not fighting head-to-head." The blue-haired man smiled at the panting hero, "But despite knowing that, you didn't hesitate to jump into the middle of this fight. To put your students at ease."
Aizawa jumped to the side as a lower thug jumped at him, wrapping his scarf around the person as he used his body to slam into the other villains approaching. The small group of attackers collapsed to the ground in pain. He turned away from the fallen and reactivated his quirk towards the leader.
"And look at you, you're still standing!" The hand villain happily cried. "You really are so cool! Oh, by the way, hero. I am not the final boss."
The kids watched in horror as a beak faced giant of a man suddenly appeared behind their teacher and jumped him, slamming his head into the ground and snapping his goggles off of his face. Renji stepped slightly in front of her friends as they continued to watch the muscled freak punch Aizawa into the ground. She cringed at the sound of bones snapping along with the man's hisses and groans of pain, slapping her hand over her mouth to hold in her cries of worry.
"What do you think of him, Eraser Head?" The villain taunted the heavily injured man. "Hmm...He's the bioengineered, anti-Symbol of Peace. But you can call him Nomu." The monster grabbed onto Aizawa's arm and snapped it fully in half, making him cry out in pain, "You can erase people's powers. That's irritating, but it's nothing impressive. When faced with true, devastating power, you might as well be a quirkless child."
Aizawa tried to use his quirk on the villain over him, but the creature just slammed its hand onto his other arm, breaking it as well. The villain grabbed the back of his head and started to jam it into the concrete over and over. The pro-hero opened his eyes slightly as he was lifted again and was surprised to lock gazes with a terrified amethyst gaze. He weakly shook his head at the four students hiding in the water before his head was smashed back down.
"No...no," Mineta whispered as they watched their homeroom teacher get tortured in front of them. "I can't watch this anymore. We should be getting out of here super-fast, shouldn't we?"
"Ribbit."
Renji glanced at her friends and gently placed her hand onto Izuku's shaking shoulder, "We can't leave him. He wouldn't leave us."
The teenagers tensed as the warp villain appeared next to the blue-haired man, "Shigaraki Tomura."
"Kurogiri," The man turned to his partner. "Did you manage to kill Thirteen?"
"The rescue hero is out of commission," The water user gasped quietly at his sentence. "But there were students I was unable to disperse and one of them got outside of the facility."
"Huh?" The man groaned and started to scratch at his neck. "Kurogiri...You fool...If you weren't our warp gate, I'd tear apart every last atom in your body. There's no way we can win if dozens of pros show up to stop us. It's game over. Back to the title screen. And I was looking forward to finishing this today." He shrugged his shoulders, "Damnit. Let's go home."
"Huh? Did I hear that right?" Mineta wondered. "Did he say they're gonna just leave?"
Asui nodded, "That's what it sounded like to me."
Mineta smiled as tears filled his eyes, "Yes! That's amazing! We're safe and we don't have to fight!" He jumped on Asui and the girl pushed his face into the water when she felt his hand grab onto her chest.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Midoriya, Renji," Asui whispered as she let Mineta come up for air.
Izuku nodded in agreement, "It seems weird they would retreat at this point, even if help is on the way."
"You guys need to be quieter," Himari hissed lightly as she noticed the man called Shigaraki tilt his head slightly in their direction.
"Oh, before we leave," The man spoke up. "Let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken. Let's wreck his pride."
He suddenly lunged towards the kids in the water and Himari gasped as his hand swung towards Asui's face, recalling the damage caused to Mr. Aizawa's elbow.
"Let's make this hurt!"
The man paused as the white-haired girl pushed the other out of the way, putting herself directly in his line of attack. He glanced from the girl's sudden appearance to the man broken behind him.
"You really are so cool…"
The kids looked to see Aizawa staring directly at the hand villain as he struggled to stay up against the giant on top of him.
"Eraser Head."
Midoriya jumped out of the water towards the villain as their teacher was once more slammed into the ground, aiming his fist towards the man now reaching for Mari.
"Let her go now! Smash!"
