*shows up almost two weeks late with a starbucks* ...please don't be mad. . I'm so sorry I accidentally forgot this story!
I work at a daycare/early learning center and it's been crazy cus the lead teacher in the room I work in is staying at home cus she has asthma and she's paranoid about getting covid-19, so I've had to basically fill her role. It's been hectic.
Sorry!
Ok so I'll reply to reviews real quick before I get to the chapter.
JaquelineIvy: Why thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying my writing! :) Yeah poor Shota had her daughter to worry about.
I figured that the League of Villains had heard of the kid Hizashi and Shota adopted and maybe Hizashi let her name slip once or twice on his program (he hadn't necessarily meant to, but he's a proud dad, ok?) and they suddenly knew. Plus, Hizashi had mentioned his kid was a whiz at moving water, so Kurogiri saw the girl moving water leaping out to attack him with Bakugo and Kirishima and put two and two together.
Guest: Haha yeah I couldn't resist that reference, since Takara is basically half the Avatar lol.
And gosh danggit I forgot it was Tsu somehow. '^.^ Anyway, it'll be correct from now on. *thumbs up* Thank you for pointing it out!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
And I hope you are all staying safe and washing your hands! :)
God Bless and Good Day!
~The Lupine Sojourner
"Takara!" Mom screeches, panicked, and I can't warn her before I'm grabbed and used as a human battering ram, slamming into Mom with another scream, then the thing gets a better grip on my ribs (which I'm sure are broken) and it lets out a screech of its own before hurling me away, right into the rim of the fountain.
Yeah, those ribs were definitely broken. I can't move!
I lay there, pain and terror paralyzing me as Mom tries to fight the huge guy, but she can't move quick enough to dodge the swing and she's sent flying. Before mom even hit the ground, the villain slammed her into the ground and her goggles go flying, blood spraying everywhere.
"Nnoo!" I scream, pain ripping into me as I tried to move, to do anything, Mom's blood caking random bits of her hair together and trickling down her face.
"What do you think of him, Eraserhead?" The hand-villain chuckles gleefully. "He's the bio-engineered Anti-Symbol of Peace, but you can call him 'Nomu'."
I try to move, but can't! I sob in frustration and pain as Mom's arm is twisted unnaturally, held in the iron grip of the 'Nomu'. Her scream sends chills down my spine.
Despite being nauseous from pain and on the verge of passing out, I weakly try to move the water in the fountain behind me to help, but it merely splashes around a little, and I have to stop when spots dance in my vision.
If I pass out now, I won't be able to do anything at all! I have to help Mom somehow!
But...how?!
"You can erase people's powers. That's irritating, but nothing impressive." The hand-villain points out. I glare at him, but can't do anything more. "When faced with true devastating power, you may as well be a Quirkless child, like your brat over there." He laughs.
I make myself move, slowly, each moment sheer agony, but it's worth it when I finally sit braced against the fountain, and can see better. The better I can see, the more information I have to plan whatever it is I might be able to do.
I see Mom glaring at the guy, shaking in terror and pain, but defiant.
"Y-you won't lay a finger on her!" Mom growls, then turns her head to use her Quirk on the thing pinning her to try to get out from under it, but it simply smashes her other arm against the ground, and I hear her scream again.
"You're not in much of a position to do anything about it, are you?" The hand-guy taunts, cackling and my heart skips fearfully. "If I wanted, I could disintegrate her right here and now, but I think I'll let her watch her dear mother's demise first."
Mom tries to move, to do something, but Nomu grabs her head, yanking it up before slamming it against the ground. Blood gushes out, making a pool around Mom's head.
I can only watch! I'm useless! Tears stream down my face in frustration and terror as my mother is subjected to torture. Her blood puddle grows and I feel about to throw up. I then glance over at the water and spot Izuku, Tsu, and the ball-headed creep shaking in as much terror as I felt. Izuku glances between Mom and I, tears in his eyes.
I wonder what they're doing here, what their plan was before Nomu attacked us. They'd seen everything that just happened, right?
