Chapter 4

A/N: I absolutely adore every single one of your comments, no matter how small. You all are so fantastic and it's wonderful to hear your thoughts about my story. That being said, I have a special shout out for Heisei_fangirl, who had the good fortune of being the 100th comment thread on this fic! You may be interested in checking out her comment on Chapter 3 to see the prize she won.

Also, happy birthday, Izuku!

"All right everyone! Get in two orderly lines according to your student number so that we can load the bus in a neat and organized fashion!"

"Heh, Iida's really taking his class president duties seriously," Izuku chuckled sheepishly as they loaded onto the bus, only to find out it had an open layout that ruined all of Iida's careful planning.

"I'm still pissed off at you for that. I voted for you, not that clown," Kacchan grumped.

Izuku blinked at Kacchan, surprised. "You voted for me, Kacchan?"

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "Duh. How do you think you got to four votes?"

"But… didn't you want the position for yourself?"

"Nah," refuted Kacchan. "That's way too much work. Why the hell would I want to deal with all those extras' stupid problems?

"And that's why you got zero votes, Bakugo," Kirishima drawled.

"What did you say? I'll kick your ass!" snarled Kacchan.

"You know," drawled Kaminari. "We really haven't been classmates that long, so it's kind of telling that we all know your personality is flaming crap mixed with garbage."

"Hey!"

Everyone, Izuku included, was surprised to hear that protest coming not from Kacchan, but from himself. "Um," he blushed at his classmates' amused looks. "Kacchan's personality isn't like, uh, what you said at all."

Kirishima rolled his eyes. "Well you're hardly an unbiased opinion, Midoriya. How the hell the Bakugo ended up with the nicest kid in class is going to be a mystery for the ages."

"Yeah, Izuku's super sweet, and Bakugo's definitely not," croaked Tsuyu.

"You wanna fucking say that again, Frog Girl?" Kacchan sneered.

"Call me Tsuyu," she corrected absently. "And nope. I was pretty clear the first time, no need to keep stating the obvious. Well, actually speaking of things that are really obvious, does anyone else think that Izuku's quirk is a lot like All Might's?"

Izuku paled. "What? Me? All Might? No way! I mean, I guess we do both have Augment type quirks, but that's basically where the similarity ends. I've never really thought about it before. Why would I think about it? I don't look like I think about All Might all the time, do I?"

"Psht, Midoriya and All Might? No way!" Kaminari interrupted, thankfully cutting off Izuku's frantic mumbling. "He's nowhere near as strong as All Might."

"He totally is though!" protested Ochaco loyally. "You didn't see him at full power like I did during the entrance exams. Remember those zero-point bots? He jumped through the air all the way up to its head and punched it so hard the whole head exploded!" Ochaco made a whooshing noise and spread her hands apart, as if to demonstrate just how exploded the head had been.

His classmates turned back to him, impressed. "No way, Midoriya!" Kaminari said.

"Yeah, if you're that strong how come you didn't go full power in the quirk assessment test or the battle trial?" asked Ashido.

"Oh! I, uh, kind of shattered both my legs and my arm doing that," Izuku admitted sheepishly. "My body can't really handle using that much power yet. Maybe someday though!"

"That's so cool!" gushed Kirishima. "Uh, not the hurting yourself part, but that you've got such a flashy quirk. My hardening ability is really strong, but it wouldn't impress the crowds as much." He held up his arm and turned it to stone in demonstration.

"No way!" protested Izuku. "That's so amazing! You'll be a great hero like that. Plus, I bet you can do more with your quirk than just harden your skin. It's a transformation type quirk so it's not necessarily limited to just one simple trick. When you get more control of it, I bet you'll find that you can harden yourself even further than you imagined. You're pretty strong." Izuku could see it: Kirishima transforming into a huge rock monster and wrecking villains. "You'll be totally awesome!" cheered Izuku.

Kirishima looked somewhat taken aback before he grinned. "Thanks, Midoriya! That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"Oh I'm sure other people have said way nicer things," Izuku chuckled awkwardly.