He slammed his fist down, making contact as the fallout of his attack sent air all around the courtyard. The green-haired boy gasped his shock as he noticed his arm was not broken and looked up to the figure on the other end of his attack, seeing the behemoth that was on top of Aizawa a second ago. The dust settled and he watched as the hand villain was unharmed and still in front of his friend.
"You're pretty powerful," The man mused as he spared a glance to the boy blocked by Nomu. "This smash of yours...Are you one of All Might's disciples? Doesn't matter. I'm done with you now."
Renji snapped her eyes away from the man staring at her as Nomu grabbed onto Midoriya and lifted its other arm. She slammed a wave of water towards Shigaraki, blocking his view of her as she lifted her hands towards the giant attacking her friend. Asui and Mineta watched in shock as the creature's body froze and released Midoriya from its grasp. Himari struggled as she moved one of her hands towards Shigaraki when she noticed he had burst through the water towards Asui and Mineta, freezing the villain in his tracks.
The man shot his eyes around in surprise and once more landed on the white-haired girl, seeing her tremble as she somehow held back himself and his Nomu.
"What's this? Is this your quirk, little girl?"
Himari snarled at the man as she thrust her hands away from her body, sending him and the giant monster flying away from her and classmates. Midoriya ran towards her as she stumbled and fell into the water, worn out from her quirk usage.
A sudden crash drew the attention of everyone in the facility and heads turned towards the busted open front doors.
"Have no fear, students. I am here!"
The kids in the water beamed at the sight of All Might, relieved he had shown up just in the nick of time, "Look! We're saved!"
"He's here," Midoriya whispered as he held up Renji. "All Might."
He swung his head to the side as he heard the hand villain struggle to his feet, "Looks like our game's getting a 'continue.'"
"You...guys need to get out of here," Himari groaned out as she tried to stand up in Izuku's arms.
"You need to come with us!" Mineta squealed as he stood next to Asui.
"Tsuyu," The girl tensed at her full name. "Take Mineta. We'll try to get Mr. Aizawa out of the middle of the battlefield."
The frog girl nodded and gripped the purple boy with her tongue, jumping away from the courtyard as Midoriya pulled Himari closer to the shore.
"After all this waiting," Shigaraki grumbled as he watched the Symbol of Peace walk towards the courtyard. "The heroic piece of trash shows up." He spared a glance over to where the green-haired boy was helping his petite friend. "And we may come out of this with something extra, what fun."
All Might quickly attacked the remaining enemies surrounding Aizawa before anyone could even blink, bringing the injured teacher to young Midoriya and Renji's sides as he swept them up and dropped all three by Asui and Mineta further away, "I'm sorry, Aizawa. I should've been here," He gently laid the teacher by their feet and squared off against the villains. "Everybody, back to the entrance. Now. Take Aizawa with you, he doesn't have much time."
Himari shook her head as she crouched by her teacher's side, "We can't move him like this. It could worsen his condition."
"You saved us, All Might," Midoriya mumbled as he watched his friend summon some of the lake water to her hand, making it glow as she slowly ran it across their teacher's face and chest.
Shigaraki glared at the pro-hero rescuing the dying man and the small girl somehow healing him, "No, no! It wasn't supposed to go this way. He's still fast, father. Somehow he managed to reach that eraser trash. Of course, a government hero relies on violence. I wasn't prepared."
The water user stepped back with a sigh as the internal wounds in her teacher gently sealed themselves, motioning for Midoriya and Mineta to pick him up as she leaned slightly on Asui for balance, "All Might you can't. That brain villain took One for...I...I smashed him and didn't break my arm this time, but he wasn't fazed at all. He's too strong!"
"Young Midoriya!" All Might turned and smiled at the children. "I got this!"
He nodded at the number one hero and started to follow Asui and Renji's lead back to the entrance to meet up with the rest of their class. They glanced back as the teacher started to take on both Shigaraki and the Nomu in combat, Himari narrowing her eyes slightly as she thought she saw the pro-hero stumble.
"All Might's on a whole nother level!" Mineta cheered.
"And yet he still has to look at his notes when he's teaching us," Asuu grumbled as they continued towards the stairs.