Then, as if the situation needed to get worse, the warp-villain appears, right by the hand-villain's side. "Tomura Shigaraki." He says. I raise a brow. Was that the hand-villain's name? Was he seriously that dumb? It's nothing much, but if we know this hand villain's name, we can ensure he pays dearly for this attack.
"Kurogiri." Tomura replies, turning his head a little. "Did you manage to kill 13?" he asks in the same tone one uses when asking about the weather.
Kurogiri seems to nod. "The Rescue Hero is out of commission." He reports. I pale. What?! No! "But," He continues, "there were students I wasn't able to disperse and one of them got outside of the facility."
I can't help a grin.
Whoever got outside, I owe you a huge debt of thanks! We just had to hold out til the heroes get here! We were gonna live...as long as we don't incur more injuries. Tomura groans and growls, scratching at his neck in agitation.
I frown. What the frick? Why would he do that?
"Kurogiri, you fool!" He growls, scratching furiously with both hands. "If you weren't our warpgate, I'd tear apart every last atom of your body!"
I blink. How do these people follow this childish villain's lead? He's throwing a tantrum right now!
Tomura suddenly stops scratching. "There's no way we can win if dozens of pros show up to stop us." Tomura grumbles, turning to Kurogiri, "It's Game Over; back to the title screen. And I was so looking forward to finishing this today. Damnit!" He all but whines. What is this guy's deal?! "Let's go home." He instructs. I can't help but feel relief flood me. We'd survived! They were leaving! Tomura then chuckles, sending a chill down my spine that froze the relief solid in my veins. "Oh, but before we leave, why don't we make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken? Let's wreck his pride!"
With that, he tears toward the water, aiming right for Tsu's face!
"Nooo!" I scream, trying desperately to make a simple wall between Tsu and Tomura, but I'm too late!
"Let's make this hurt!" Tomura roars, but as the hand connects, nothing happens. A few seconds pass and I realize what happened, a sob making my ribs flare as I watch Mom's eyes; they're red, bloodshot, and I can see the same terror and desperation I felt in them.
She was doing the only thing she can; cancelling Tomura's Quirk to make sure Tsu wasn't disintegrated.
"You really are so cool, Eraserhead." Tomura admits, chuckling evilly. "But you can't keep it up forever." He points out, then lets go of Tsu, spinning on his heel and running toward me as Mom's head is yanked up and smashed down again.
I can't do anything, but then Izuku leaps out of the water and moves at lightning speed to intervene.
"Get away from her! Now!" Izuku screams, arm glowing.
"Izuku, no!" I scream, despite the pain it causes, but he unleashes a smash that presses me into the fountain with it's force.
One thing I notice, as the dust settles, it that Izuku's arm is fine. Another thing is that I've been blown almost onto my side, barely against the fountain anymore, and Nomu was standing on my already broken leg as he took the force of Izuku's smash and remained standing.
I feel grateful that thing's no longer hurting Mom, but am also extremely worried for Izuku. On top of all that, I bite my lip to keep from screaming in pain as Tomura turns back to look over his shoulder at Izuku.
"That smash of yours...it's pretty powerful." Tomura notes and I pale. "Are you one of All Might's disciples?"
My heart clenches in fear for Izuku. Not good, not good!
"Izuku, run!" I snap, unsure why I spoke up suddenly.
"Now, now." Tomura replies as if to a disobedient child, waving a finger at me. "It was a simple question. But, I suppose, the answer doesn't matter. I'm done with all of you." He growls as Nomu grabs Izuku's arm and hoists him up.
"Izuku!" I scream.
"Now...where were we?" Tomura chuckles evilly, hand reaching for my face again. I force myself to lie down despite the pain, to buy some time, but it's no good. He just keeps reaching out, laughing as he does.
Several things happen all at the same time.
Shigaraki's hand nears my leg.
Tsu's tongue leaps out to try to grab Izuku, encircling his waist.
My heart pounds in my ears as I try to move, my other leg still trapped beneath Nomu's massive foot.
Nomu's hand descends on Izuku, who squeezes his eyes shut and braces for the pain to come.