"Nah. Maybe that's why you and Bakugo get along so well, opposites attract and all that."

Everyone looked over at Kacchan, waiting for him to explode, but instead he just glowered at them. In fact, he seemed distracted by something for the rest of the ride. When they finally arrived and got off the bus, Kacchan pulled Izuku to the side.

"You're hiding something," he said bluntly.

Izuku's eyes widened. "Uh, Kacchan?"

"What was that bullshit about earlier? You didn't notice that your quirk is like All Might's? You never even thought about it?" Kacchan scowled and crossed his arms. "Maybe those extras bought it, but I know that there's no fucking way you didn't draw up some weird bar chart about the which pro heroes have quirks most similar to yours, or something dumb like that. And that's not even considering that you're the biggest All Might fanboy in existence."

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Izuku had been so focused on denying any relation to All Might that he hadn't stopped and considered that Kacchan would obviously find that weird. The Izuku he knew would be beyond thrilled to hear of any comparison to the number one hero. "I… That'd be pretty arrogant," tried Izuku. "I wouldn't want people thinking that I was saying my quirk's as cool as All Might's."

Kacchan frowned down at him. Izuku wasn't good at lying in the best of times, let alone under stress and to someone who knew his tells as well as Kacchan did.

"Midoriya! Bakugo!" called Mr. Aizawa. "Stop dawdling and get over here."

"S-sorry, sir!" called Izuku. He took the opportunity to jog back over to the class, but he knew that he was just delaying the inevitable. Kacchan was letting the subject drop now only because he knew that he could pin Izuku down eventually. All of his worries were forgotten though the instant that he laid eyes on the hero that would be instructing them.

"The chivalrous space hero Thirteen! He's rescued countless people from disasters around the world!" gushed Izuku. He seriously thought he might cry just out of sheer excitement. All the students gaped at the massive confines of the USJ as Thirteen led them inside. Izuku's spirits were dampened though when he overheard Mr. Aizawa asking Thirteen about All Might. They were subtle about it, but Izuku saw Thirteen hold up three fingers when explaining that All Might had other engagements. He must mean that All Might had already used up his three hours for today. Izuku knew that his mentor was incredibly capable, but he couldn't help but worry that All Might was pushing himself past his limits.

Thirteen distracted him by explaining that many of their powers could be deadly if they weren't careful. Izuku looked down at his hands. All Might had given him an incredible ability. With it, he could do so much good for society… but it was also dangerous. Izuku would have to always be sure to only use his strength for good! It was like what All Might had said after the battle trials: a true hero never acted at the expense of innocents. Izuku would show everyone that he could be a great rescue hero as well as a combat hero!

"Right," Mr. Aizawa said after Thirteen finished speaking. "Now that that's over-"

He was interrupted by a commotion down in the center of the USJ.

"Stay together and don't move!" commanded Mr. Aizawa. "Thirteen, stay here and protect the students."

There was a strange black mist, and a bunch of people were slowly appearing out of it. Izuku had never seen a warp quirk in real life before. He wondered if it was location-based or had some other homing mechanism. Judging by the fact that it appeared exactly in the center of the USJ, Izuku guessed that its user teleported to specific locations rather than to people or objects. Izuku was so distracted by his analysis that he almost didn't hear the urgency in Mr. Aizawa's voice when the man told them that this was real, and those were actual villains.

The mist condensed into a vaguely humanoid shape, which spoke. "Eraserhead and Thirteen… According to the schedule we procured yesterday, All Might was supposed to be here as well."

"We went through all that trouble," said a man whose body was covered in what looked like severed hands. "You can't tell me that All Might… the symbol of peace… isn't here."

This was bad. This was really bad. These villains were behind the break-in at the school yesterday. And… if Izuku was hearing them right, they came specifically to try to fight All Might. It was a pretty good plan, he thought distractedly. The villains had brought tons of people to a secluded location where no one would be worried about hearing a commotion. But… if they came prepared to fight All Might, then would the rest of them stand any chance?