Midoriya and Renji worriedly looked back at the fighting before they were pulled away by Mineta waving his hand frantically, "But how did you shove those two villains back, Renji? It was awesome!"
"Oh…" She bit her lip. "I have no idea, I just saw that Nomu guy lunge at Izuchan and I reached for whatever water I could to stop him. I have no idea why he froze, but I just thought the same thing when Shigaraki moved."
"You must've controlled the water inside of them," Izuku figured. "Stopping them in their tracks."
"Pssh, that's stupid," Himari shook her head. "That sounds impossible, Izuku."
"Then what else could you have done?" He wondered. "They froze and then you flung them away. And you don't have any telepathic quirk skills."
"Oh my god," She gasped. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"But you saved us!" Mineta argued as the girl's face paled.
"But I controlled someone's blood," She grimaced. "That's disgusting!"
A loud crash echoed around them and they turned to see All Might punching at the Nomu, "Get that guy! Hit him in the balls!"
"I guess we were worried for nothing," Asui noted as another crash rumbled. "All Might's unstoppable."
"But he's still human," Renji deadpanned.
The group of kids froze when the dust cleared and All Might was trapped between the Nomu's grip as the creature stood halfway through a warp gate. The pro-hero grimaced as the creature dug into his injured side, ripping open his old injury.
"Nice," Shigaraki smirked. "You were trying to bury him in the concrete so he couldn't move around anymore. Sorry, that won't work. Nomu's as strong as you are. That won't stop him. Nice work, Kurogiri. Perhaps there's something else you can do."
All Might and Midoriya gasped as a warp gate appeared under the water user's feet and she was sucked in, appearing suddenly in the fountain. She sputtered as she came up for air and tensed when she realized she was now trapped between the two villains and her friends on the other side of the courtyard.
"We've got everyone just where we want them!" The man cheered as he looked over at the frightened girl.
All Might grunted as the portal moved slightly and the Nomu started to stand on one side, pulling him closer to the black mist, "These are underhanded tricks! Release my student now!"
"Oh, we're not holding her at all," Shigaraki assured the hero in a condescending tone. "She can move whenever she feels like it. Besides, it's yourself you should be worried about."
"If this is your best then you picked the wrong place to attack," All Might argued to draw the villain's attention away from his student. "You should just give up now."
"Kurogiri."
"Normally, I wouldn't want blood and viscera flooding the insides of my warp gates," The smoky man casually claimed. "But I'll make an exception for a hero as great as you." All Might struggled more in the creature's grip as he was pulled closer to the mist below him. "Since you're too fast to see with the human eye, Nomu had to restrain you. And once he's pulled your body halfway through, I'll squeeze the gate shut. I'm going to enjoy tearing you to pieces."
Himari tried to steady her breathing when she noticed Midoriya pass Aizawa over to Asui, starting to step closer to the three villains. She glanced over to Shigaraki, raising her arms while he watched Kurogiri pull All Might closer to the gate. She turned her gaze back to Izuku and focused on his body, flinging him back as the warp villain appeared in his way. The green-haired boy grunted as he was suddenly thrown back from the open gate in front of him, watching in shock as Mari stumbled in the fountain from overexerting herself. He jumped up to run towards her but a flash of blonde sprinted by him and blasted at the warp villain, tackling the misty man to the ground.
"Get the hell outta my way, DEKU!"
The two childhood friends sighed in relief as Bakugou perched above Kurogiri, holding him down by a metal bracer around the villain's neck. A flash of ice rushed across the ground and they watched in surprise as Todoroki froze half of the Nomu's body, giving All Might a chance to rip from the monster's grip.
"One of your poorly trained thugs told me you're here because you think you can kill All Might," The dual haired teen dryly stated.
All Might jumped from the frozen enemy landing by the three male students, "Are you okay?" Midoriya asked worriedly.
"Guess I found your body this time, ya smokey bastard!" The ash-blonde snapped.
"The Symbol of Peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you," Todoroki declared as he gazed down the hand villain.
"Kacchan! Everyone!" Izuku breathed as he worriedly looked between them and the villains.