All this happens in a single instant, but just as all these things culminated, the door bursts open and a cloud of dust bursts from the doorway. I freeze.
What now?!
I hear heavy footsteps and then, at the base of the stairs a moment later, All Might appears, face contorted and twisted in rage as he tosses his jacket aside and tears off his tie in preparation to join the fight. "Have no fear, students! I am here!" He roars, a grave warning to the villains and a beacon of hope for us students and teachers.
Tomura tilts his head to look up at my uncle-figure. "Ah. Looks like our game's getting a 'Continue'." He muses cockily.
I glare at him. "It'll still end in Game Over for you." I growl.
"I got the feeling something had gone wrong when 13 and Aizawa didn't return my calls." Toshin-Oji growls, still stalking forward, before Tomura could reply. "So I hurried over, running into young Iida along the way." So, it was Tenya who escaped. Nice! He was the best choice, being the fastest of us. "He told me of the villainy at work here." Toshin-Oji continues, voice dead serious and pissed off.
"He's here...All Might…" Izuku whimpers, and the look on his face reminds me of something 13 did earlier; she held up 3 fingers when Mom asked why All Might wasn't here, so I doubt Toshin-Oji has much time left at all as All Might. But he knew that...and came, anyway. "And he's not smiling."
"After all this waiting, the Heroic Piece of Trash shows up." Tomura says, almost in a giggle.
Did he seriously think he could win against All Might?! Time limit or not, All Might will win...Right?
I grin smugly at Tomura, putting on a brave face despite not being certain we'd win. "You guys are so screwed now!" I exclaim with bravado I don't exactly feel, almost laughing despite how bad everything hurt.
My smirk doesn't falter, though I slightly regret my words. If not for All Might charging down the stairs and through the few villains that had gotten up after mom and I's beating, Tomura might have replied or disintegrated me.
As it was, he was distracted.
In seconds, the villains in Toshin-Oji's way were down and Toshin-Oji had Mom in his arms, holding her carefully with a somber look in his eyes. He subtly flinches when he takes in Mom's condition.
"I'm sorry, Yamada." he mumbles, barely audible. "I should have been here."
I look away in shame. I hadn't done anything and I was right there! I might have been able to do something if I tried harder! Tears fill my eyes but I blink them back. This was no time for an emotional breakdown, even if I want to cry from just the physical pain. All Might then turns around and his eyes snap wide in outrage when he sees me. Suddenly, I'm yanked out off the floor as All Might shoves Nomu aside just enough to get my leg out from under him, and then I'm laying next to Mom, Izuku, Tsu, and Purple Hair. The pain is worse now I'd been moved without warning, and I bite my lip to keep from screaming.
Mom was so much worse up close! Her face is one giant bloodstain, her hair soaked with it and her arms were limp, resting in unnatural angles.
"Help these two back to the entrance." Toshin-Oji orders the group still standing. "They don't have much time." His tone was sharp, accepting no argument and I brace against the coming pain of being moved, but Izuku simply stands there as Tsu and Mineta pick Mom up as gently as they could.
"You saved us, All Might." He says. Before Toshin-Oji replies, Tomura starts whining again.
"No, no, no! It wasn't supposed to go this way!" He growls. I turn my head to look at him, wondering what the hell he was up to now.
I notice that the hand that had been on his face was on the ground, but Tomura made sure we still couldn't see his face, covering it or leaning over to grab the hand while his hair kept the mystery of his face a secret. "He's still fast, Father." He muses, picking the hand up. I frown. Father?! What?! "Somehow, he managed to hit me!" I blink. Is he serious? What is this guy's deal?! He seems calmer once he puts the hand back on. "Of course a government hero relies on violence. I was prepared, but I couldn't even see him when he moved." It's clear he probably doesn't even know he's talking out loud by now, but his words and the childlike pouting vibe he gives off are very unsettling. "But, he's not as fast as I thought he would be, not as fast as he used to be." My heart skips. Shit! He's figuring it out! "I guess it's true after all!" He exclaims, chuckling. "All Might really is getting weaker."