"I wonder if he'll show up if we kill the kids?" mused the hand-man.

Izuku's breath hitched. These guys meant serious business. They weren't here just to fight or cause trouble… they wanted to kill people! Izuku listened to Yaoyorozu and Todoroki talk about the lack of alarms. Todoroki was right. There must be a villain blocking the emergency signals.

Mr. Aizawa ordered them to try to escape before jumping down to fight the horde, ignoring Izuku's protests that large scale battles weren't his style. He shouldn't have underestimated Mr. Aizawa though, because from the look of it he was holding his own just fine. Izuku wasn't able to observe for too long because Kacchan grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the doors. "This is no time to be analyzing quirks, Deku," he said tightly. "We have to go."

Before they could get too far, the black mist villain warped in front of them. "Hello," the villain said. "It's a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello." He paused, and a smirk-like rift opened below his eyes. "And besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, the symbol of peace, to draw his last breath?"

Izuku's mind was working in overtime. This guy was serious business, but all quirks had a weakness, and Izuku had a knack for finding them. Teleportation and mist… that wasn't a good match up for Izuku, whose quirk enhanced his physical strength. Maybe he could blow the villain away like All Might did to the slime guy? But he wasn't strong enough to do that. Izuku recalled that the mist man was wearing some sort of suit and armor down in the center of the arena. Maybe he wasn't entirely incorporeal?

Suddenly, Kacchan and Kirishima ran forward. "Wait!" Izuku cried. Those two would be hopeless against an intangible teleporter like that. Everyone was gaping at the villain when the dust from the boys' attack cleared, but Izuku's eyes were drawn to the strange armor around the man's neck. Before he could warn anyone about it though, the mist villain expanded outwards and surrounded them.

Izuku, who had been preparing to use his quirk the whole time, reacted quickly. He was near the back with Tsuyu, so he grabbed her and flickered out the of way. He noticed that Iida had managed to do the same with Ochaco and Sato. Once the mist cleared, Izuku saw that Shoji somehow managed to keep Ashido and Sero from being warped away as well.

"Everyone's still here," confirmed Shoji, who'd transformed his arms into ears so that he could sense their classmates.

"Good," said Thirteen grimly. "Class President. You have a speed quirk, right? Go quickly and escape. Get help!"

"But to run away would be dishonorable," protested Iida.

While Thirteen was convincing Iida that retreat was the better option, Izuku focused on his strategy. He kept his eyes peeled during Thirteen's confrontation with the villain. If that armor really did cover a weak spot, then it wouldn't appear very often. Right as Thirteen started sucking the mist into a black hole, Izuku saw it and ran forward. He gritted his teeth as Thirteen's own power was used against him and caused him to be severely injured. There was no time. Izuku had to strike with all his strength while the enemy was distracted!

The villain noticed Izuku just a moment too late. His fist made contact with the armor, and his punch was even more effective than he'd imagined. Izuku was used to hitting things with substance, like trees or posts, or even people. The villain, however, was mostly incorporeal, and barely weighed anything. Plus, he'd used as much of One for All's power as he could handle. The villain's armor shattered, and he went flying, eventually bouncing down the stairs and landing amongst the other intruders. He didn't get up.

Izuku gaped down at the scene. He'd… he'd really done major damage to that villain. He might even have… Izuku didn't have to worry, because in that moment he noticed what else was going on down in the center of the arena. The weird monster whose brain was exposed had Mr. Aizawa crushed against the ground, and he looked seriously hurt. Plus the hand-guy was staring up at them.

"Iida," Izuku whispered. "Quick, while they're distracted you have to go get help."

Iida looked visibly conflicted, but to Izuku's relief, he grimaced and ran out of the USJ. Izuku wasn't sure how much longer they'd be alone. The hand villain was already making his way up the stairs, shaking with rage.

"All of you, get out! I'll keep the villains distracted," Izuku pleaded.