"You should worry more about young Renji, Midoriya," The pro-hero muttered as he watched the blue-haired man slide closer to her and away from Kirishima jumping at him.
"What the hell do you mean?!" Bakugou hissed as he looked up from the villain underneath him, seeing his white-haired friend on the other side of the courtyard. "Why the fuck do you assholes have Mari?"
The warp villain flinched as the boy's hand sparked, "My associate is intrigued by her quirk. It's quite a rare one."
"Ah yes," Shigaraki mumbled as he suddenly appeared by her side, wrapping his arm gently around her shoulders. "Kurogiri. How could you let this brat get the best of you? You've gotten us into a real jam here." He moved his hand and rested four fingers against the girl's throat, tilting his head as the blonde teen sparked more explosions at his partner.
"You got careless, you dumb villain," Katsuki half-hearted taunted as he moved his eyes between his hostage and Himari. "It wasn't hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turn into that smoking warp gate. You used that mist to hide your actual body. As a kind of distraction. Thinking that made you safe! That's why we 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."
The villain sneered and attempted to move, freezing as his neck was hit with a hard explosion, "Don't move! Either of you try anything funny and I'll blow your ass up right now, you got it? They'll be cleaning you up for weeks."
Kirishima shook his head as he looked down at his friend, "Oh, that doesn't sound very heroic."
"Huh, kids these days really are amazing, don't you think?" Shigaraki whispered into his hostage's ear. "Captured two of my men and escaped uninjured. Though I wonder how they plan to collect you, my dear."
Himari flinched as he pressed his hand tighter into her neck, her breath catching on his grip, "I think...that's my job. Isn't it?"
"Oh? And how is the poor damsel going to free herself from this?" He wondered as the other students and All Might watched on. "All I need is to tap my other finger against your delicate skin and you'll decay even faster than your snarky teacher."
"Then...I guess I have to take skin out of the equation."
The villain wrenched back as her body liquified and dropped into the fountain, disappearing with the flowing water. He looked around frantically and snarled as she suddenly reappeared behind the blonde holding down Kurogiri, wheezing for air as the redhead tucked her form into his arms.
"Nomu."
The heroes watched in shock as the beak monster bent out of the open warp gate and snapped the unfrozen half of its body out of Todoroki's ice.
"How is that thing still moving?" Midoriya gasped as it flailed around on the ground. "He's all messed up."
"Stay back, everybody!" All Might ordered. He frowned as the creature started to regrow its lost limbs. "What is this? I thought you said his power was shock absorption."
"I didn't say that was his only quirk," Shigaraki shrugged. "He also has super regeneration. 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." The kids tensed as the creature fully reformed and turned its gaze towards them, "First we need to free our method of escape. Get him, Nomu."
The students gasped as the monster launched itself towards Bakugou, raising its arm to attack the blonde boy. A hit landed and the debris from the impact shot everywhere, coating the area in a cloud of foggy dust. Himari gasped as she frantically looked for Katsuki, praying he had gotten away from the Nomu's attack in time. Kirishima held her back as she tried to run towards the dust cloud, groaning as the gust of wind following the attack suddenly sent them flying.
"Such force," Izuku grunted as he glanced up, gasping when he saw the Nomu holding onto the warp villain and another impact into a wall further away. "Kacchan!" He looked in confusion as he noticed the blonde sitting right next to him. "Kacchan? Whoa, that's awesome, you dodged him!"
The blonde looked at where he was seconds before, "Shut up, no I didn't, you damn nerd."
"Then how'd you get over here?" Kirishima wondered as he helped Renji to her feet, letting the girl go as she inched closer to Bakugou.
Katsuki latched his arms around his trembling friend as Todoroki shot his eyes over to the broken wall, "Isn't it obvious?"
The four other teenagers followed his eyes and watched as All Might's form appeared from the settling dust, "All Might!"
"These are kids and you didn't hold back?" The number one hero sneered.