Izuku helps me up and I try not to scream as I let him hold me so my arms were over his shoulders and my legs barely scrape the floor. This would hurt like hell, but we needed to move.
Izuku bites his lip before we leave to get back to the entrance where we'd be safer. "All Might, you can't!" He suddenly exclaims. "That brain guy took One- -" He stops short, remembering present company, "uh, I smashed him and it didn't do anything." He explains in a rush, hoping he'd avoided later questions about what he'd said. "He's too strong!" It seemed the cover-up worked as All Might turns to look at Izuku confidently.
"Young Midoriya!" Toshin-Oji barks, throwing a peace sign at him. "I got this."
I look at All Might worriedly. "Izuku's serious. Be careful." I mumble as Izuku turns us around, beginning to walk toward the stairs I was not looking forward to ascending. The ground trembles and I see another dust and debris cloud in my peripheral vision. Mineta scoffs.
"Are you guys seeing this?!" He asks rhetorically. "That suplex looks like an explosion! All Might's on another level!"
I bite my lip against the pain and in worry. "Yeah, but so is that Nomu thing." I mumble.
Izuku pats my forearm. "All Might knows what he's doing." He says, and I can't help wondering if it was false confidence.
"And yet he still has to look at his notes when he's teaching us." Tsu muses wryly.
I can't shake the sinking feeling in my stomach, however. Something told me it wouldn't be an easy victory at all.
"Get that guy!" Mineta calls over his shoulder. "Punch him right in the balls!"
I roll my eyes. "I'm sure anywhere would work." I grumble. Tsu looks over her shoulder.
"I guess we were worried about these villains for nothing!" She cheers. "All Might's unstoppable!"
Izuku and I share a look, but don't say anything. We couldn't without giving away the secret Toshin-Oji entrusted with.
We knew he didn't have much time.
"Oh, come on!" We hear All Might groan, voice strained. "What kind of cheap move is that?!" We turn and see that Kurogiri has opened a warp-gate in such a way that Nomu was able to grip Toshin-Oji's ribs, squeezing til blood seeped into the white shirt All Might wore. I swallow. That was his bad side! No, no, no!
"Nice!" Tomura taunts. "You were trying to bury him in the concrete so he couldn't move around anymore? Well, sorry; that won't work."
I bite my lip. I wanted to help, but...how?
...Truth is, in my condition, I couldn't even give Nomu a splashing, let alone fight him. Right now, I can only watch and pray my uncle makes it out alive.
"Nomu's as strong as you are!" Tomura boasts cockily. "That won't stop him." He then chuckles, turning a little to Kurogiri, who was watching silently, looking apathetic to everything happening. "Nice work, Kurogiri." he praises, reversing what he'd said earlier about wanting to disintegrate Kurogiri. "We've got him just where we want him now."
I reluctantly look away. "Izuku, we should go."
I mumble, but Izuku, Tsu, and Creeper don't move. Tsu shakes herself a second later.
"Takara's right. We gotta- -"
"If this is your best, you picked the wrong place to attack!" All Might roars, not trying to pry Nomu's hand from his weak spot to no avail. "You should just give up now!"
Tomura scratches idly at his neck. "Kurogiri?" He asks. I don't like this! Not one bit!
"Normally, I wouldn't want blood and viscera flooding the inside of my warpgates, but I'll make an exception for a hero as great as you." Kurogiri replies. "Since you're too fast to see with the human eye, Nomu had to restrain you. Once he gets your body halfway through, I'll squeeze the gate shut!" I sob in terror for my uncle as Nomu begins to get Toshin-Oji into position. No, no, no!
"Asui?" Izuku asks listlessly.
"Yeah? What is it Midoriya?" She replies, not saying anything about his use of her last name.
"I need you two to watch Takara." He says, gently laying me down.
I know precisely what he wants to do. "Don't!" I bark. "You can't!"
"What?" Tsu asks. "What are you planning, Midoriya?" He doesn't answer, walking away a few steps before running, desperate tears in his eyes.