Ochaco shook her head. "We're not just going to leave you here, Deku!"

"Besides," said Ashido. "Thirteen is too injured to move."

That wasn't entirely true. Izuku knew that Thirteen didn't just create black holes, he was a black hole. His space suit was there to help him contain his power and keep from hurting people. With the back of it blown off, it was probably taking all of Thirteen's focus not to suck them all in. Nevertheless, he wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

"Children, don't argue," the strange man said patronizingly, now close enough to overhear their conversation. "It doesn't matter anyways. Noumu, block the doors."

Faster than Izuku could perceive, the monstrous villain whose brain was exposed—Noumu, apparently—appeared in front of the door. Izuku would've thought that it was another teleportation quirk, except he could feel the displaced air as Noumu ran past him. He gulped. Noumu probably was super strong as well, given his appearance. Plus, these guys had taken out Mr. Aizawa like he was nothing!

"Now then," the villain continued. "Which one of you took out Kurogiri?"

The students glanced at each other, but no one spoke up. Izuku's friends weren't willing to throw him to the dogs.

"Hm? No one's going to own up to it?" The man chuckled darkly. "Well, I came here to kill All Might, since we heard he's getting weaker and weaker."

Izuku's eyes widened. They knew about All Might's injury!?

"But… I really hate people who hurt my friends, so I suppose I can settle for killing you kids while I wait for All Might to get here. If I can't figure out which one of you hit Kurogiri, I guess I'll just have to kill you all to be safe."

He couldn't put his classmates in danger. Izuku opened his mouth to speak.

"It was me."

He gaped over at Shoji. "You can't-"

"No it was me!" cried Ochaco. Even through her bravado, Izuku could tell that she was terrified.

No, no, no! To Izuku's horror, his classmates all claimed responsibility for Kurogiri's injuries, one after another. Finally, Ashido finished: "I guess you'll just have to fight us all." Her voice trembled, but her conviction didn't.

"You know what?" the villain chuckled. "I don't really care anymore. I'm happy to kill every last one of you!"

Faster than they react, he set upon Shoji and grabbed onto one of the boy's six arms. It dissolved into ash before their eyes. Izuku had started running as soon as the villain did, and so he quickly spanned the distance between them and grabbed Shoji, who writhed in agony. He pivoted and threw the other boy back out of the villain's reach. The man took advantage of Izuku's distraction to reach out towards him. Izuku threw up an arm to defend himself, and the villain grabbed onto his fist. Luckily he was wearing his metal gauntlets because they bought him just enough time to rip himself out of the man's grasp. He spared a moment to glance down at his newly exposed fingers… fingers! That was it.

"Everyone!" Izuku called. He had a feeling about how the villain's quirk worked. "He needs to touch you with all five fingers to use his powers. Don't let him!" A glance behind him showed Izuku that his words were meaningless. His classmates were staring at Shoji in horror. Izuku gulped. He remembered how terrified and panicked he'd felt when he had been face-to-face with his first villain. There was no telling if his classmates would be able to overcome their fear in time. He'd have to protect them!

"You're a clever one aren't you? And that speed… that strength. You're the one who hurt Kurogiri."

"Yeah," Izuku confirmed grimly. "Let my friends go. Th-they didn't do anything to you! This fight is between you and me." He wished he could say that he shouted it confidently, but in truth he was absolutely terrified. This guy was a bad matchup for a close-range fighter like Izuku. He… wanted nothing more than to run and hide. Izuku didn't blame his friends for being paralyzed with fear. He was barely overcoming his own panic.

"Hm… no, I don't think so." The man cocked his head. "But how about this? Since you were brave enough to step up, I'll let you know the name of the villain that's going to kill you. I'm Shigaraki Tomura."