Shigaraki rolled his eyes, "I didn't have much choice. He was threatening my companion. Besides, these kids are no angels," He gestured to the group of students. "The plain-looking one? He tried to kill me with a maxed-out punch. What kind of 'hero' does something like that? You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it's for the sake of others. Well, you know what, All Might? That pisses me off. Why do people get to decide that some violent acts are heroic and others are villainous? Casting judgment as to what's good and what's evil. You think you're the Symbol of Peace? Ha, you're just another government-sponsored instrument of violence. And violence always breeds more violence."
Himari groaned as Bakugou pushed her behind his body as the villain swiped his eyes over to her shaking form, "I'll make sure the world understands that once you're dead."
"You're nothing but a lunatic," The pro hero claimed. "Criminals like you, you always try and make your actions sound noble. But admit it; you're only doing this because you like it. Isn't that right?"
"We've got them outnumbered," Todoroki muttered as he watched the main villain glare at All Might.
"Maybe," Renji grunted. "But they have us outmatched."
Bakugou scoffed, "Going soft on us already, Mari?"
"Kacchan found that mist guy's weakness," Midoriya pointed out. "And we know not to let the other guy touch us."
"These dudes may act really tough, but we can take them down now with All Might's help," Kirishima assured the purple-eyed girl. "Let's do this!"
"Don't attack!" The boys turned to the sound of All Might's voice. "Get out of here."
"You would have been in trouble earlier if it weren't for me, remember?" Todoroki shot back. "You need our help."
The hero shook his head as he moved to stand in front of the children, "I thank you for your assistance, but this is different. It's gonna be alright. Just sit back and watch a pro at work."
"But you're too hurt," Midoriya noted. "You're bleeding. And you're almost out of t-"
The hero gave the boy a small thumbs-up, giving the children hope even when seeing him in his bloody state and Izuku reluctantly nodded his head.
"Nomu. Kurogiri. Kill him. I'll deal with the children. Let's clear this level and go home."
"Heads up, we're fighting after all," Kirishima muttered as he hardened his arms.
The blue-haired man stopped in his tracks as All Might leaped into action, going directly for the Nomu. The creature matched him blow for blow, sending giant blowbacks of wind throughout the courtyard. The kids went flying, Himari liquifying her body to lessen her impact on the concrete. She reformed once she was on the ground again and watched as Todoroki used his ice to make a small incline for the others to slide back safely to the ground.
"Smart thinking, Todoroki."
"Did you not hear me?" Shigaraki yelled at the hero exchanging blows with his creation. "One of his powers is shock absorption."
"Yeah? What about it?" All Might huffed as he continued to fight with the maxed out monster. Each punch added another shock wave into the air, making the kids hunker down to avoid being blown away. Bakugou laid over Mari's exhausted form as the other three teenagers ducked for cover.
"He's gonna fight that brain guy head on?" Midoriya yelled over the wind.
Kirishima jerked as a blast scooted him further from the group, quickly digging into the ground with his hardened hands, "Whoa, they're...so fast!"
"He said your quirk was only shock absorption, not nullification. That means there's a limit to what you can take, right?" All Might cried as he moved faster than any of the kids could see. "So, you were made to fight me, big guy. If you can really withstand me firing at 100% of my power...then I'll have to go beyond and force you to surrender!" His hits sent Nomu flying and he followed, launching himself towards the creature as it was down. As the Nomu jumped towards the Symbol of Peace, All Might hit him with a solid punch towards his gut and sent the villain flying and shattering the ground around him. "A real hero will always find a way for justice to be served!" He snagged onto the Nomu's arm in the air and flipped it back towards the ground, creating a massive crater with the weakened creature in the center. "Now for a lesson. You may have heard these words before, but I'll teach you what they really mean."
"Go beyond! PLUS ULTRAAAAA!"
In a flash of bright light, the creature was sent crashing straight through the dome surrounding the USJ. The plaza was silent as the five teenagers processed what just happened, slowing getting back on their feet. The girl stumbled slightly and Bakugou tightened his grip around her waist to hold her up.
"That was like the finishing move in a video game," Kirishima awed. Renji absently nodded her head as she lightly placed her arm over the blonde's shoulders. "He beat the shock absorption right out of him. I've never seen that kind of brute strength!"