"Are you crazy?!" Mineta screams.
"Come back!" I scream, but Izuku doesn't, leaping out to attack.
"I'm coming!" He roars and I can see Toshin-Oji pale. But then, even as the warp-gate opens, even I'm trying to scream out a warning I know is too late, I see a blurry figure flying through the air then see a massive explosion. My eyes snap wide as I hear Katsuki's voice.
"Get the hell outta my way, Deku!" He roars, grabbing the neck armor I'd barely noticed Kurogiri wearing earlier and slamming it into the ground.
I grin in relief. Once again, it appeared that things were turning around. As Katsuki was taking care of Kurogiri, ice suddenly streams like water toward the warp gate, going up half Nomu's body.
"One of your poorly trained thugs told me you're here because you think you can kill All Might." Shoto's voice calls and I see him standing a little ways away.
I grin. Now All Might can get out of Nomu's grip and kick ass! All Might does manage to get free, flipping up and onto the ground, groaning a little, hand over his bleeding wound.
Then, in one final twist of circumstance, Eijiro came barreling out of nowhere, roaring angrily as he leapt at Tomura. He misses, landing and leaping backwards immediately, arms up, lip out in a pout.
"Damn, that was gonna- -Takara!" He notices me and I am suddenly faced with those rock-hard abs and a pair of worried ruby eyes. "What happened?!"
I have to bite my tongue to keep from screaming as Eijiro picked me up as gently as he could.
"N-nomu…" I groan, trying to breathe through the pain as I gesture weakly to the giant thing still trapped in the warp-gate and half-frozen. Eijiro's eyes narrowed.
"Shit! We gotta get you outta here." He says, reluctantly moving away from the battle behind us, carrying me bridal-style.
If I weren't in so much pain, I'd be a blushing mess right now. Eijiro's hands are clenched into fists, one against my shoulder, the other against the back of my knees as he walks as quickly as he can to the stairs. "I'm sorry, Takara." He mumbles, slightly out of breath.
I frown at him. "What for?" I ask. What could he possibly be apologizing for?
"For not keeping a good grip on you when we were warped away. If I had…"
"If you were there, you might have ended up in my condition, too. I'll be okay when I get to Recovery Girl." I reply gently, trying not to let my pain filter into my voice, but it was hard when every step Eijiro took meant agony for me.
He then notices who Tsu and Mineta are carrying.
"Crap!" He hisses. "Damn, they really messed Sensei up! Did the thing that got you do that?"
I nod, tearing up. "Yeah." I reply, eyeing her.
She was unconscious, but at least she was alive! And once recovery Girl uses her Quirk on her, Mom will be fine, right? I then hear Ochaco calling us from the top of the stairs. I look up and see her and Rikido waving.
"Can you come help? She weighs a lot and she's bleeding all over the place!" Mineta calls back.
"Mineta!" I bark, uncaring that my ribs hated me talking that loud.
"Sorry, but they needed to know he's hurt!"
"You didn't have to put it like that." Eijiro points out sourly.
Now, we're practically at the base of the stairs and Eijiro refuses to let anyone take over carrying me, even Shoji, who ends up carrying Mom. He was a lot quicker than Eijiro, but we made our way up slow and sure, and I was desperately trying not to cry as my ribs were almost constantly jostled. At the same time, I looked behind to see Toshin-Oji squaring off against Nomu and my heart plummets. He was pushing his limits as is! How would he possibly be able to stop that thing?!
I bite my lip. Nothing really I can do about it, since I got the shit kicked outta me.
This sucks! I can't do anything! I can't even walk up the stairs!
Nomu, having straightened up out of the warp-gate, broke the ice, resulting in him losing it's arm and leg.
I almost think that means victory (how could it not, when Nomu was so messed up?), but then the thing regrows the limbs right away!
I pale. This Nomu thing is insane!
Then, even as I notice Nomu moving toward Katsuki, I open my mouth, but Toshin-Oji zips forward and all I see is dust and feel the ground rattle with the two powerhouses' force. Eijiro stumbles as wind rips up the stairs and I can't contain a sharp hiss as he adjusts me and his stance.