Damn it. Even if he could get his classmates to help, everyone here had quirks that worked at short to mid-range, except Sero, and Izuku doubted that Sero's tape would be effective against Shigaraki's disintegration. Out of all them, he had the best chances against the villain, since he was fast enough to avoid Shigaraki's counterattacks. Izuku clenched his fists. Okay. This would be just like fighting Kacchan in the battle trial. All he had to do was avoid his enemy's hands.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name, boy?"

Izuku's pulse jumped. Shigaraki… he was the real deal, the kind of villain that Izuku had only ever heard about in stories. Still, he had to stay strong, for everyone! Izuku remembered All Might saying that he hid his pain and fear behind a smile, so he tried to grin. It felt kind of tremulous but hopefully the giant smile on his mask made up for it. "My name… is Midoriya Izuku. And I'm going to beat you!"

He didn't give Shigaraki a chance to respond—or give any of his classmates the chance to interfere and get hurt again. Izuku ran forward, battle cry on his lips, and cocked his fist back. To his surprise, Shigaraki was nearly as fast as him, even though he was enhanced by One for All. The man was so close that Izuku could see his bloodthirsty expression behind the hand that covered his face. Shigaraki probably thought that he was an idiot, charging in recklessly like that. Instead, Izuku suddenly threw himself into a slide, aiming at the villain's ankles. Going low would keep him out of the man's arm span, hopefully.

It was a good plan, but Shigaraki had better reflexes than Izuku had expected, and was able to dodge his sliding kick. He dug his gloved hand into the ground and pivoted around it, immediately jumping to his feet with his front to the villain, backpedaling to avoid Shigaraki's swipe towards him.

"Right, right. I forgot that you were a clever one," mused Shigaraki. "Good. That just makes this so much more amusing."

The villain snapped a hand out towards Izuku, who was forced to jump to the side. Even though he'd tried to comfort himself earlier by comparing this fight to his battle with Kacchan, they were nothing alike. Izuku didn't have walls and ceilings to bounce off in order to launch attacks from every angle. Retreat wasn't an option, since doing so would leave his classmates exposed. And most importantly, he couldn't afford to block. He had one more gauntlet that would buy him a second or two, but after that he was toast. Plus, he had to dodge by a safe margin, to prevent Shigaraki from touching him. Even a glancing blow could be debilitating.

Therefore, Izuku was constantly backpaddling, occasionally dodging to the side or jumping over Shigaraki when he got the chance. He tried to counterpunch but Shigaraki was no pushover. The villain didn't just have a strong quirk; his athletic skills and combat training were top notch as well. Izuku had to throw up his gloved hand early in the exchange, so he didn't even have a safety net anymore. The only thing that kept him in the fight at all was his speed. That and the fact that even though Shigaraki still seemed confident, he must realize that Izuku's blows could be dangerous. The man was careful to never let him land a hit.

But wait- Izuku could see it! He'd just dodged to his left and Shigaraki reached towards him, leaving his other arm down by his side. Izuku could plant his foot, grab the man's outstretched hand, and pull him off balance. Grinning, Izuku planted his foot and- slipped.

His throat clenched. He'd taken a huge gamble with that move, since it put him close to Shigaraki. Now that he'd lost his footing, there was no way Izuku would be able to dodge the man's counterattack. The villain came to the same conclusion, considering the gleeful look on his face.

Izuku's mind raced. He gathered as much energy to his hands as possible. Could it counter Shigaraki's quirk? He didn't have time or space to cock back his fist for a Smash, so Izuku couldn't even use his last resort attacks. Desperately, Izuku crossed his arms in front of him, and prepared for the worst.

Instead, he felt something odd wrap around him and jerk him away from Shigaraki's grasp. It was Tsuyu! She'd used her tongue to grab him and throw him out of the way! His relief quickly melted into horror as his instincts blared at him. Tsuyu had turned her head in order to throw him. Her back was to Shigaraki, who was cunning, and vindictive, and fast. Just as Izuku suspected, the villain didn't hesitate for an instant, launching himself towards the girl who'd robbed him of his prey, both hands extended towards her.