"Imagine having power like that," Katsuki muttered as he looked down at the tired girl clinging to him. "He must have been punching that monster so fast, he couldn't regenerate."
"I really have gotten weaker," The group turned their heads to see All Might standing tall in a wave of dust and smoke. "Back in my heyday, five hits would have been enough to knock that guy out. But today it took more than 300 mighty blows. You've been bested, villains. Surrender. We all want to get this over with quickly."
"He cheated," Shigaraki growled as he brought his hand to his neck, starting to scratch rapidly on his skin. "Oh come on, what's going on here? He's just as strong as he's always been. Dammit! Don't tell me I was lied to."
"What's wrong?" All Might questioned. "Not attacking me? Didn't you say you were going to clear this level earlier? Well come and get me, if you dare!"
"Man, this is…intense."
"As I expected," Todoroki calmly breathed. "There's no reason for us to fight now. He'll handle this."
"Come on, Midoriya," Kirishima called to the green-haired boy a few feet ahead of them. "We should regroup with the other guys. The last thing we wanna do is get taken hostage or get in his way."
"Here, I got ya," Bakugou mumbled as he scooped Mari up, carrying her bridal style as he turned to walk back towards the entrance.
He paused when she placed a hand on his chest, "We can't leave Izuku behind," The blonde twitched and turned to glare at Deku, who still hadn't moved from his spot.
"What? Are you scared?" All Might snapped at the villains who still hadn't moved.
Shigaraki glared as he scratched harder at his neck, "If only Nomu was here...he'd rush you right now. Pound you into the ground without giving it a second thought."
"Shigaraki Tomura! Please, do not fret," Kurogiri stated. "Look at him. He has definitely weakened. Nomu's attacks were successful. He's on his own. The children appear to be frozen in fear. And look, our underlings are recovering. We likely still have a few minutes before their reinforcements arrive. If you and I work together, we can do this. We haven't missed our chance to kill All Might."
Himari narrowed her eyes as she peeked over Katsuki's shoulder to see the other beaten villains slowly getting backup. If help didn't come soon then she and her classmates would be stuck between a rock and a hard place again. She nudged Bakugou and he followed her eyes, glaring at the thugs slowly stumbling back to their feet.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Shigaraki whispered as he pulled his hands away from his neck. "This is it. We have no choice. We have to do it now. I mean, the big end-boss is right here."
"I think All Might can hold his own against those two main guys," Kirishima stated as he too noticed the people recovering around them. "Let's make sure these dudes don't hurt anybody else."
"Put me down, blondie," The petite girl insisted. "You need to help Kirishima."
The red-eye teenager grunted but lowered her feet gently to the ground, waiting until she was standing straight to release her, "Will you be joining us?"
The white-haired girl shook her head but turned to see Todoroki facing Izuku instead of herself. "Izuchan, don't!"
Her cries did nothing as the moment Shigaraki and Kurogiri moved towards All Might, Midoriya had disappeared from their side. She gasped as he appeared by the warp villain's side, winding up a punch. The villain summoned a warp and Shigaraki reached his hand through to reach Midoriya. The girl screamed as his decaying fingers inched closer to her childhood friend, but when she moved to run towards him Todoroki swung his arm out to catch her instead.
"Whoa, Midoriya!"
"Izuku!"
A loud bang rang through the air and Shigaraki's hand flew to the side as blood exploded from it, "They're here!" All Might exclaimed as he looked towards the front entrance. Several more gunshots rang out, each one hitting a different limb of the villain's body.
"Sorry, everyone!" Principal Nezu called from the stairs. "I know we're a bit late. But I got the teachers over as fast as I could."
Chaos broke out around the four teenagers in the courtyard as the underlings turned their focus from the students to the pro-heroes descending upon them, the boys making a circle around Renji to keep the villains off of her as they scrambled away. The kids watched in wonder as Present Mic's yells and Ectoplasm's clones quickly took down and disarmed the thugs surrounding them. Himari glanced between the arms of the boys and caught sight of Shigaraki stepping into a warp gate, escaping from the swarm of heroes. Her blood ran cold as she locked eyes with his cold red orbs, completely different from the warm tones of Katsuki's own eyes as he gave her a small wave of goodbye.