"Sorry!" He exclaims, worried.
"It's okay. We just gotta keep moving." I mumble back through teeth clenched against the pain, resuming watching the fight.
Katsuki is now beside Shoto and Izuku, confused. Everyone then realizes that Katsuki has moved and look around. I see Toshin-Oji, still braced for impact, having broken the nearby wall. The three students get into a fighting stance, but All Might moves in front of them and puts his hand out to stall them. They seem to protest, but stay put. All Might leaps forward, just as Tomura races toward my friends. Then, as Nomu and All Might collide, there comes another huge burst of wind and dust and Eijiro braces against it.
He then sits down, positioning us so we can watch while he catches his breath without being blown against the stairs. I lean against him gratefully and look down and see All Might and Nomu, arms blurry with the speed of their punches, hammering each other as hard as they can.
Slowly, All Might gets the upper hand, forcing Nomu to back up under the constant barrage of hits. The fight ranges all across the middle area, the ground shaking and cracking beneath the force of the two powerhouses. All Might and Nomu go all out against each other, but Toshin-Oji has the upper hand, tossing Nomu into the air, smashing him down, then gearing up for a massive hit. I brace for it, and am not at all shocked when the ground feels ready to split entirely open as Nomu goes flying, crashing through the roof and into the sky.
"Whoa! That was like the finishing move in a video game!" Eijiro cheers, thinking everything was okay, and in part it was. It was finally over! We'd won! But…
At what cost? Toshin-Oji's probably not in great condition. He'd used so much of his power, and Nomu was so strong...I can't help but wonder if Toshin-Oji's okay…especially since there's Shigaraki and Kurogiri to deal with still.
"I've never seen that kind of brute strength!" Eijiro adds, relieved and awestruck.
"Yeah…" I mumble, smiling a little. Now, we just had to stall until the rest of the heroes show up. The teachers were already on their way, more than likely (I assume Toshin-Oji called them after hearing what was going on at the USJ), but...when would they get here?
I pale as a thought occurs to me.
Dad...he'll be furious with himself for not being here…
Oh, dear God! He'll feel so bad when he sees Mom and I! Shit!
In an effort to distract myself, I look back down and see All Might still standing there, the remains of the dust cloud surrounding them, facing Tomura, who was scratching his neck again in extreme agitation. Tomura and Kurogiri confer, then I notice that the villains are starting to get back up!
No, no, no, no! "Crap!" Eijiro curses, flinching as if to stand, then relaxing and biting his lip.
"...I'd understand if you go back down." I mumble. "I can wait for the other teachers to arrive." Eijiro shakes his head, slowly adjusting me back to a bridal carry.
"N-no. The important thing is to get you away and to safety. I'd only get in the way down there." His voice is thick and he doesn't look at me as he moves me as gently as he can.
It's obvious he still really wants to go down, but he's willing to stay with me. I find that super sweet and in any other situation I'd probably read too much into it.
We were about halfway to three quarters up the stairs now. I grit my teeth and try to breathe normally as Eijiro rises to his feet. "I gotta get you up there." We begin climbing again, neither speaking, concentrating on our tasks. I look over Eijiro's shoulder and pale when I see Tomura and Kurogiri rushing Toshin-Oji!
Even worse, Izuku's leapt out to join in, his legs flopping uselessly as he hurdles toward Kurogiri, who opens a warp-gate so Tomura can grab Izuku.
Before I could warn Izuku, however, a shot rings out and suddenly, Tomura reels back, blood pouring from a hole in his hand.
Despite the ringing in my ears, and the pain from my flinching, I look up and see one of the teachers, Snipe I think, holding his gun at the top of the stairs.
Snipe turns and I grit my teeth as two more shots ring out. I then see the tops of several more heads and Principal Nezu's voice. Eijiro and I look at each other, giddy in relief.
"Sorry, everyone! I know we're a bit late, but I got the teachers over here as fast as I could." That was Principle Nezu! Surely the other teachers were with him! We were saved!