Tsuyu wouldn't react fast enough. Izuku knew it. He knew it. There was no way that he could reach her in time either. He was still in the air! Still, he'd been prepared to use a smash, so Izuku cocked his fist back. Maybe he could create a shockwave like All Might did and blow Shigaraki back. Tsuyu would be in the line of fire, but she'd be better off than if Shigaraki got her. Nevertheless, Izuku would hold back some. He reinforced his body as best he could to prevent the backlash that was sure to follow.

"SMASH!" Izuku screamed, thrusting his hand forward. He could feel the strain on his body, and heard a single 'crack' from his arm. Izuku was immediately blown back by the shockwave, and when he hit the ground he tumbled backwards until he collided with the wall. Izuku immediately raised his head and looked towards where Tsuyu and Shigaraki had been. There was a massive cloud of dust obscuring his line of sight. Izuku waited with baited breath for it to clear. Eventually, it settled and he could see… Noumu?

Noumu was standing where Shigaraki had been, and he looked completely unscathed by Izuku's shockwave. No, wait, Noumu was in front of where Tsuyu last stood. But… that would mean… Suddenly, it clicked, and Izuku felt as if an icy fist reached inside him and twisted at his guts. Noumu blocked the attack. That meant there hadn't been anything keeping Shigaraki from-

"Smash?" Shigaraki's voice asked from behind Noumu. The villain poked his head out from behind the monster, and then pushed Noumu away. Izuku couldn't see Tsuyu anywhere. "You definitely said 'smash'… and that power, it's just like All Might's." Shigaraki peered at him curiously. "You even look like him a bit, with that weird smile thing and those rabbit ears." The villain cocked his head. "Are you his illegitimate kid or something?"

Izuku mind was completely blank. He couldn't even muster his thoughts long enough to deny the ludicrous accusation. All he cared about was- "Wh-where's Tsuyu? What did you do with her!" His voice cracked and he could feel himself shaking.

"Tsuyu? That frog girl, you mean?" Shigaraki sounded completely nonchalant. "I turned her into dust."

Izuku stared at him blankly. "What?" That was impossible. He couldn't have. "Y-you're lying."

Shigaraki frowned. "Oh, you couldn't see since Noumu was in the way. Just ask your little friends; they had a better view." The villain waved a hand to his left.

He turned wide-eyed towards the crowd of Yuuei students. Their pale, shocked faces told him everything he needed to know. "No," Izuku whispered. Tsuyu couldn't be dead. She was… Izuku remembered her comforting Mineta after the boy had been expelled. He remembered her laughing and joking with him, and teasing Kacchan. Tsuyu was… she was so kind and good. The good guys didn't die. That wasn't how it worked!

"Don't be so naïve," Shigaraki said, interrupting his thoughts. He must've been mumbling. "Why are you acting so surprised? I told you I was going to kill you and all your friends. It wasn't like I made a secret of it."

How- he- Shigaraki had just killed someone, and he was acting like it was nothing, like Tsuyu's life hadn't been worth anything. Izuku had thought that Noumu was horrifying, but Shigaraki was the real monster. He felt nauseous. He wanted to hurl and scream, and cry… but more than anything, Izuku wanted to wipe that smug fucking look off Shigaraki's face. Izuku suddenly realized that he was angry, more so than he'd ever been in his life, so much that he was shaking with it. Tears prickled at his eyes, but for once they didn't spill.

"I… I'll kill you," Izuku hissed furiously.

Shigaraki just laughed. "How amusing! Wow, I didn't realize how much fun you'd be. I change my mind. If this is how you react every time one of your little friends is killed, then I'll save you for last. You can watch them all die first." He glanced at his huge companion. "Huh. Noumu, you should only need… hm, ten percent of your power for this." Shigaraki glanced at the Yuuei students. "Kill them."

No! Izuku's body crackled with power as it moved, almost before he could think. He crossed his arms in front of him and focused all his energy on defense, like he had when Kacchan slammed him into the wall during the battle trial. Izuku knew that Noumu's blow would be even stronger than that, so he channeled more, more, more. He needed to be stronger. Noumu's fist smacked against his arms, and the broken one throbbed in agony. But it worked. He was in one piece, and his friends were safe behind him.