She shuddered as he disappeared before she felt her body shake and melt towards the ground, darkness filling her vision as her adrenaline faded from her body.
Gentle light woke Himari from her sleep and she squinted to observe her surroundings, noting the neutral colors of the nurse's office around her. She sighed but lightly smiled when she noticed Bakugou asleep in a chair by her bed, his hand propped up on the mattress next to her own. She turned her head and saw Midoriya laying in the examination bed next to her own, groaning as he tried to sit up with his legs lightly bandaged.
"You just love getting hurt, huh?" The boy tensed and turned to his friend.
"Mari, you're alright," Izuku whispered.
"Feels like I got hit by a train, but yeah. I'm good," She grunted as she slowly sat up. "How long has Katsuki been here?"
"Not long," Midoriya assured. "They brought us in right after the teachers reached us. The police showed up to question us, but you were knocked out the whole time. Kacchan appeared when school let out and refused to leave until you woke up."
An opening door drew her gaze away from her friend and she watched warily as Recovery Girl walked in with a man in a trench coat and suit, "Ah, miss Renji. Thank goodness you're awake now. You are very lucky your body was healing itself while you were sleeping or you would be in far more pain. You really pushed your quirk too far this time, miss. You busted quite a few blood vessels in your hands."
She looked down and bit her lip at the sight of her bandaged hands, "I didn't even notice."
"I'm sorry to disturb you," The man in the doorway gently said. "My name is Tsukauchi Naomasa, I am the lead detective investigating this incident. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."
"Oh, of course, detective," The white-haired girl said as she adjusted herself. "But how are Thirteen and Mr. Aizawa?"
"Both of your teachers are in stable conditions," He promised. "You and Midoriya here are the ones who were around the villains the longest. I was wondering if you could provide us with anything they might have said or done that stuck out to you."
Himari softly grasped Bakugou's hand, "The one with the hands, Shigaraki...he was interested in my quirk."
"You quirk?"
"I can manipulate water," She gently explained. "He sent that creature, Nomu, after Midoriya as he attacked me and I just shot my hands out and...they both froze. I think I used the water in their bodies to stop them from attacking, but he became hyperfocused on me after that."
The police officer nodded as he wrote down notes in a small notebook, "Have you ever done something like that with your quirk before?"
"No," She shook her head. "I just reacted. I didn't want Izuku hurt."
"They tried to take her," Midoriya added from his own bed. "The warp villain took her from us when All Might was focused on fighting Nomu."
"How did you get away?" The detective wondered.
"I can turn my body into water as well," She absently muttered. "So when Shigaraki tried to grab at me I melted by form and used my quirk to push my liquified body to my friends. I kinda used everything up to get away and was practically useless the rest of the fight."
"Stop being an idiot, Mari," The girl flushed as Katsuki cracked his eyes open. "You saved Deku's ass back there. The frog and pervert too."
"Your classmate's right," Tsukauchi reassured. "You used your quirk to protect your friends, biding enough time for help to arrive. Thank you for your time, Miss Renji."
"Thank you," She bowed her head lightly as the police officer stepped from the room.
"I already called your old man," Bakugou grumbled as he sat up in his chair. "He's waiting for you at home."
Her purple eyes shined, "Thanks, Katsuki."
"Well, if you both promise to take it easy, I can release you to go home now," Recovery Girl spoke up from her desk against the other wall. "No quirk usage from either of you for a little bit, get some rest."
Himari smiled and carefully got to her feet as Midoriya stumbled from his bed, both of them ignoring the pain in their bodies as they walked to the door with Bakugou guiding his petite friend, "Good night! Thanks so much for your help!"
The nurse smiled at Izuku as she waved the students off, "My pleasure. Be careful on your way home."
"Yes, ma'am."
The three walked out of the school and Midoriya beamed at the sight of Iida and Uraraka waiting for them outside. He rushed up to their friends and walked in tandem with them while Himari was content to walk further behind with Katsuki by her side, their hands still interlocked.