"I won't let you!" screamed Izuku. He pulled back his good arm and focused his energy. There couldn't be any holding back. Even if it blew his arm off, he'd have to destroy Noumu in one hit! "Detroit… SMASH!" Izuku threw his hand forward, impacting Noumu's stomach and… nothing happened. He gaped at his fist. Not only had Noumu not so much as twitched, but Izuku's arm was completely fine. It didn't make any sense.

"Well, whether you're really All Might's son or just some cheap knockoff, it won't work on Noumu," Shigaraki called over conversationally. "He was designed to be All Might's perfect counter. He's an amalgamation of different quirks, including Force-"

"Absorption," finished Izuku despairingly. One for All's energy usually ripped up his body. The force of it exploded out of him towards his targets. Somehow, by absorbing the attack, Noumu had also prevented Izuku's arm from shattering. Shigaraki was right. It was the perfect foil for a quirk that relied on overwhelming force.

"That quick wit of yours keeps surprising me, kid." Shigaraki chuckled. "Hey, I was pretty pissed at you earlier, but are you sure you don't want to join the League of Villains? You're not half bad."

He saw red. "I'd rather die!"

"Well," shrugged Shigaraki. "That can be arranged. Noumu, twenty percent."

Before he could react, Izuku was sent flying until he slammed into USJ's wall. He gasped for breath, body trembling. Izuku hadn't had time to brace himself much, and if he'd been even a hair slower that blow probably would've killed him. He didn't know if it was just shock or the lord-knows how many broken bones, but Izuku could hardly even twitch.

"Now kill them."

Izuku was helpless; he could only watch. He saw that Thirteen was desperately trying to do something, and some of his classmates looked like they were preparing themselves, but there was no way they'd be quick enough. Izuku could hardly keep up with Noumu and he was the fastest person in class, other than Iida.

The doors to USJ exploded inwards. Before the dust even settled, his classmates and Thirteen appeared next to him.

"Never fear, children, for I am here!"

It was All Might! Izuku was so relieved that tears spilled down his cheeks. His relief didn't last long though, as he remembered the reason why All Might hadn't been there in the first place. "All Might!" Izuku called. "The big one has super strength and some sort of force absorption quirk. He's designed to kill you! And the hand guy… he disintegrates whatever all five of his fingers touch. He k-"

Izuku's voice cracked before he could talk about Tsuyu. All Might seemed to get the message though, because his expression sobered. The man looked at all of them, as if cataloguing how few students were left.

"Sit tight for a moment, children." All Might disappeared, but only a couple of second passed before he showed up with all of their errant classmates over his broad shoulders- even Kacchan, who was squirming and cursing at their teacher.

"I had to leave Aizawa down there. He was too injured to be moved. You kids wait here with Thirteen while I take care of these punks."

Kacchan growled and leapt to his feet, but Izuku grabbed him, despite the agony it put his body in. "Please, Kacchan," Izuku sobbed. Now that he didn't have to hold himself together, he was seriously falling apart. Izuku was terrified and angry, but more than anything, grief-stricken. "Don't, Kacchan, please don't." He had visions of Kacchan getting smashed into the ground by Noumu, or… or disintegrated into nothing by Shigaraki.

"Jesus, Deku… what the hell did they do to you?" Through his tears, Izuku could see that Kacchan looked genuinely scared. His hands hovered over Izuku, afraid to make contact. Izuku probably looked like a mess, full of broken bones and covered in blood and dirt. Izuku had never seen Kacchan look afraid before. It freaked him out even more.

"I-I'm fine. I'm f-fine." Izuku did his best to pull himself together. He was the only one who knew that All Might was already pushing his limits. He had to stay strong, in case he was needed again. Izuku looked at his classmates. The dichotomy was stark. Those that had been with Izuku were either crying or looked like they wanted to. The students who hadn't been- who hadn't seen Tsuyu… they seemed excited, cheering for All Might, although most of them were catching on that everything wasn't okay.

"Like hell you're fine-"

Kacchan was cut off by a huge 'BOOM'. Izuku's head jerked back towards All Might's fight. "What happened?"

"All Might did a suplex like in pro wrestling!" cried Kirishima.

Indeed, when the dust cleared, Izuku saw that Noumu had been buried down to his waist in the concrete floor. It was a good plan, but ultimately it'd be useless. Noumu was too powerful for that to stop him for long.

"Impressive, All Might," admitted Shigaraki. "Even in this state, you're still a force to be reckoned with. But Noumu is as strong as you are. Noumu! Attack!"

There was a tense moment where everyone stared at Noumu, but the creature didn't move at all, not even a twitch. It hit him:

"All Might! Noumu responds to verbal orders!" Izuku shouted. "He can't hear Shigaraki right now. Quick, if you take out Shigaraki then Noumu will be useless!"

"Is that so?" All Might said.

Shigaraki scratched at his neck nervously, so much that angry red welts appeared. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Sensei promised me! He said All Might was weak."

"This is your last chance villain. Surrender or face my wrath." All Might sounded really angry.

"Your wrath? How typical of a government pawn to resort to violence. You heroes think you're so much better than us, but you never stop to consider that violence only begets more violence. Do you think that children just wake up one day and decide to become villains? No, it's the poor and downtrodden dregs of society like me who are left no other option! You heroes are just tools of oppression. After all, the entire hero system only works while there are 'villains' to beat down further!" Shigaraki panted, almost frothing. "But you all are just like us. The only thing that separates heroes from villains is a government permit. Once I kill you everyone will see it." Shigaraki suddenly turned to Izuku, who flinched backwards. "That boy attacked Kurogiri. My friend might be dead. What makes him so different from me?"

"Shut up!" commanded All Might before Izuku could reply. "Don't you dare compare yourself to that boy. What makes him different from you? Well he didn't go to your school and attack you, for one! Any damage he may have done to your lackey was in defense of himself and his friends. You villains always have some self-pitying excuse, but cut the crap. You're not doing this for a noble reason. You hurt people because you like it, plain and simple."

Shigaraki tensed at having his deception uncovered so easily. "That's enough," continued All Might. "I don't want to hear another one of your poisonous words." Before Shigaraki could react, All Might appeared behind him and knocked him out with a chop to the neck.

Izuku was tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but nothing happened. It seemed like… this nightmare was finally over. He didn't even have to worry about All Might pushing himself too hard, because the other teachers from Yuuei arrived shortly thereafter.

"Cementoss, cover that one up." All Might pointed to where Noumu was buried. "Don't let him hear anything. Midnight, make sure this other guy doesn't wake up."

"All Might," called Yaoyorozu. "There's another one with a warp quirk. I don't know what happened to him but he's dangerous."

"Midoriya took him out," responded Sero shakily. "That was the Kurogiri guy they were talking about."

"I think his quirk is location based," Izuku added fuzzily. It sounded to him like his voice was coming from someone else a kilometer away. "He appeared right in the center of USJ, and I never saw any warp totems being used." Izuku swayed a bit, and would've collapsed to the side if Kacchan hadn't caught him. He probably had a concussion from the impact with the wall, Izuku mused. Plus an adrenaline crash, and the pain from all his other injuries, and…

"Midoriya!" someone cried. He didn't know who. He just tried to keep hold of Kacchan.

"Kacchan…" Izuku mumbled.

If there was a response, he didn't hear it before blackness covered his vision. For a blissful moment, there was nothing but silence as his consciousness fled. Mercifully, he knew no more.

A/N: … So, Tsuyu's really dead. I'm so sorry, but there are no 'it was offscreen' tricks. I just didn't want to write a gruesome murder scene. It really pains me to do it, but I swear that it was important. Stick with me.